Souper Snappy Tomato Soup

Tomato soup has never one of my favorites until I had the Tomato Basil Soup at la Madeleine.  It was so creamy and flavorful and homemade tasting, very much unlike the red-and-white canned version!  I have made a copycat  of their recipe before and it is very good, but it contains heavy cream.  I'm trying to lose a little weight and wanted to try a tomato soup without cream.  Cooks Illustrated is the source for this version which uses white bread to add body.  Because it comes together in a snap, I classify this as a ch-eat!

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup
Source:  Cooks Illustrated Magazine
(click here to print recipe)

2	T. extra virgin olive oil (original recipe called for 1/4 cup but I cut it back)
1	medium onion , chopped (about 1 cup)
3	medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
	pinch hot red pepper flakes (optional--I used 1/4 tsp.)
1	bay leaf
2	28-oz. cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
1	T. brown sugar
3	large slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
2	cups low-sodium chicken broth
2	T. brandy (optional--I omitted)
1/4	cup chopped fresh chives or green onion tops

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes (if using), and bay leaf.

Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain.

Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.

Transfer half of soup to blender. Process until soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining soup. 

Return soup to pot. Stir in chicken broth and brandy (if using). Return soup to boil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives or green onions, and drizzle with olive oil, if desired.

I estimated that this makes about six 12-oz. servings with about 170 calories per serving.

I don't have an immersion blender, but using it to blend the soup in the pot would be ideal if you own one.  I thought I would give an electric mixer a try instead.  EPIC FAIL.  Take my word for it.

Greek is Chic!

Yesterday was one c-r-a-z-y day!  You know the kind:  work, carpooling, after-school activities, more work.  In the accounting world, January is a beating.  But I still wanted to put a healthy dinner on the table for my family.  And I wanted to keep my New Year's resolution (at least for the first week!) to eat healthier.

Enter this Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken, which came together in about 30 minutes.  Take that, Rachel Ray.  It fit the bill: light, healthy, and fast.  Do you hear me, Ellie Krieger?  Sandra Lee calls this kind of dinner "semi-homemade."  I call it a "ch-eat."  (Guess I watch too much of the Food Network.)

Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken
Adapted from Allrecipes.com
(click here to print recipe)

Greek Salad Dressing and Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/4 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dijon mustard
2/3 cup red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients and stir well.  Set aside.

Salad Ingredients
Large bag baby spinach or chopped romaine or some of both
1 large cucumber
1/4 of a large red or sweet onion
Pitted Greek olives and marinated feta cheese from the olive bar at your grocery
    (or buy jarred, pitted Kalamata olives and a block of feta cheese and cut some up)
2 small plum tomatoes
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to even out the thickness

Use about 1/3 cup of the salad dressing to marinate the chicken breasts at room temperature for about 15 minutes.  Preheat your grill.

In the meantime, wash and spin dry the lettuce and/or spinach.  Peel and slice the cucumber, slice the tomato, and finely chop the onion.  If you're using a block of feta, cut it into small cubes.  Refrigerate the salad ingredients.

Grill the chicken breasts for about 7 minutes per side on medium-high heat.

Cut chicken into pieces.  Remove the salad ingredients from the refrigerator and load onions, greens, olives and feta into a gallon-sized ziptop bag.   Pour in enough dressing to coat the leaves lightly.  Shake it up.  Plate the salad and decoratively arrange the tomatoes, cukes, and chicken on top, dividing evenly into 4 portions.

To minimize the mess and maximize the flavor, toss large salads in ziptop bags.  You will use less salad dressing, and it will be more evenly distributed.  Besides, it's fun to shake it up!  I buy gallon and 2-gallon sized ziptop bags at the Dollar Tree for just this purpose.

Ch-eat Defined

Ch-eat
 

1)  semi-homemade;  packaged products combined with fresh ingredients that yield a tasty result 

2)  pretense or trick:  "No, I didn't soak and cook dried navy beans but used canned ones; it was a total ch-eat."

3)  an impostor: "The marinara sauce was a ch-eat and even fooled her grandmother because it tasted like it had  simmered for hours."