Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

On the Menu Today~

Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Some recipes are worth repeating and 

repeating, again and again.

This is one such recipe.

I first discovered and made this recipe

about 5 years ago. I fell in love at first bite.

One of my favorite lunch-time meals, hands down,

is a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

So when I saw this recipe, so many years ago,

I knew I was going to give it a try....

I have been making these 'croutons' ever since.

I've tried them on other soups, even chili, but

my favorite combination is still the classic

tomato soup and grilled cheese combo.

When making homemade tomato soup,

fresh of course, is always best.
When tomatoes are in season (July-Sept) here in Wisconsin,
it really isn't 'soup' season.

So more times than not, 

I make fresh tomato soup with store-bought tomatoes.

I do set the tomatoes, stem end down, on a sunny window.

After a few days, even up to a week later,
the tomatoes have ripen nicely and
some of that 'store-bought' taste is gone.

I've even used canned tomatoes with 'good' results.  

Like I said, fresh is best but when it's cold outside and

you get a hankering for a bowl of tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons,

I can make do with the store bought kind.

Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and quartered
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons dried parsely
• 2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• few dashes bottled hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine tomatoes, water, onion, celery, garlic, tomato paste, parsley, bouillon granules, lemon juice, hot sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until celery and onion are tender. Cool slightly, place half of the tomato mixture into a blender, blend well. return mixture back to the saucepan and heat 5 to 10 minutes longer. Serve with grilled cheese croutons.

Grilled Cheese Croutons

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 slices day old bread
• 3 ounces cheese of your choice, shredded or sliced

Cooking Directions

1. Heat a pan over medium heat.
2. Completely butter one side of each slice of bread.
3. Place one slice of bread in the pan, buttered side down, sprinkle on the cheese and top with the remaining slice of bread, buttered side up
4. Cook until golden brown, about 2 to 4 minutes.
5. Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 2 to 4 minutes.
6. Cut the crust from the grilled cheese, cut into 1 inch squares.

Tomato, Soup, Cheese, Sandwich, Crouton