Creamy Tomato Soup & Loaded Grilled Cheese

Grilled-Cheese

This month’s Kosher Connection link-up is all about comfort food. I had a hard time decided just which food I should share with you. I decided to share with you a food and a memory that brings comfort to me. Be sure to scroll all the way down to the end of this post to see some other great recipes from my fellow Kosher Connection bloggers!

I have several defining food moments of my life. Many of them revolve around lazy Sundays with my family. My parents would both be cooking in the kitchen and my sisters and I would be running from room to room taking in the delicious smells, and probably engaged in some sibling rivalry.

Sundays were days filled with a bustle of activity. Our days were spent running from swimming to pottery to theater at the JCC, and then home for a warm supper around the family table. One of my dad’s specialties is a loaded grilled cheese sandwich. My sisters and I would gobble that sandwich up.

This grilled cheese was never just standard white bread and American cheese. It was always filled with surprises. Some days it would be tomato and onion within the gooey cheese. Other days, we might find a sprinkling of sunflower seeds hidden inside. We always enjoyed it.

Later in college, whenever I was in the mood for that taste of home,  I would order up a grilled cheese sandwich. Like during my childhood, it always had stuff in it. It was often filled with provolone, onions and mushrooms. On a rainy day, I would add a cup of soup to the meal. I learned to love creamy tomato soup on those rainy New York days. Dipping a corner of grilled cheese in to that soup and chowing down – that spelled out a bit of heaven.

Pure comfort on a plate.

I thought I’d share this fabulous meal with you today.

Creamy Tomato Soup
 
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. ground pepper
  • 1 - 28 oz. can of roasted tomatoes
  • 5 cups vegetable broth
  • ½ cup half & half
  • additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a large soup pot, heat up the olive oil on medium-high heat.
  2. Add in the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and herbs.
  3. Cook on medium-high for a few minutes until the onions begin to soften.
  4. Stir in the canned tomatoes.
  5. After a couple minutes of cooking, add in the vegetable broth.
  6. Let the soup come to a boil and then turn down the heat to medium low and cover the pot.
  7. Let the soup simmer covered for about 45 minutes.
  8. Check on the soup. The carrots should have softened.
  9. Puree the soup with an immersion blender.
  10. Stir in the half & half.
  11. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning.
  12. Serve and enjoy!

Creamy-Tomato-Soup
Loaded Grilled Cheese
 
Author:
Recipe type: Sandwich
Serves: 2 sandwiches
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • ½ tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. ground pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 5 cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
  • 3-4 slices cooked veggie bacon, optional (or the real bacon!)
  • 4 slices of your favorite hearty bread
  • 2 slices Provolone cheese
  • 2 slices Cheddar cheese
  • 2 slices Swiss Cheese
  • Butter for grilling the sandwiches
Instructions
  1. Heat up the butter and olive oil in a saute pan.
  2. Once the butter has melted, add in the onions. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook the onions slowly until caramelized. About 15-20 minutes.
  3. Once the onions begin to caramelize, add in the garlic and sliced mushrooms. Let those cook and soften as well.
  4. Remove from heat once onions are done and set aside.
  5. Cook the veggie bacon or regular bacon in a pan or in the oven or per directions on the package. Set aside.
  6. Make the sandwich. Place a slice of provolone on the bread slice and then layer the onions and mushrooms then cheese then bacon then more cheese and then the other slice of bread.
  7. Butter the outside of the bread.
  8. Grill in a fry pan over medium-high heat until brown on both sides and the cheese is melted.
  9. Serve and enjoy!

 

VeganMoFo: Sweet Potato Burritos

I’m always looking for ways to tinker with our standard recipes. One easy meal in rotation at my house is a vegetarian burrito. They are very filling, easy to make and are easily adaptable.

A while back, at a restaurant, I had some fantastic sweet potato tacos. I loved the way that the sweet potato mingled with the other flavors. I wanted to do something similar with a burrito, and I had some sweet potatoes sitting on the counter that needed to be used up.

Sweet Potato Burritos
Ingredients: (made 6 burritos)

1 cup dry brown rice, cooked
2 sweet potatoes
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cayenne (optional)
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Daiya Cheese – Cheddar Flavor
Tofutti Sour Cream
6 tortillas

Directions:

Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork a few times and microwave for about 6 minutes. The sweet potatoes should be tender but not too soft.

Peel and cube the potatoes.

Heat up the vegetable oil in large saute pan.

Add in the sweet potatoes and let them brown a bit.

Add in the onions and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add in the garlic and black beans and cook a few minutes.

Stir in the spices and the Worcestershire sauce and cook a few more minutes.

Now it’s time to assemble the burritos.

On each tortilla spread a bit of the vegan sour cream, then layer on some rice, next the sweet potato mixture and then finally the vegan cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in a baking dish.

Warm in the oven for about 10 minutes on 350. Alternatively, you can place in ziplock bag and freeze and reheat in microwave or oven whenever you’re hungry. These burritos reheat very well.

If you’d like the burritos to have a bit more heat, feel free to play with the flavors. Add some chopped jalapenos or maybe more cayenne, or even a fresh salsa at the end!

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Burritos
veganmofo
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