Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

This simple version of tomato soup will make you question why you ever bought soup in a can. I combined two of my favorite things, tomato soup and grilled cheese.

There are many recipes for tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons, but this recipe is easy, quick and will make you look like a professional chef. Who doesn't like a hot bowl of tomato soup with crispy grilled cheese floating in it?

Tomatoes were introduced into Florida in the 1600s, yet they became didn't become popular until 20 years later. Tomatoes were stewed in a pot of hot water with vegetables and this was the birth of tomato soup. Leave it to us Americans to take a healthy dish and add heavy cream and butter to make it extra yummy.

Let's get cooking, you'll need:

1 can (28oz) Tuttorosso Peeled Plum Tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 small onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp fresh oregano chopped (dried is fine too on the herbs, no worries)

1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

1 tbsp basil chopped

1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes

1 cup water

1 pt heavy cream

1/2 tsp pepper

2 grilled cheese sandwiches

In a large stock pot heat the oil and brown the onions and garlic. You don't have to concern yourself about how small you chop the ingredients since we're going to use an immersion blender later.

Add the large can of tomatoes and the small can and simmer for 10 minutes. Use a masher, fork or even your hands (let it cool a littler so you don't burn yourself) and "squish" (there's a professional word, no?) the tomatoes to get them to release their juices. Add the herbs, pepper and water. Allow the soup to simmer for another 10 minutes. Use the immersion blender to get the soup smooth.

Use a strainer over a bowl and strain the pulp from the liquid. Return the liquid to the stock pot and save the seasoned tomato pulp. If you prefer your tomato soup chunky, you can skip this step. I like a creamy tomato soup in contrast to the crispy grilled cheese. I'll leave the chunky soup to those soup people that have a similar name.

The seasoned tomato pulp is delish on grilled chicken, fish or eggplant. You can add hot sauce and serve it with poached eggs to have " huevo en el infierno" (Eggs in Hell).

With the soup off the heat, add 1 pint (236ml) heavy cream. Stir well until it is blended. Turn your flame on very low. You want to heat the soup as you make the grilled cheese.

I have no fancy way to make grilled cheese except to say you MUST use real butter and a good quality cheese. I like a blend of cheddar and yellow american cheese. Some days I've been known to go a little funky and add goat cheese, but I've found that goat cheese is an acquired taste.

Serve your soup in a shallow bowl and garnish with fresh herbs. Cut your grilled cheese into small triangles and arrange in the center of the bowl. It's kinda like Jenga, you have to stack them until they stay in the correct position without falling.

This recipe concludes our Soup-a-thon Week and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed sharing the recipes. Tomorrow, Saturday, will be a recipe for my Sunday Gravy since it was requested by so many people.

Enjoy and thank you for your great feedback.