Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Grilled Meunster cheese on GF Bread and Tomato Soup

Our lunch yesterday was grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup from scratch. It was even better than wheat filled tomato soup and grilled cheese. Jonah (20 months) had 4 bowls full of soup along with his 2 sandwiches! I had never made tomato soup from scratch before, but after this recipe, I will never buy it again! It was fast and easy too, which is always a plus! I found a recipe online, and mostly followed it, making a few changes - I omitted the honey as we try to cut as much sugar/sweeteners as we can, and I used dried basil instead of fresh ONLY because we didn't have any on hand. I'm sure that fresh basil in this soup would have been killer, but not this time. I'll have to pick some up and try again!

We went to some of our favorite Amish Bulk Stores last week, and my husbands favorite part of going is the muenster cheese we get. On the way home, I remembered him saying that our new bread recipe would be great as a grilled cheese sandwich, so I figured I would give it a try! After eating my lunch, I want to only use Muenster from now on for our grilled cheese, and of course dipped in this soup!

 Tomato Soup 

2 Tbsp butter (or oil)
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 32 oz can of diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried basil
1 large bay leaf
black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp dried basil
4 Tbsp tomato paste

2 cups whole milk

In a dutch oven (or med pot) heat your oil or butter.  Add onions and cook until soft and translucent, add garlic.  Cook for a few more minutes. 

 Add in tomatoes, baking soda, parsley, basil, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Allow to simmer for at least 10 minutes. BE WARNED the baking soda will cause your soup to bubble and foam, so be prepared for that to happen with plenty of room in your pot.  This will neutralize the acid of the tomatoes, and you cannot taste it when the soup is finished.  

After the soup has simmered for a while, remove the bay leaf and puree the soup.  I used my vitamix, but an immersion blender would work perfectly!  

Return it to the pot and add the tomato paste and milk. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary.

Find the original recipe here: http://fooddoodles.com/2012/02/24/simple-tomato-soup/#ixzz2qmF61UgF