"Real Simple's" Tomato Soup

Last month I told you how I was going to go right down the list of quick dinners from Real Simple Magazine's  list of easy dinner recipes... Well, not exactly knocking them out!  I have made about 4 of them.  I have to make them when my husband is home (which is rare these days) because my kids don't have the appreciation for the food.  

From RealSimple.com

This recipe here, might have changed my life.  I don't know if I can ever buy a can of tomato soup again.  I am sure I will.  But I will regret it.  The soup recipe is e.a.s.y with a capital "E"!!  And delicious, delicious, delicious!!  AND...it freezes great!!!!  (Bonus.)

**Only one thing...I did not make the roast beef and horseradish paninis to go with the soup.  I made ham and swiss paninis- more of a crowd-pleaser in our house.

Tomato Soup With Roast Beef, Cheddar, and Horseradish Panini

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 20m | Total Time: 45m

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the grill pan
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 8 slices sandwich bread
• 8 ounces thinly sliced roast beef
• 8 ounces sharp white Cheddar, sliced
• 2 cups baby arugula (1 1/2 ounces)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes (with their juices), broth, thyme, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Working in batches, in a blender, puree the mixture until smooth.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and horseradish. Form sandwiches with the bread, roast beef, Cheddar, arugula, and half the horseradish mixture. Heat a lightly oiled grill pan over medium heat and cook the sandwiches until the cheese is melted, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Top the soup with the remaining horseradish mixture and serve with the sandwiches.

Kate's Two Cents:  Simple to make this way (vs. the canned).  Where has this been all my life?!  The taste is like you would expect in a restaurant!  I didn't measure the thyme.  I eyeballed it and probably used more...but it was perfect to me.  Everyone loved it!  

Next time I will:  not be lazy and dump the whole box of chicken broth in the pan because I didn't want to measure out 3 1/2 cups.  Or maybe I will!  The soup was a bit thinner than it was supposed to be, but still awesome!   Also I will probably double it and have more to freeze.