Saturday, June 18, 2011

Cream of Tomato Soup w/ Grilled Cheese

I am the person who used to not like grilled cheese or tomato soup. But now it is one of my favorite meals! I found this tomato soup recipe a while back in a cook book for one of my old nanny families, but I do not remember the name of it. It is a great one though! It is a little bit of work, but oh so worth it! I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband and I did. :)

Also, Like to call it adult tomato soup and grilled cheese. The soup has a bit of a kick to it, and if you make the grilled cheese Like I did tonight with cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese, it is a bit spicy. But it was a very good combination.

Ingredients:
2 - 28oz cans whole tomatoes, drain & reserve the juice
1 1/2 TBS dark brown sugar
4TBS unsalted butter
4 lrg shallots, minced
1TBS tomato paste
pinch ground allspice
2TBS all-purpose flour
1 3/4 c chicken broth
1/2 c heavy cream
2TBS cooking sherry
Salt & Cayenne pepper

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Slice tomatoes in half and line in a single layer on foil. sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake until all liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Cool.
2) Heat butter in a large pan over medium heat, till foaming. Add shallots, tomato paste and all spice. Reduce heat, cover & cook 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add flour & cook, stirring constantly, until completely combined. Whisk in chicken broth. Stir in reserved Tomato juice & roasted tomatoes. Cover increase heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 10 min.
3) Strain tomatoes out of juice and place into a medium bowl, along with 1 cup of juice. Let cool. Place into a blender and puree until smooth. Combine with remaining liquid in pan. Add cream & warm over low heat until hot. Turn off heat. stir in sherry and season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

Hodges Family Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Probably the best Sauce for spaghetti out there! But I may be a little biased :).
My grandma & grandpa Hodges have come up with this recipe and it is one that everyone loves once they have it! Just enough spice to satisfy those people who love HOT but not too spicy that if you don't like spice you would not like it. It is wonderful!

I didn't have spaghetti noodles, so I used noodles that I had. But the sauce is a spaghetti sauce. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger
1 heaping tsp anise seed
1 heaping tsp fennel seed
1/2 heaping tsp oregano
1 heaping tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp sweet basil
1/2 tsp parsley
1 TBS sugar
1/2 heaping tsp dry onion
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 14/15oz can tomato sauce
1/2- 3/4 can water

Directions:
Pile all spices & Sugar onto a cutting board. Using a rolling pin, roll over the spices to break open seeds. Place hamburger in skillet and top with spices; brown hamburger, drain grease. Add tomato sauce and water. Heat until hot. Serve over spaghetti and with garlic bread.