Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

This is an unbeatable combination! (Can you tell the cold weather influenced my grocery shopping? Lots of soups!) Homemade Tomato Soup is so easy and it's much tastier than the canned variety. These grilled cheeses have another layer of flavor from pesto that was left over from Friday's make-your-own pizza party. Enjoy!

Tomato Soup
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 large cans whole tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into strips (also a leftover from Friday night)
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup milk or cream (optional)

1. Sauté onion and garlic in hot oil over medium heat until onion is tender. Add in tomatoes and next 7 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree tomato mixture until desired consistency. (If you don't have one of these, you can either use diced canned tomatoes or pour the mixture in a food processor.) Stir in milk, if desired.

Pesto Grilled Cheeses
Sourdough bread slices
Melted butter
Basil pesto
Provolone cheese slices
Sliced plum tomatoes

1. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter on both sides of each bread slice. Place bread on grill pan, and cook until golden brown. Remove bread from pan. Spread pesto on grilled sides of bread; layer half of bread slices, grilled side up, with provolone cheese and slice tomatoes (it works best if you have cheese on top and bottom of tomatoes). Top with remaining bread slices, grilled sides down. Place sandwiches on grill pan, and cook on both sides until golden brown.