imafoodblog.com

*I just wanted to first give a big internet hug to all of you who left me such understanding and spirit lifting comments last week. You all made me smile and it also made me appreciate this blog as an outlet and appreciate all the bloggy friends that I have made since we started this in January. So thanks, it helped. . *

I was excited for this week’s Craving Ellie in My Belly pick. I have had my eye on this one for a while. Leslie of Lethally Delicious came through with a fabulous recipe pick of Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. How could you not be excited for a grilled cheese sandwich?

Ellie jazzes up the ho hum grilled cheese by adding sweet caramelized onions and spicy pepperjack cheese, as well as some cheddar cheese and a slice of tomato. (We left out the tomato, yuck)

However, I did make some homemade tomato soup to pair with this cheesy goodness. Yes, I know. We are weirdos. We would never eat our sandwiches with a slice of tomato, but insist on eating our sandwiches with a bowl of tomato soup. Sue me.

I used some thinly sliced rye bread that I had in the freezer (getting ready for my recipe pick next week!) which worked out great. I also happened to be caramelizing onions for some French onion soup for another day when I made these sandwiches. So instead of using the red onion I just borrowed a couple forkfuls from my pot of already sweet and soft onions. I used slices of sharp cheddar and pepperjack, as Ellie calls for. Since I was not in a particularly healthful cooking mood on this day, I really piled on the cheese. It was oozing out of the center after I cut the sandwiches.

These. were. so. good. I don’t know how healthy they really are since we are using full fat cheese here, but no matter. They were good.

You can find the recipe for the grilled cheese on page 95 of The Food You Crave or at the Food Network website.

Now let’s talk about tomato soup. This is something I rarely make, especially since I am just not interested in canned soup anymore. To find a recipe I consulted my cookbooks first since I wanted to give them some action, there are some that are feeling unloved these days. I decided to try out a healthy recipe I found in EatingWell’s Comfort Foods Made Healthy: The Classic Makeovers Cookbook by Jessie Price, The Editors of EatingWell

This book has some great sounding recipes, but this was the first one I have tried. I was hesitant at first, since any recipe with the word tofu in it gives me pause. However, I recently made a dip that was thickened by silken tofu and was pleased with the results. So I decided to have some faith and try this out.

While we were grocery shopping as we approached the tofu area I said to Nick “Okay honey get ready, I am about to buy some tofu". I got this response: . It’s a big deal for us.

Long story short, the soup came out excellent. It was wonderfully thick and creamy and I would absolutely make it again. And the best part is that it really is low fat and healthy for you. It was the perfect accompaniment to the grilled cheese.

Ingenious creamy tomato soup recipe after the jump…

Follow up:

Low Fat Creamy Tomato Soup
EatingWell’s Comfort Foods Made Healthy

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 14 ounces low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup white rice (uncooked)
• 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup silken tofu
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in a medium Dutch oven or heavy bottomed soup pot. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the broth, water, and rice, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, tofu, vinegar, and oregano into the soup. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a traditional blender.
4. Once pureed, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. You can prepare this soup up to 2 days ahead. I made this in the morning and let it sit all day to marry all the flavors.