Cook: Tomato and Basil Soup

In honor of National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day today I knew I had to make grilled cheese. Ok, well I cheat, I make "toasted cheese." Doesn't sound as good but it's definitely healthier! No frying in butter! Tastes just as good to me and less mess to clean up!

I searched Pinterest and found two recipes I liked and adapted my version from them. One was from Your Homebased Mom and the other from Food Doodles.

It looks like a lot, but I promise it's easy and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand already!


Ingredients:

• 2 14.5oz cans of tomatoes, crushed or petit diced (I used a quart Mason jar of home-grown and home-canned tomatoes from my parents!)
• 1/4 cup of butter or oil (I used coconut oil)
• 1 cup of chicken broth (I used 1 chicken bouillon cube)
• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1/4 teaspoon of thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon of basil
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1-2 cups of water
• 1 cup milk (2%, whole, half & half, whatever you prefer! I used 2%)
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Add all your ingredients together and mix thoroughly into a medium saucepan. The white blob is just coconut oil, don't freak out! 

Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 

Let it sit until it's cool enough to put into your blender. You can also use a food processor or an immersion blender.

Pour it into your blender, carefully!

Blend until smooth! Anyone know why it turns orange?

This is when I added the tomato paste because I didn't think it was thick enough and the flavor wasn't where I wanted it, but obviously it's better to add it all from the beginning! 

Return to the saucepan or serve this way. At this point I added milk and water until I got the consistency that I wanted. 

Get your grilled (er, toasted) cheese going! 

Mmm look at that melty cheese! 

Once it's the way you want it, serve it and enjoy! 

Garnish with a little fresh or dried basil for that perfect finishing touch! 

And don't forget to cut the grilled cheese at an angle like mom used to do ;) 

Or cut it into tiny bit-size pieces like me. 

Hope you go for this before buying Campbell's again! I promise, this is way better, and healthier!!

Do you prefer to make your own tomato soup or go for the can? What's your favorite way to make a grilled cheese? How did you celebrate National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day?

Till next time,
Catherine

I've linked up to Hearthfelt Hopes #5 with The Aliso Kitchen!

I've linked up to Make Your Own Mondays 9/23 with Nourishing Treasures!

I've linked up to Mostly Homemade Mondays #47 with Frugal By Choice, Cheap by Necessity, Homegrown & Healthy, Scratch Mommy, and Mindful Mama.

Cook: 3 Amigos Enchilada Stew and then some

Today's recipe is 3 Amigos Enchilada Stew from Leonard Mountain Soups! Except I pumped it up!! You didn't really think I'd leave it alone, did you? 

If you've read some of my previous blog posts, you know I love Leonard Mountain Soups! They're awesome! They're great by themselves but also fantastic when you add other things! They're very Weight Watchers friendly too. You can find my other posts HERE and HERE. 

Confession...I'm a forgetful blogger! I made this recipe recently when my in-laws came to visit and it turned out beautifully! But we were all so excited and hungry I forgot to get pictures of the soup in a bowl! Oops.

Ingredients:

• 3 Amigos Enchilada Stew 
• A jar of your favorite salsa (my favorite is Newman's Own but this is what I had)
• 2 cans of chunk chicken
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 1 bag of frozen corn
• 6 cups of water

You can maximize or minimize this recipe as you need to. I added a lot because I was feeding 6 people so I wanted more than enough to go around. 

Directions:

Turn your crockpot on low and mix in your pre-made soup mix with 6 cups of water. I cooked this on low for 5-6 hours but you can do it on high for 3-4 if you want. You can also make these soups in a regular pot on the stove! I let it cook for an hour or so.

Then I added the corn and both cans of beans. I let it sit for another hour or so.

Then the salsa, let it sit. 

And last but not least, the chicken. Let it cook for maybe another hour and serve! Don't forget all the fixin's!

The reason I waited so long between adding the ingredients it that I didn't want it to all get mushy. Maybe it wouldn't have...who knows. If you're starting this stew then running errands or doing chores then I'm sure it would be fine to just toss it all in together at once. 

My in-laws absolutely loved it! They devoured the soup! Of course I had shredded cheese, tortilla chips and sour cream too and it was de-lish! Definitely something I'd make again! 

Again, sorry for not having any good pictures. I promise it looked as delicious as it tasted! When I make it again sometime I'll be sure to get some mouth-watering pictures for you all!

Have you ever tried Leonard Mountain Soups? What's your favorite recipe for Mexican-style soup?

Till next time,

Catherine

Cook: Leonard Mountain Chicken 'n Pasta Soup

Mmm...how perfect is a hot soup on a cold winter's night? 

Tonight my husband and I had a friend over and I decided to make some soup. If you may recall that I love Leonard Mountain soups! I wrote here about how they are so simple but can be made into whatever you want. I like to stock up on their soups at the Richmond Bizarre Bazaar and I did just a few weeks ago. You can read about that here as well.

The thing about Leonard Mountain soups is that they are so easy to make! They're super yummy by themselves but if you want a heartier soup, you can add a few things and make it even better! While picking my soups at the Bazaar the man giving out samples was explaining how these soups are a great choice for someone on Weight Watchers. I forget how many points a cup of soup is, but he said vegetables are 0 points now so you can add a bag of frozen veggies for a more filling soup but it doesn't cost any more points. The points for the soup were really low. 

Tonight I pulled out the Chicken 'n Pasta soup. The guys loved it! I paired the soup with salad and they each got a second bowl...of soup...not salad. Definitely a crowd pleaser. And since it's great in the crock pot, it was so easy!

Ingredients: 

• Leonard Mountain Chicken 'n Pasta soup
• Two cans chicken (or one if you prefer)
• One bag of frozen veggies (or 2 cans if you prefer)
• 6 cups water
• 1/3 cup milk
• A few dashes of milled flax seed (shh...don't tell the guys!)
• A few sprinkles of garlic salt

Directions:

Turn your crockpot onto low if you plan to let it cook for more than about 4 hours. High if you want it done in 2 or less. 

Mix in your soup ingredients (dry packet off noodles/vegetables and a pouch of flavorings)

Let it cook for a couple hours. About an hour before you want to serve the soup, add in a bag of frozen veggies and your can(s) of chicken. Mix well and turn your crockpot to high (preferably). I waited till the end to add in the chicken and veggies so the veggies wouldn't get mushy and the chicken wouldn't be overcooked. 

I also added a little more water, a little bit of milk and a few dashes of garlic salt towards the end. The beauty of it is you can do whatever you want and it will be delicious! I also added a little milled flax seed but you can't even tell! I like to add it in where I can without it being noticed. I also snuck some into two loaves of honey wheat bread I made today!

Now serve and enjoy!

Pair this soup with a salad or a sandwich or eat it alone! No matter how you work this soups, they turn out great. They are tasty by themselves or you can dress them up. And did I mention easy? Mmm...I wish I had thought to make some soft honey wheat dinner rolls with this soup! It would have been a match made in Heaven! Or cornbread if you like!

How do you like to make soup? From scratch or from a box? Do you like to add in your own twist or leave it as is?

Till next time,

Catherine