Ask my hubby what his favorite meal is and he will tell you, hands down… “Grilled cheese with Tomato soup”. It’s a simple classic combo that’s been a family favorite for decades! There’s nothing wrong with heating up a can of Campbells Tomato soup to serve with a grilled cheddar cheese sandwich on sour dough bread. It’s a quick, delicious, warm you up from the inside out kind of meal.
Over the years I have moved away more and more from recipes that call for canned soups. I gravitate towards making most meals from scratch. I like to know exactly what ingredients are in the meals I prepare for my family.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have a few go to meals that I make all the time using canned soups. Let’s be real, sometimes life gets crazy busy or you are just too darn tired to start a meal from scratch. Canned soups to the rescue. No judgement, we’ve all done it and lets face it, it’s better than the alternative…fast food from the nearest drive thru.
If you are pressed for time and want to serve up a hot home cooked meal that your family will love, you might want to give this old school recipe a try. John Ben Getty is one of our favorites using canned soup. It’s been on my regular rotation for years and years. It’s a more sophisticated version of Hamburger Helper. It even has veggies in it, but your kids won’t even notice them. Yes my boys were picky eaters, I had to sneak in the veggies any way I could.
Today’s post is a double whammy, you’re getting double the bang for your buck, a two for one post. Instead of opening a can of soup and making your standard grilled cheese we are going a bit more grown up and upping the ante with two tasty, unique recipes.
Let’s start with the tomato soup. This recipe is extremely easy to make. It tastes delicious and uses wholesome, good for you ingredients. No chemical additives, preservatives or ingredients you can’t pronounce. That’s a win-win-win in my book. Sure you could open a can of soup but when you see how easy it is to make it from scratch and how good it tastes, you will become a convert just like me.
Begin by melting 3 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add a large diced onion to the pot and stir for 6-8 minutes, until the onions just start to brown.
Add 4 cloves of minced garlic and stir for another minute until fragrant.
Stir in a 15 oz. can of crushed tomatoes.
Add 2 cups chicken broth.
Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in 1/4 cup heavy cream.
Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
While the soup is simmering on the stove it’s time to make some grown up grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it. These aren’t your typical grilled cheese sandwiches, the ingredients kick it up a notch, actually several notches!!!
I saw these Grown-up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on the menu at a brew pub when I was in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I knew I had to make them as soon as I got back home.
Start by making a basil infused aioli. Take several leaves of fresh basil, stack them up and roll them together into a long cigar shape. Cut very finely across the roll to create a chiffonnade. You will end up with very thin strips of basil. You want about a tablespoon of basil.
Instead of buying basil at the store every time you need it for a recipe, grow your own. Learn how to properly harvest it all summer long so you have more basil from just one plant than you can possibly ever eat.
In a small bowl, combine the basil chiffonnade with 1/4 cup of mayonnaise and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Set aside.
Cook up 4 strips of bacon for each sandwich you are making. See I told you this was going to be a grown-up version of grilled cheese. Bacon makes everything better!!! Life without bacon would be a sad life indeed!
If you aren’t sure about the best way to cook bacon, check out the link below for the best methods for cooking up bacon so you get perfectly cooked crisp or chewy bacon, just the way you like your bacon the best.
Lay out 2 slices of sour dough bread and spread on a layer of softened butter. Flip buttered slices over.
Spread a little of the basil infused aioli on the other side of each slice of bread. Place a slice of Havarti on one slice of bread and cheddar on the other slice of bread.
Add some cooked bacon and sliced tomatoes..
Place one half of the sandwich on top of the other, with the buttered sides facing out.
Heat a skillet over medium heat. I used my George Foreman grill to cook my sandwiches. Place sandwiches in the pan or on the grill and cook until buttered sides are golden brown and crispy. Continue to cook until cheeses are completely melted and gooey.
While sandwiches are cooking remove soup from heat. Use an immersion blender, carefully puree soup until smooth.
Ladle soup into a bowl and top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and freshly cracked pepper.
When sandwiches are done, cut in half to serve, so it’s easier to dunk them into the creamy tomato soup.
Time to dig in!!! The combination of flavors will make your mouth sing. The smokey bacon, juicy tomato slices, and creamy combination of cheeses paired with the garlic, basil infused aioli on crunchy grilled bread…oh my…so yummy!!! Dip that puppy into the creamy tomato soup and you have a little bit of heaven in your mouth!
Grown-up Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 slices sour dough bread
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 tbsp basil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 slice Cheddar cheese
- 1 slice Havarti cheese
- 4 slices cooked bacon
- 2 slices tomato
Instructions
- Butter each slice of bread.
- Flip slices of bread over and spread garlic/basil aioli onto both slices of bread.
- Top one slice of bread with Havarti cheese and the other with cheddar cheese.
- Add bacon and tomato.
- Place slices of bread together with buttered sides facing out.
- Fry sandwich in a frying pan or on a George Foreman grill until cheese is melted and bread is cripsy golden brown.
- Slice sandwich in half to serve.
Homemade Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can chicken broth
- ¼ cup cream
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add diced onion and cook until the onions just start to brown, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and stir till fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, heavy cream, salt, and pepper.
- Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and blend soup with an immersion blender until soup is smooth.
- Serve topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and freshly cracked pepper.
Did You Make This?
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