Easy Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Croutons

Hi!

Guess what?! I was sooo EXCITED when the mail arrived this past Saturday.....anyone want to guess why?!!  Y'all Give Up....OK, OK, I'll tell you why.  The new October Food Network issue had arrived, YAY!  It's so funny how excited I get over a magazine, well, it's not just any magazine, it's the FOOD NETWORK magazine! Hahaha!  Check it out--->

As soon as I got my hands on it, the Tomato Soup on the cover got my attention! Love when that happens, and i still have tons of pages/recipes to look through, yum!

Well...I decided to make the Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons last night for dinner, it came out very yummy.  My family was very pleased with it. 

What's that you say....you want the recipe, I'll be glad to share it with you. Its easy and it can be pretty fast to make, it took me a little longer because I kept on having to look at the book and of course I didn't have everything out, so in and out of my pantry and fridge I went.  LOL! A little tip, make sure you prep everything before you get started, that will make things a lot smoother and quicker.  I'll definitely be doing that for my next first attempt recipe.

Now the moment y'all have been waiting for, drum roll please, haha!  Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you the...

Easy Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Croutons

by Ina Garten "The Barefoot Contessa"

 

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 3 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano*
• Large pinch of saffron threads**
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup orzo
• 1/2 cup heavy cream***
• Grilled Cheese Croutons (see below)

Total Time: 50 min

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 40 min

Yield: 4 to 6 serving

 

Directions

In a large pot or Dutch oven such as Le Creuset, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the chicken stock, tomatoes, saffron, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill a medium pot with water, add 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for 7 minutes. (It will finish cooking in the soup.) Drain the orzo and add it to the soup. Stir in the cream, return the soup to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring frequently.
Serve hot with Grilled Cheese Croutons scattered on top.

Grilled Cheese Croutons

• 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices country white bread
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated***

Heat a panini grill. Place the four slices of bread on a cutting board and brush lightly with the melted butter, being sure to butter the corners. Turn the slices over and pile Gruyere on two of the slices. Place the remaining two slices of bread on top of the Gruyere, buttered sides up.
Grill the sandwiches on the panini grill for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Place on a cutting board, allow to rest for 1 minute and cut into 1-inch cubes.

*Whole peeled tomatoes and crushed them myself.
**Did not add.
***Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated.


Just an FYI, don't over boil, like I did. It lost it's color and a lot of the juice, but it was still very delicious! Definitely will try this again without over boiling it. Haha!  Also, it's OK if you don't have a panini grill, I don't, so I just improvised and used a regular round griddle, it worked out just great.

This is my soup version......

~My kid's Serving Size: about 1 cup~

What my daughter, Lisset had to say about my soup "I don't like it, I LOVE IT!" 

My side piece (my hubby) said it needed more juice but other than that it was very good!"

Can't wait to try this recipe again! I should master it next time and hopefully make it look like the picture on the magazine, we shall see, but it's still Good Enuf To Eat!

Enjoy!

*Stay tuned, more yummy recipes to come*