Before we move on to today’s shenanigans, I just want to say thanks to all of you, my friends, for your kind words and well wishes for Chris’s dad. We both appreciate it so much. There is continuing improvement, we’re moving him to his new facility today, and we hope to have him back home before Thanksgiving. And his new digs are in Charlotte, so no more up and down the highway to visit! Booyah!
So, how was your Halloween? We don’t usually get a lot of trick or treaters because we live in a cul-de-sac, so we normally just go out for dinner then hang out and watch the tube. This year we had some little visitors come to our hood for the trick and treat festivities. They live in the woods in the middle of nowhere, so they have to go somewhere else or they get zero candy. We hadn’t been trick or treating in so long! We totally had a blast!
The weather was nice for us on Halloween, but now it’s all rainy and gloomy. It isn’t terribly cold, but all things considered, it was time for some comfort food. My garden is still producing tomatoes, so I had a boatload of them accumulating on my counter. It was a win-win over here. A perfect way to use up all these tomatoes and a twist on one of the most classic combos ever – the grilled cheese and tomato soup.
I know this will come as a shock, but I decided to change things up a bit. Now, I’m totally not above opening a can of Campbells and dunking some Kraft American grilled cheese in there – and maybe throwing in some Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Goldfish Crackers because those things are crack.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is not a sponsored post. I’m fairly certain that the nice people at Pepperidge Farms would not take kindly to me comparing their baby goldfish crackers to crack. I’m just sayin’.
Any-hoo, I like croutons in my soup and what better crouton then a grilled cheese? I also like goat cheese in my tomato soup, but decided to go a different direction and mix in some mascarpone that I had in my fridge.
I highly recommend it! Have a great week, y’all!
Roasted Tomato and Mascarpone Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
Ingredients
Roasting the Tomatoes
- 2 pounds mixed variety tomatoes halved
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil - enough to coat the tomatoes
- sprinkle of salt
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves minced
- 1 small white onion diced
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
- pinch of pepper
- 4 ounces mascarpone
- 4 pieces sliced bread
- 4 slices American cheese
- 2-3 tablespoons butter
- basil for garnish if desired
Instructions
For the Soup
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Preheat oven to 325
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Add tomatoes to a parchment paper lined baking sheet, toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
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Roast at 325 for 1 hour - time will vary according to size of tomatoes, but you want them soft
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Cool enough to handle and pull the peel off
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In a Dutch oven over medium heat melt the butter into the olive oil, add onions, cook for 2-3 minutes, add garlic, and cook another minute
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Add roasted tomatoes, vegetable stock, sugar, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce, and simmer for 30-45 minutes
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Stir in mascarpone until mostly melted and mix with a hand blender until smooth - you can use a regular blender, but you'll want to work in batches
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Strain soup through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds
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Return to pot, adjust seasonings
For the Grilled Cheese Croutons
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You can totally make your grilled cheese the way your mama taught you, but this is what I did
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Melt 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons of butter in a nonstick skillet over medium to low heat, add 2 pieces of bread, then 2 pieces of cheese on each, top with remaining 2 slices of bread
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When the bottom is golden brown and cheese is melty, flip until the other side is also golden brown and cheese it toatlly melted - if there is not enough butter left in the pan, I just remove both sandwiches from the pan, melt some more butter, and finish the uncooked side
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Cut into bite sized pieces
To Serve
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Transfer soup to bowls, toss in grilled cheese croutons, garnish with basil if desired
It is all about those grilled cheese croutons – the perfect addition to tomato soup.
We don’t usually get any trick or treaters, but this year we had 12. I had to share my chocolate with them 🙁
Booooo! I’m sorry you had to share your chocolate!
Tomato soup is one of my favorites, especially in the fall. This version looks fantastic, Rachelle! I love the mascarpone and grilled cheese croutons. Sounds perfect!
Thanks Gayle! Tomato soup is one of my favorites too!
We live in a cul-de-sac, too…and we had all of 4 trick-or-treaters. Well, 5 if you could the Dad that I gave a pack of mini-Oreos to. He looked cold and lonely. Maybe I should have given him a bowl of this soup, though…it looks like the ultimate comfort food for a chilly November day! I love the grilled cheese croutons!
I fell bad for the sad dad! 🙂 I’m sure he would have appreciated some warm soup. Thanks, David!
Love roasted tomato soup! This looks delicious – love the cheesy croutons! So perfect for a chilly day – I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! Thanks so much for sharing, Rachelle!
Thanks Jess! I hope you like it!
tomato soup is my all time favorite! Love this one! And there is mascarpone in it? I can only imagine how creamy and delicious it is!
Thanks Mira! The mascarpone was definitely a wise move!
We never get any trick or treaters either, but the neighbor, who lives part of the year in Arizona got 900 kids down there one year. I can’t even imagine. I’d hide! Haha. This soup looks so wonderful! I love the idea of grilled cheese croutons. That’s fabulous!
Heaven’s to Betsy! 900 in one night? I would hide too! Thanks Amanda!
I say Yes to this. Yes to all of it! And nothing is cuter than a mini grilled cheese…am I right? This rocks, girlfriend!
Thanks Annie! YOU rock! 🙂
Omg, this soup is basically everything I love about soup. Creamy, full of flavor, and topped with delicious croutons! Pinning 🙂
Thanks Medha! I love a creamy soup too! Thanks so much for the Pin!
Oh yay!! I’m Soooo glad that Chris’s dad is doing better! AND that his new place is in Charlotte! Fantastic news! You already know I did diddly squat for halloween, but in glad you had some visitors and had fun! Woot to that! Anyways this soup. Yes! Just.YAAHHHSSS! Love grilled cheese crutons and I love tomato soup! But mascarpone in the soup? Gahhhh! I MUST have that! This is getting made, because all this nasty weather calls for this deliciousness! Cheers, darling!
Thanks friend! He looked so much better today than he did last weekend, so we are hopeful.
We usually do diddly squat too, but had the opportunity to change things up at the last minute. I’m glad too, because we really did have a blast. I forgot how fun trick or treating is! And this weather has been totally nasty! I think fall has arrived to our NC! And yeah, the mascarpone is what made the difference here. Cheers babes!
Yay that Chris’s Dad will be closer!! That will make life way easier 🙂 Did I read this correctly…cheese in the soup AND cheese in the lil’ sandwiches? Gurrrl, you crazy but in a fantastically cheesy way!! Also, you opened up your door on Halloween? That’s brave considering the scary clown is out there somewhere. BTW, my crack is the parmesan cheese Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers so glad if we ever meet, that we won’t have to compete with one another for the same goldfish flavor.
It’s a total relief to have him in Charlotte, Karrie! Yeah, I’m totally cheesy and crazy! 🙂 I did open my door, but the scary clown is under my bed and I had my 4 big dogs handy – just in case! OMG – I do love the parmesan goldfish too, so no promises!
We got some trick and treaters, it was fun handing out the candies 🙂 The funniest part was when we kept a basket full of candies outside and when we opened the door after 10 minutes, it was EMPTY, like not even a single candy left. We couldn’t stop laughing! haha The soup looks fantastic Rachelle, perfect color!
Girl, leaving the basket outside unsupervised is a total rookie move! The big kids take it all! LOL! 🙂
So glad Chris’s Dad is doing better! Great that he will be closer to you too! This soup is one of my favorites, and those grilled cheese croutons are perfect! Enjoy your week Rachelle!
Thanks Mary Ann! He looked so much better today and having him close is such a relief! Enjoy your week too!
Roasted tomatoes makes for the most EPIC soups.
You speak the truth!
Grilled Cheese CROUTONS?!?! Um. Hello genius. Man I miss those AMAZING and so simple sandwiches!
Ah man! Life without grilled cheese is a total bummer!
These soup looks fabulous, Rachlle. So comforting and full of yummy flavors. And Grilled Cheese CROUTONS is a genius idea! SUPER.
Thanks girlfriend!
So glad Chris’s dad is doing better and that his new place is closer to you guys now. Tomato soup is such a classic favorite and I love that you added mascarpone! It looks so creamy and delicious!
Thanks Kelly! I hope it’s a bit easier with him closer. And the mascarpone was delicious in there!
This looks so good and that mascarpone in soup – yumm!!!
Thanks Ami!
This is brilliant! First i love how you used mascarpone cheese in the soup! I totally agree that soup always taste better with something crunchy on top! I love the grilled cheese croutons…you get the crunchiness of the bread and the creaminess of the cheese…yum!!
Thanks girls! If you don’t have goldfish crackers, just chop up a grilled cheese and toss it in! 🙂
LOVE roasted tomato soup! This looks perfect for a cold, rainy day. We get a lot of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, but it was chilly and rainy so I’m stuck with an extra bag of candy that my husband keeps forgetting to take to work.
He’s not forgetting that candy! He wants to save it for himself! 🙂
This is the ultimate comfort food! I love to dunk my grilled cheese into my tomato soup…why not just turn them into croutons? Great idea!
Thanks Kathy! It’s more efficient that way! 🙂
Usually I don’t wanna do any work, but this soup looks completely worth it. I love roasted tomatoes with a passion, and this soup is so happy!
And I’m glad Chris’ dad is doing better. That’s good news!
Happy soup! I like it! Thanks for the kind words for Chris’ dad too!
Oh my gawd…. how did I miss this?! This looks phenomenal! Gorgeous color and who doesn’t love grilled cheese croutons?! Seriously, who?! And I love the addition of mascarpone – talk about a wonderfully rich soup!
LOL! Thanks for making me laugh, Kathleen! I appreciate your enthusiasm! 🙂
Love roasted tomato soup, but never tried with mascarpone. This is the most exotic tomato soup I have ever seen. So good. Happy weekend.
Do it, girl! Happy weekend to you!