Pin-It Tuesday: Tomato Soup

As you can see, I have been on a soup kick lately. Butternut squash soup, chicken taco soup and now tomato soup, which surprisingly I used to never like. I think it was the texture and the fact that I wanted pasta with it. Plus I wasn't a huge tomato fan as a child and still sometimes can't eat a fresh slice unless its a really good tomato.

I found this recipe on my beloved Pinterest, and what really drew me to it were the mozzarella bites. I didn't make the bites though because they will not reheat well and I'm taking the soup to work . But I put a large container of this soup in the freezer and when I reheat that batch, I will make the bites then (stay tuned). But I figure that I can just add mozzarella to the soup for work and get some of the joy.

Another thing that drew me to this recipe was that it allowed me to use my favorite kitchen gadget, (like ever!) the Food Network Immersion Blender. Seriously if you don't have one, ask for one for Christmas, or treat yourself to one. You will not regret it!

My Blender and Me!

And of course, I can't cook without some wine - tonight's varietal --- Staller Estate Estate Blanc, light crisp fruit with a hint of sweet and made right in Delavan, Wisconsin. I definitely need to go visit this vineyard and try their other wines because I really liked this one.

Ok, sorry for the blender and wine rant. Back to the soup, I again altered the original recipe slightly to fit my tastes and allow me to be creative. I have become a big fan of vodka spaghetti sauces so I decided that I would add a bit of vodka to this soup and see how it goes.

I doubled the batch right away and added in some zucchini - had it lying around and thought..eh, why not! I cut back on the onion because when dicing it, it was already overpowering the kitchen. I was going to add green peppers, but I didn't want that to be the only thing I taste because they tend to do that in dishes I make.

I used five Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese wedges in place of the cream cheese. I felt that is a fair substitute and will add a more cheesy flavor.

After the soup simmered and I attacked it with the blender, I added a bit more pepper, some oregano and some onion powder. I let it sit for 15 minutes and grabbed a spoon. It's not smooth like a Campbell's Tomato soup, but I think I prefer that way. Your buds can pick out the individual flavors and how they play off each other so well. Not sure I could taste any of the vodka that I love in the pasta sauces, but I didn't make any soup without the vodka to be able to see if there was a noticeable difference.

I can't wait to have this for lunch with a baguette or piece of french bread. If only I could make grilled cheese at work, but I don't want a soggy microwave melted cheese sandwich and there is no toaster available. Any suggestions on how to make a grilled cheese with only microwaves at my disposal at work?