homemade tomato soup & toasted cheese

i didn't grow up enjoying tomato soup. it wasn't till college when my dear roommate, kelly, introduced me to the magic of tomato soup + toasted cheese. [or you can say grilled cheese, but whatevs, my mother says "toasted" and i like her, so i say "toasted" too.] 

then i moved overseas, and in italy, there aren't an abundance of canned soups/pre-made things, so i had to learn how to do things from scratch.  it's funny how a girl can move from rural midwestern towns to ROME and it is there, that she has to learn how to be a pioneer woman. ironic.

anyway!  i canned TONS of tomatoes last fall (lo & behold- a pioneer woman skill that i actually learned HERE [this fall!] and not in my time overseas!!) ;)  enjoy this recipe i made one night for my sweet buddy and I--- based on memories from the tomato soup we used to make in Rome. :)

tomato soup + toasted cheese

serves 2 with leftovers. :)

ingredients:

1 can low-sodium chicken broth

2 pints home-canned tomatoes (32 ounces)

***OR*** 2 cans, 15 oz. each, of store-bought canned tomatoes (you could mix it up even- and do one crushed + one diced... or one crushed + one whole (and hand crush them yourself)

2-3 Tbsp. butter

diced sweet Spanish onion (i used a little over 1/3 cup)

2-3 cloves garlic, minced/crushed

salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, thyme

optional: half-and-half or cream for serving

chop onions and garlic.

get your tomatoes ready.  not to toot my own horn... but aren't mine pretty? :)

seriously, look at that RED! :)

anyway-- saute' your onion & garlic in that glorious butter. DO NOT use olive oil here.. if tomatoes were best actor of this dish... butter would be best supporting actor. don't substitute it!  add your salt & pepper. let the onions get translucentish.

THEN, add in your tomatoes, other spices--- and let it all melt together on a low simmer.  I used my immersion blender to blend a few of the huge chunks (since i canned whole tomatoes), but do what you want depending on how chunky/unchunky you like your soup. heck, you could puree' the whole thing if that's what floats your boat---- but i like chunks, so i don't.

serve with toasted cheese--- whatev's kind you want.  go for it and buy some crusty pane di grano duro or ciabatta with Gruyere if you're feeling fabulous and expensive--- but if you're feeling cheap/wanting to be 5 years old again--- go for your favorite multigrain sotre-bought loaf and classic American Kraft cheese slices. :)  that's what we did and it made our night!  :)  OH- and we DID stir in some half-and-half into our bowls--- but i don't like to stir it in the whole pot-- i think it's unneccessary.  to each his/her own; put it on the table and let your guests choose how creamy they like it. :)  buon appetito!