I was looking forward to this week’s recipe pick, and it has been on my radar for quite some time. The recipe Leslie picked was Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Who wouldn’t be excited about grilled cheese sandwiches?
Sweet caramelized onions and spicy pepper jack cheese are added to a humdrum grilled cheese, as well as cheddar cheese and a slice of tomato. (We omitted the tomato, yuck)
To go with this cheesy goodness, however, I made some homemade tomato soup. I know, I know. We’re weird. Our sandwiches would never be eaten with a slice of tomato but with a bowl of tomato soup. Take me to court.
This worked well with some thinly sliced rye bread I had in the freezer (getting ready for my recipe pick next week!) At the time I made these sandwiches, I had caramelized onions for French onion soup another day. Rather than using the red onion, I grabbed a few forkfuls from my pot of already sweet and soft onions. In the recipe, sharp cheddar and pepper jack are called for. I piled on the cheese since I wasn’t in a particularly healthful mood on this particular day. After I cut the sandwiches, they oozed out of the center. “Yes, indeed.”
These. were. so. good. As we are using whole-fat cheese here, I don’t know how healthy they are. However, they tasted good.
Let’s talk about tomato soup now. I don’t make this very often since I’m just not interested in canned soup anymore. Since I wanted to give my cookbooks some action, I looked at my cookbooks first. Unfortunately, there are some cookbooks that feel neglected these days. In EatingWell, I came across a healthy recipe.
The recipes in this book sound great, but I have only tried this one. Initially, I was hesitant since any recipe containing the word tofu caused me to pause. Recently, I made a dip that had silken tofu as a thickener, and it was pretty tasty. I decided to give this a try.
When we approached the tofu area in the grocery store, I told my husband, “Be ready, honey, I’m about to buy some tofu.” He replied: “88”. It’s a big deal for us!
In a nutshell, I was very pleased with the soup. I found it thick and creamy and would make it again. What’s more, it’s low in fat and healthy for you. I loved it with grilled cheese.
After the jump, find out how to make this creamy tomato soup…
Low Fat Creamy Tomato Soup
Two tablespoons of olive oil
Diced one large onion
Minced garlic cloves, four cloves
Chicken broth with low sodium, 14 ounces
2 cups of water
1/4 cup uncooked white rice
Crushed tomatoes in a 28 ounce can
Tofu, 1/2 cup
Rice vinegar, one tablespoon
Oregano, 1/4 teaspoon
Pepper and salt
The oil should be heated in a heavy-bottomed pot or medium Dutch oven. Cook onion and garlic, occasionally stirring, until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
Bring the broth, water, and rice to a boil. Cook at a simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomatoes, tofu, vinegar, and oregano to the soup. In batches or with an immersion blender, puree the soup.
When pureed, season with salt and pepper to taste. You can prepare this soup up to 2 days in advance, and I made this in the morning and let it sit all day to let the flavors marry.