RECIPES
The Classic
There's nothing quite like a classic grilled cheese with a tomato soup side! It can bring back great childhood memories for those feeling nostalgic and serves as the perfect comfort food!
Tomato Soup Recipe (my mothers specialty-gives it that comfort food feeling):
Ingredients
Tomato Soup Recipe (my mothers specialty-gives it that comfort food feeling):
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 onions)
- 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish
- 3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- Croutons, for garnish
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well.
- Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.Add the cream to the soup and process it through a food mill into a bowl, discarding only the dry pulp that's left.
- Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with julienned basil leaves and/or croutons.
The Baconater
How do you make the greatest food--grilled cheese--even better? Adding bacon of course! Because bacon makes everything better!
Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Tomato Recipe:
Ingredients
Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Tomato Recipe:
Ingredients
- 8 slices of bacon
- 1/4 cup butter
- 8 slices of white bread
- 8 slices of American cheese
- 8 slices of tomatoes
- Place bacon in a large deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and place on the side
- Heat larger skillet over medium heat. Spread the butter onto one side of each slice of bread. Lay 4 slices of bread, butter down, in the skillet. Top with a slice of cheese, 2 slices of tomato, bacon, and another slice of cheese. Cover with a slice of bread butter side out. Fry until Golden!
The Health Conscious
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 slices whole wheat bread
- 2 slices sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 an avocado, sliced
- 1/2 a tomato, sliced
- Heat a pan over medium-low heat. (Or plug in the Panini press!)
- Brush olive oil onto one side of a bread slice and lay into a pan, oil side down.
- Assemble the sandwich. (Bread, cheese, avocado, tomato, cheese, topped with a second slice of bread works best!)
- Lightly brush the top slice of bread with the remaining oil.
- Cook for about 2 minutes, or until bread turns golden brown and cheese begins to melt.
- Flip, and cook on the other side until bread is browned and cheese is completely melted.