I'm currently on a kick where I'll make a lot of one thing and eat it day in and day out until I can't stand it any more. It helps with time and I get to perfect it instead of making an attempt at a different thing every night.
So right now, my go-to dinner is homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.
Tasty, satisfying, inexpensive, quick to prepare, and you get a full serving of vegetables in there as well.
So the only thing I'm missing is a protein. Sure, there's a bit in the cheese, but definitely not enough to make a good weeknight dinner. But that's the problem: what (inexpensive) protein source goes well with tomato soup and cheese? Some sort of bean preparation? Chicken?
add some good deli ham to your grilled cheese? devil a couple of eggs?
Stir in some low-fat yogurt to the tomato soup to make it creamy and give extra protein. Same for cream cheese, neufchatel, marscapone etc.
Add tuna to your grilled cheese.
- +1 for adding ham to your grilled cheese
- stir cooked beans or lentils into the soup
- quiche...or if you're not up to the effort, scrambled eggs or an omelet
My boyfriend was raised by Aussie parents, and he goes apeshit for tomato soup + sardines on buttered toast. (I haven't tried it myself.) You could also do a tuna melt :) Mmm...
ooh, or a strip of bacon....
i just did a little label checking and ezekiel bread has 4 grams of protein per slice. it makes a good grilled cheese, too. i think most sprouted-grain breads will add a little punch to the protein level.
...mmm....bacon....or ham
or
sausage
or
egg (you can poach it in the tomato soup)
or
baked beans
but not
chicken....
Make your grilled cheese sandwiches with whole wheat bread and you have a complete protein.
Other than that, I always liked tuna sandwiches with tomato soup when I was a kid. And now I think a nice tabouleh salad is lovely with it.
To the sandwich with cheese: smoked turkey, sliced roast beef, corned beef or pastrami, egg salad & bacon, fried or grilled chicken; make an open faced tuna or chicken salad melt.
For soup add in's: chopped ham, chorizo, cooked chopped pork & crumbled queso fresco (add some tortilla chips for crunch & dipping). Add some canned & rinsed beans such as black beans, chickpeas, red beans for protein... Other flavor enhancers are blue cheese crumbles, mushrooms, frozen & thawed green peas, etc.
There is a Chinese restaurant in Tampa that on occassion puts 'Tomato Bass' on the specials board...
The fluffy white pieces of fish filet (striped bass) goes so nice with the creamy tomatoey soup....
I think the fish might be poached in the soup...
There are also bamboo shoots, soft plum tomato segments, and egg, swirled in like they do in egg drop soup.... It's a gorgeous combination of visuals, tastes, and textures---- and real nice served with white rice...
I can see scallops and sliced shrimp being good in there too...
My winter go-to dinner is always hot tomato soup with rice, grilled cheese and breaded-fried fish (flounder, tilapia - whatever looks good).
like others said, beans (black or navy or LIMA) to the soup (or you could add beans to the grilled cheese too - pinto or black!)
TVP would be a good toothsome addition to the soup - similar to adding ground meat, but more fiber and no fat
Egg whites -- drizzle them in like egg drop soup (beat them with salt and pepper first tho)
Seared scallops or shrimp would also make a nice addition
Tuna sandwich is my go to tomato soup pairing!
Pair it with a baked potato, or baked sweet potato, topped with sour cream. Voila, complete protein.
add some harissa and chickpeas to the soup -- or use as a side salad with cukes and red onions + lemon juice, cilantro.
Toast pumpkin seeds and sprinkle over, great source of protein!
Thomas Keller's BLT with a fried egg and cheese is great comfort food, and would go really well with the soup. You could use a good whole-grain bread for a little nutrition.
Chicken salad always goes well with tomato soup IMO.
Don't laugh.... how about homemade fish sticks? The French call them "Goujonettes," and they take on new meaning when you make them of strips of real fish fillets. ;)
Is this still open? Anyways, I usually buy cod or talapia fillet from my local walmart, then bread it with coconut flour instead of regular enriched all-purpose bleached cr@p, and panfry using butter or non-stick spray instead of deepfry. Season with salt, garlic and onion powder, ground peppercorn, etc., the usual, while on the pan, or before you dip the fillet into the egg batter. For a nice and healthy kick, squeeze some lime or lemon juice on top whilst frying. Garnish with either parsley or cilantro - I prefer the latter because minced green onions and cilantro are amazing with tomato soup. Voila. A bit of extra work, but you will get a very satisfying meal both for your stomach and tastebuds.
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