Goodbye 2007!

I can't believe 2007 is already over, it went by so fast. I am sure tonight a lot of you will be celebrating and may not feel so great tomorrow morning. This recipe is PURE comfort food and just might help revive your senses in 2008.

We are making Creamy Tomato Soup with Romano Cheese Toast. You can definitely make this with traditional grilled cheese but the cheese toast is easier, faster and has less fat. I have lost 20 lbs in 2007 and I plan on losing more in 2008!

Your ingredients.


Your steps.


I only had a 28oz can of tomatoes and they are crushed not diced but you will be blending this anyway so it doesn't really matter.


This recipe calls for butter or olive oil. Use olive oil if you'd like but please don't use margarine, real butter or olive oil tastes better and is better for you.


Get it melting...


The recipe calls for leeks, shallot or onion. I LOVE shallots. I use them in place of onions in almost every recipe. They have a flavor that is almost a mix of onion and garlic. If you will learn one thing about me, I adore garlic. That is definitely one of the benefits of cooking for yourself, you can season the food how you want to.


If you don't know how to dice an onion check out this video on Chow.com.


Slap the lid on and measure out your flour.


Throw in the flour and stir it up for half a minute.


Toss in your tomatoes and water. The recipe calls for the tomatoes that come seasoned with basil, oregano and garlic so I added those seasonings.








Throw the lid on to let the soup simmer and grab a loaf of bread. I always have wonder bread around because that is the SO's bread of choice but use whatever you have.


Grab some grated cheese or grate some yourself.


Sprinkle it on the bread and stick it in the broiler for a minute or in your toaster oven. A toaster oven is very convenient if you cook for yourself. It is very, very convenient if you cook for yourself and live in the desert and don't want to heat your whole house with the regular oven.

I have one of these handy immersion blenders for making soups.



Emeril calls this a boat motor, its pretty fun to use. If you don't have one a blender or food processor works fine. Be careful as the soup is hot so you may want to let it cool.


Stir in your half and half.


you are done! grab your toasts and cut them into sticks with your pizza wheel or just leave as is.




Enjoy!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Years Eve!