Tomato Soup 101

While we were vacationing last fall in the mountains, we stopped at what might have been the world's worst restaurant. We were lured in by the signs claiming this place was 'famous', along with the strong hunger created by a morning filled with antiquing, driving the Blue Ridge Parkway with the windows down, and listening to blue grass music at the apple orchard.

So we pull off around Linville, and followed the signs to the 'famous' restaurant. Turns out this fine establishment is famous not due to its cuisine but because it was built where 3 or 5 (?) counties meet.

Scott and I ordered something or other that we are still trying to forget about. Scott was hopeful enough to send food back that was cold... turns out it wasn't much better hot. :) So in one last attempt at something somewhat satisfying, he tried Sophie's grilled cheese. It's really hard to mess up grilled cheese, and as he ate it, he exclaimed that grilled cheese is one of his favorite things to eat.

Well, that was enough for me. I love to see my husband and kids smile when they sit down at the dinner table. Dinner is a main event at our house, so when I heard Scott exclaim his love of grilled cheese, I was thrilled. This is doable almost any night of the week, no matter if there are soccer practices or meetings competing for our dinner time.

So of course my next thought was what could go with the beloved grilled cheese, and tomato soup was the obvious choice. I remembered seeing a yummy sounding recipe online, and here was the perfect opportunity to put it to use. And so began Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup at our table.

Due to my kid's aversion to Kraft singles, or any American cheese (how did this happen?? I loved nothing more when I was a kid than to open the fridge and grab a cellophane-wrapped square of yellow goodness!), we use grated cheddar and real butter to prepare our grilled cheese sandwiches. The kids are onto something, because you have never had a better, more simple grilled sandwich than two pieces of whole wheat bread, spread with butter, sprinkled with a generous mound of cheddar, and grilled on the griddle. The bread gets golden and toasty, and the sweetness from the whole wheat and butter combine perfectly. And if a little cheese sneaks out and sizzles on the griddle, all the better.

But about the soup. It is hard to believe so few ingredients can come together to be so satisfying. A few notes: I use fire roasted canned tomatoes and half and half instead of heavy cream. Last time I made it, I used the tube of chopped basil (found right beside the fresh at the grocery store), and it turned out great. If you use the food processor, your soup will be chunkier; using the blender turns out creamier soup.

Le Madeline's Tomato Basil Soup

4 cups fresh tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped (8-10) or 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed

12 -14 basil leaves, washed fresh

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 lb sweet unsalted butter

salt

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Simmer tomatoes in saucepan for 30 minutes. Puree, with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender or food processor. Return to saucepan and add cream, butter, salt and pepper while stirring over low heat.

The best chicken enchiladas ever, I promise

So here is one of our favorite recipes here at our house.  I got the original from Tyler (family food network favorite!), but I've adapted it for our family.  Try it, you'll like it.  I have a few more insider tips at the bottom of the recipe.

Please don't let the long list of ingredients keep you from trying this. They can all be found at most grocery stores and they are very inexpensive.  This recipe is:

• Economical
  
• Low in fat
  
• Freezable

What more could you want?

(None of these amounts are precise)

3 T vegetable oil

1 1/2 lbs bonless, skinless chicken breast I sometimes use more

salt and pepper

3-4 T Adobo or other mexican seasoning with cumin (measurement not necessary, you'll just be sprinkling chicken with this as it cooks)

1 onion, chopped can use red or white or whatever you have

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small can chopped green chiles you can also use whole canned chiles and just chop them

1/4 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, seeded and minced careful here- canned chipotles vary in their heat.  I've had some be very hot, others not as much.  Add them slowly and taste as you go.  You can also save the adobo sauce for adding a little to the sauce- so good!

1 28 can tomatoes- can use any canned tomatoes.  These will be part of the sauce that goes in the food processor, so it doesn't really matter if they are chopped, whole, have onion in them or are just plain.

a little flour

lots of corn tortillas- at least 16, but I just buy a large package at the store so I have plenty

1-2 large cans of enchilada sauce, or 1 large can.  Buy a couple extra just to have on hand

2 C shredded cheese- cheddar or jack or both

OK, now the fun part.  I love cooking this recipe.

Coat large saute pan with oil.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and mexican seasoning.  Brown until no longer pink inside.  Remove chicken from pan and let it cool.

Saute onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender.  Add the onion first and let it go for a few minutes on medium low before adding garlic, as garlic will cook much faster.

Now add both green and chipotle chiles.  Stir.  Then add tomatoes and let the sauce all come together for a few minutes.  

After combined, I put my sauce in the food processor so it is not chunky.  It's not smooth like a puree, but I don't want chunks of onion and tomato in there.  After I've let it go for a few seconds in the food processor, I just put it right back in the pan on low.

While the sauce becomes so yummy you won't believe it, shred the cooked chicken breasts apart.  Take a taste, then add shredded chicken to saute pan and combine with sauce.  Dust with a little flour to keep it from being runny in your enchiladas.  We don't want runny enchiladas.

Microwave the tortillas for 30 seconds.  This takes the stiffness away and makes them soft like butter in your hands.  I microwave mine about 8 at a time so they don't have a chance to get stiff while I roll the enchiladas.  

Spray two 9x13 pans with Pam, then ladle enchilada sauce into the bottom of each pan.  Kind of like when you make lasagne- not too much sauce, though. Don't think puddles, just a light coating.  

Now I make a little assembly line- my plate of warm tortillas, a shallow dish of enchilada sauce, and a large amount of the chicken mixture in another bowl.  Prepare to get a little messy.  Dip each tortillas in enchilada sauce.  Then spoon some of the chicken mixture- not too much or you won't be able to roll the enchilada- in each tortilla and roll them up. You'll have to pause and heat the tortillas in batches. Place the enchiladas seam side down in the pans.  It may take a few to get the hang of it, but you are going to cover all this with cheese, so don't worry about perfection.  Cheese covers a multitude of cooking sins.

Once the pans are full of yummy enchiladas (my pans hold at least 10 enchiladas each- really more like 12-14), all you have to do is cover them with cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts.  I freeze one pan, and the other pan feeds our family of six with plenty of leftovers.  

This reheats very well, so you could make it a day ahead with no problem- just leave off the cheese the first time you bake it and add the cheese when you reheat the dish in the oven.

I usually serve this with black beans and yellow rice.  A green salad would be good, too.  Sour cream is a must.  

A few suggestions:

If you have extra chicken (in the sauce), it is great in quesadillas for lunch.

If at all possible, get your corn tortillas from a Mexican/Hispanic grocery.  These are becoming more and more common.  You can also find the chiles and enchilada sauce there as well.  I am not one to make a special stop for specialty groceries, but the Mexican grocery is in the same shopping center as our main grocery, so this works for me with very little hassle.  I would be willing to drive to a Mexican/Hispanic grocery, though.  You just won't believe the difference in the tortillas. 

But you can get all these ingredients at regular grocery stores as well, and these enchilada will still be really good with Pepito tortillas.