Tomato Basil Soup & Grilled Cheese
Tuesday, March 26, 2013From our skinny table to yours...
With the weather all over the place, and not quite feeling like springtime yet, we decided to indulge in one of our favorite combinations! Is there anything better than dipping a warm and gooey grilled cheese into a nice big bowl of tomato basil soup? Typically this dish is packed with butter and cream, turning a seemingly healthy vegetable soup into a deceiving and fattening meal. That's just wrong if you ask us. Don't worry our version is even more delicious and perfect for the waistline. After all it's technically Spring, so it's almost time to break out the tank tops and flip flops and we have to look good! Come on warm weather :)
Our healthy version comes in at only 304 calories for the combination! That's a winner if you ask us :) We make our soup with a combination of tomatoes, V-8, sodium free chicken stock, and skim milk. We start off by boiling our tomatoes just enough so the skin starts to peel off..
We then simply blend all the ingredients together and add in fresh flavors of garlic, yellow onion, nutty parmesan cheese and lots of fresh basil! We used a hand held immersion blender which is by far one of our favorite kitchen tools. You can pick one up for approximately 25 bucks if you are looking to get one! We love using this tool for soups and purees of all kinds. A blender works just as well so there is no need to worry if you don't have one in your kitchen cabinet :)
Our grilled cheese is made on a 100 calorie thin wheat bun. We loaded our grilled cheese with fresh spinach and used 2 tablespoons of reduced fat mozzarella cheese per sandwich! We can't deprive ourselves of cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich right??
Dip and enjoy! Happy Wednesday :)
Nutrition Facts Per Serving
Serving size: 1 sandwich & 1/4 of soup (approx 1.5 cups)
Serves: 4
Calories: 304
Fat: 11.5 grams
Carbs: 43.2 grams
Dietary fiber: 8.5 grams
Protein: 15.4 grams
Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
8 tomatoes on the vine (small to medium)
3 cups V-8 low sodium
1 cup no sodium chicken stock
1 cup skim milk
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 yellow onion minced
1 handful fresh basil
1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
4 whole wheat thin buns - 100 calorie
8 tbsp reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup fresh spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
Let's get cooking!
1. Place tomatoes in large pot. Cover with water and place on stove over high heat. Boil for approx ten minutes or until skin begins to peel off
2. Peel skin off tomatoes and cut out the core
3. Add one tbsp of olive oil to pot and add in garlic, onions and tomatoes. Saute for approx 5 minutes to combine flavors. Add in V-8, chicken stock, skim milk and fresh basil. Simmer for 5 minutes to combine flavors
4. Use hand held immersion blender to blend all ingredients together. If you are using a blender, be sure to cool off soup completely before you blend ingredients as the heat can create pressure and pop off the lid. Be careful so you don't get burned!
5. Once blended, transfer back to pot and add in parmesan cheese. Simmer over low heat for at least ten minutes - the longer you let it cook, the better it will taste!
6. To make grilled cheese, place one tbsp moz cheese on bottom side of bun. Stuff with fresh spinach, top with another tbsp of moz cheese and place top of bun on sandwich
7. Use a quarter of a tbsp of olive oil in pan for each sandwich. Pan saute each sandwich in 1/4 tbsp olive oil for approx 2 minutes on each side or until bun turns golden brown and cheese melts
Serves 4! Dip & Enjoy!
8 comments
Hey girls, I'm a new follower and love all these delicious things you're posting! I'm a big fan of basil and I think this is on the menu for tonight. Thanks, happy cooking!
ReplyDeleteLisa
http://aventurasdemariposas.blogspot.com/
Thanks Lisa! Glad you stopped by! Hope you enjoy :)
DeleteYum! I am loving your recent recipes. I can't wait to make my shopping list this week and add some of these lighter fare meals. That grilled cheese is genius!
ReplyDeleteI am a new follower and I LOVE all your recipes so far. Ingenious!!! You take simple ingredients and turn them into hearty, wholesome food that everyone can enjoy. I am compiling a grocery list to make meal times fun and exciting every night. Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteLooks so tasty! Great blog! I am your newest follower! :)
ReplyDeleteFound you via: http://www.overworkedsupermom.com/2013/03/link-up-tgif-blog-hop.html
Em :)
I LOVE your site! I am a vegetarian but know that I could totally alter the recipe to make it work for me!!! Liked you on facebook too! I am hosting a hop tomorrow at http://www.frugalfitfamily.com and the link is already up! Swing by if you can!!
ReplyDeleteI seriously fall in love with this blog more every recipe you guys post. You rock!
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