I think my favourite comfort supper of all, especially on a cold and rainy day, has got to be tomato soup with a toasted cheese sandwich.
The soup all rich and full of ripe tomato flavours . . .
The Sandwich all crisp and buttery and filled with oodles of meltingly rich cheddar cheese . . .
I got to thinking about that at work today . . . the rain pelting down on the windows was so miserable and I was longing for comfort . . . and then I had the thought . . .
what if you combined the two . . .
You know . . . like onion soup . . .
the rich tomato soup laying beneath a toasted crouton covered in lucious cheese, all melted and bubbling on top.
The idea of it was all I could think about the whole morning through.
I could hardly wait to get home so that I could make it.
It was gorgeously scrumptious, comforting and . . . very . . . very . . . moreish.
*Cheese Crusted Tomato Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Tomato soup and grilled cheese has to be the epitome of soulful comfort food. I have combine the two here in a delightfully delicious combination. This has real wow factor.
For the soup:
2 TBS butter
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
24 ounces chicken stock
3 ounces tomato paste
1 400g tin of chopped tomatos
1 heaped TBS dried basil
salt and black pepper to taste
For the Cheese Crouton:
2 large crusty rolls
6 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
chopped fresh parsley to garnish
First make the soup. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until very fragrant. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, tomatoes and dried basil. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt and black pepper to taste. It is at this point where you can blitz it with a stick blender and make it really smooth if that is what you like, or you can blitz it just a little bit so that it is still a bit chunky.
Heat the grill to high. Cut the ends off of each of your rolls and then cut the middles into two thick slices. Toast them on both sides under the grill.
Place four heavy soup bowls on an oven tray. You want bowls that will be safe under the grill. Ladle the hot soup into the bowls, dividing it equally amongst the four dishes. Float a slice of toasted bread on top of each, then sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese evenly over top, again dividing it equally amongst the four dishes.
Slide the tray with the filled soup bowls under the grill and grill until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove from the grill and serve immediately with a garnish of chopped fresh parsley on top of each. Enjoy!
Note - Warn your eaters that the bowls will be hot!
Well, its Sunday and you know what that means. A recap of all the meals I cooked or ate over the previous week. My Meals of the Week. I am really enjoying gathering these meals together each week. It helps me to plan my meals for the week ahead and helps me to keep a note of exactly what and how I am eating.
It is all to tempting when you are a person who lives all on your own to eat out of cans, takeaways or frozen meals. My mother lived on her own from the age of 53 until she passed away at the age of 87. She always cooked for herself. She never ate out unless it was with other people. Occasionally she would treat herself to a TV dinner buying them when they were on special. She liked the turkey one. No surprise there as I love turkey also, just not in a TV dinner.
Mom always enjoyed feeding herself healthy meals for the most part. She also enjoyed a glass of red wine every night and a small dish of ice cream. Oh how I miss her.
I am taking a leaf from her book, and making sure that I eat a decent meal every day of the week, and I am enjoying bringing you along for the ride. Hopefully you will be inspired to do the same and maybe even get some new ideas from what I am cooking for your own meals!
Here is what I cooked myself over the past week. (Where I have eaten out, I have provided a similar option so that you can cook it yourself.) Let me know what you think!
SUNDAY, May 14th - Mother's Day
This was Mother's day and I was treated to a dinner out by my daughter Eileen and Son In Law Tim. Tim's mother was also there. We went to Angie's, which is a restaurant very close to me, and we both had the turkey dinner, small eaters size.
Of course it was not like my own Homemade Turkey Dinner (this one is sized for two people), but it was very good. Eileen had the meatloaf and Tim had his usual fish and chips. For dessert Jean (Tim's mom) and I split a slice of Turtle Cheesecake. Oh my but it was some good!
MONDAY, May 15th - Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
I just wanted something simple for my supper on Monday so I made myself a tasty Grilled Cheese Sandwich and some crispy baked potato wedges, and some coleslaw on the side.
I set aside half of the potato wedges to serve on another day and enjoyed the ones I did on the day very much. That is the good thing about them. You can reheat them very easily. It was a delicious dinner for sure!
TUESDAY, May 16th - 5-Minute Steak Dinner for One
I had been to the grocery store and was lucky enough one day a couple of weeks ago and scored two nice strip loin steaks marked down as they were on their sell-by date. I froze them.
On Tuesday I thawed one of them out to make a recipe that I had seen on Food 52 for a delicious steak dinner for one, which had a fabulous sounding sauce to serve with it. Of course it had green beans in the recipe as well, and I just heated up the leftover potato wedges from the day before. DELICIOUS!
WEDNESDAY May 17th - Dinner out with Dad
Wednesday nights I usually go out for dinner with my father and his friends. Dad wanted to treat me this week as I had taken him to the Doctors up country on Monday for his check up.
Dad and I both had the fish and chips. Hazel had the clams and chips. Dad had apple pie with whipped cream for dessert, Hazel had her usual Chocolate Fudge Sundae and I had a small bowl of ice cream. I usually get the kiddies cone without the cone. It is soft serve ice cream. The fish and chips were okay this week, the fish was a bit over cooked, but they were very busy with a large birthday party in attendance.
If you are wanting a delicious way to cook fish that is always perfectly cooked and never day, why not try out my recipe for Baked Haddock with a Buttery Cracker Topping. This is quite simply one of the most delicious ways to cook fish and it always turned out perfectly.
THURSDAY, May 18th - Cacio e Pepe
On Thursday I was in the mood for pasta and so I made myself some Cacio e Pepe. It was a dish that I had wanted to try out for a very long time. I downsized it to feed two people. I had the leftovers for breakfast on Friday.
Does anyone else out there enjoy leftovers for breakfast? I love having leftover pizza or mac and cheese for breakfast. Cacio e Pepe is a simple pasta dish that uses only the pasta, some of the pasta cooking water, some cheese, olive oil and plenty of pepper. I have seen some people add butter also. It is simple and its delicious. I enjoyed this along with a tossed salad. (I was wishing I had garlic bread, lol)
FRIDAY, May 19th - Tuna Burger
On Friday I really felt like having a Tuna Burger. I have been making Tuna Burgers since I was a teenager. They are really simple to make and incredibly delicious. I always enjoy them with a bit of cheese melted on top, served in a toasted bun with some lettuce and tomato. Lemon Mayonnaise is also very nice spread on the bun, or even tartar sauce.
You could serve these with potato chips on the side if you wished, or salad, even coleslaw. I always find them to be very filling so am happy with just the burger.
SATURDAY, May 20th - Chicken Tikka Masala
When I lived in the UK, Saturday nights were usually the nights that people enjoyed a nice curry supper or a Chinese. This week I was craving curry and so I made a small batch of my favorite Chicken Tikka Masala. My sister stopped by after I had cooked it and she said, it smells fantastic in here, what are you cooking? This recipe is from one of my favorite chef's Tamasin Day-Lewis and is a simple to make and incredibly tasty version of the UK's favorite curry. Not too spicy, creamy and delicious!
I enjoyed with some steamed basmati rice and some mango chutney on the side. I was wishing for some Peshwari Naan bread. Oh how I miss Peshwari Naan. It is my favorite of all the Naan Breads. It has a filling of coconut, raisins and almonds. I will have to try the recipe linked and see how it compares. Watch this space.
And those were my meals of the week for this past week. As you can see I ate very well. I even managed to eat fish twice!
I organized my larder on Thursday. It was in a right mess. If you can't see what you have you can't use it. I moved all of my cans and jars out to the attached garage to my house. It stays a pretty level temperature in there. Not too hot. Not too cold. And its dark. Now I can see everything and I am sure to use it up. I think I have a bazillion cans of tomatoes and creamed corn. DUH! I won't need to buy any of that for a while!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Here I am with another Sunday Meals of the Week post. This is the day I generally share with you all of the main meals that I have cooked for myself in the previous week. A delicious recap of how I have been feeding myself.
I determined when I moved into my own place that I as not going to become one of those people who ate out of cans and boxes, not while I had the ability to cook for myself that is. I am a person who loves to cook and I think I would be rather bored eating ready-meals and frozen dinners. So as long as I can cook, I WILL cook!
I also hate waste so I always try to use up everything that I have as much as possible. Its very hard sometimes, so I tend to shop for myself every few days now rather than once a week. I find that the fresh ingredients like salad, etc. just don't last any longer than a few days. I would rather go a bit more often and throw out less.
If, along the way, I can inspire some of you with some of your menu planning, then that makes me very happy.
Here are my meals for the past week. If I have eaten out, I have endeavored in most cases to provide you with a recipe that you can make at home. I hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed eating the meals and writing it up!
SUNDAY, May 21st - Most Sunday's I have Sunday Dinner at my sister's place. I love these Sunday dinners. It is something I missed when I was living over in the UK. There were no family dinners. I had no family there and my then husband's family lived far too far away from us to entertain such an idea. Needless to say I really appreciate these family times.
This week it was Air Fryer Roast Chicken with all the fixings.
For dessert she had a made a homemade Banana Cake with whipped cream. It was a simple and easy cake, no frosting, but it was really moist and delicious.
MONDAY, May 22nd - Amish Country Casserole
On Monday I made a half batch of this delicious Amish Country Casserole. The recipe posted is a small batch version, which makes four servings, but I cut it in half yet again as there is just me, which gave me some to enjoy on the day and some to pop into a freezer container for another time.
This is a fabulously tasty casserole. Those Amish really no how to cook. Cheap, cheerful and delicious. I enjoyed this with a salad on the side and some Easy Stuffed Cheesy Bread. It was a great meal!
TUESDAY, May 23rd - Macaroni and Cheese Meatloaf Casserole
I wanted to take something delicious over to my sister's for their supper. I knew she would not mind me removing a small serving for myself. This is a wonderful casserole that I got from a blog called Full Bellies Happy Kids.
This was simply wonderful! What you have is a base composed of BBQ glazed meatloaf. On top is a rich layer of macaroni and cheese. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this. I had a nice salad on the side.
WEDNESDAY, May 24th - Dinner out with Dad
On Wednesday nights I always have dinner out with my father and his friends. We go to a local eatery. I had the Hot Turkey Sandwich with potatoes and coleslaw. It was really delicious.
Slices of turkey meat in between two slices of bread slathered with gravy. Carrots (not peas) on the side. This week I did not have any dessert. The best part is having dinner with my dad.
THURSDAY, May 25th - Lunch out at Jonny's Cookhouse
My sister and I had to take my father into Kentville on Thursday morning to see his heart specialist. We decided to stop at Jonny's Cookhouse on the way back and treat us all to some fish and chips. Sorry I had already broken into my fish before I remembered to take a photograph! The pieces of fish were huge. We could not eat it all. There was also coleslaw and tartar sauce.
This is a photograph I took of my father enjoying his fish and chips. Everyone in my family enjoys fish and chips. Most of the time when we go out it is what we all order. Jonny's fish and chips was really good. All of their food is really good. Usually my sister and I order the True Newf Poutine when we are there, but this time we fancied a change. You can find my Copy Cat recipe for the True Newf here. Its fabulous!
FRIDAY, May 26th - Sausage, Beans and Boursin Stuffed Jacket Potatoes
After eating out for two days in a row, it was nice to enjoy a meal at home. I had some chipolata (breakfast) sausages which I cooked, along with some tinned beans and baked these delicious stuffed jacket potatoes to enjoy on the side. Home cooked meals are always the best.
There was one time back in the late 1970's that my ex husband and I were moving with our family from Northern Alberta to Southern Alberta. While we were waiting for our furniture to arrive, believe it or not, I spend 21 days living in a motel room with two toddlers, a new born baby and a cat. I was never so happy to move into my own place and eat anything but restaurant food in my life! You do get tired of it!
SATURDAY, May 27th - Crispy Chicken Salad
After all of the heavy eating and eating out this week, I fancied something light and so I made myself one of my favorite Chicken salads. It was also a lovely and warm summery day, so a tasty salad was more than welcome.
This one boasts a lovely mixed leaf base with some carrots, cucumber and tomatoes. The chicken itself is lightly coated in a Parmesan Bread crumb, and briefly fried until crispy, finishing it off in the oven A delicious creamy Parmesan and Lemon dressing is drizzled over top. Yep, tis salad season for sure!
And there you have it, my meals of the week for the past week. I wonder what the next week will bring??? Its exciting to think about! (Or is that just me!)
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
When I was growing up, you could tell what night of the week it was just by what we were having for supper.
Saturday night we had comfort food. It would be either stew or baked beans or something like that. On Sunday we had a big dinner . . . probably a roast of one kind or another. Mondays was leftovers from Sunday dinner . . . Tuesdays, spaghetti . . . Wednesdays, porkchops . . . Thursdays, chicken . . . and then the piece de resistance was Friday night . . .
HOT DOG night!
My mom made the best hotdogs in the world!! All the kids in the neighborhood would vie to be invited over for hotdog night. She used to buy the hotdog buns that had soft bread sides. They were buttered and toasted in the sandwich grill, until they were buttery brown all over, just like a grilled cheese sandwich. The weiners were toasted on the grill as well. Sometimes she would even split the weiners down the middle, so that they opened out flat like a book, and the insides got all tasty and crispy too. Grilled onions and all the hot dog accompaniments were on offer of course . . . relish, mustard, ketchup.
She'd wrap each one up in paper kitchen towelling to keep them warm, and we'd each be allowed to have two of them. Let me tell you . . . they were a real treat!
Can you tell that I just love hotdogs????
That was one thing I missed a lot when I first moved over here. I couldn't find them anywhere.
Well, that's not entirely true. I lie . . .
I was able to find these. Tinned hotdogs. UGH . . . there's no other word for them, and yet they sell loads. They also sell them soaked in brine . . . in jars. DOUBLE UGH.
To a hotdog connoiseur, they just didn't cut the mustard!!! (every pun intended, tee hee) They are the 'WURST' (double tee hee)
Anyways, I have since been able to find fresh ones . . . and whilst they are still not as good as the ones back home . . . they are still loads better than the tinned or brined ones.
The best hotdogs of all, of course, are the ones back home that you get at country fairs or at ball games . . . oh and from street vendors of course . . . or the 400 Flea Market just outside of Barrie, Ontario.
Ahh . . . the smell of frying onions . . . it gets you everytime . . .
This is my take on a delicious memory, my own personal tribute to my mother's hotdog nights.
It is Friday after all . . .
*Ball Park Pizza for Two*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe
If you are a fan of hotdogs, you will love this cosy little pizza. It's just the perfect size for two to share.
Dough:
110g self raising flour
25g of butter
4 TBS milk
2 ounces of grated sharp cheddar cheese
Topping:
4 smoked frankfurters, cut into 1/2 inch sliced
2 heaping dessert spoons of barbeque sauce
1/2 of a small onion, peeled and chopped
1 heaping dessertspoon of hotdog relish
1 TBS of American style yellow mustard
4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Sift the flour into a bowl. Rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the cheese. Mix well, then stir in the milk with a fork, until you have a soft dough.
Butter a large baking tray and press the dough out onto the tray to a 9 inch round, about 1/4 inch thick. (The thinner the dough the crisper your crust will be)
Mix together the sliced frankfurters, onion, barbeque sauce, hotdog relish and mustard. Sprinkle this over top of the dough, leaving a 1 inch border all the way around. Top with the shredded cheese.
Bake in the heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until crispy and brown on the bottom and the cheese is bubbling.
Note - instead of a scone type of dough, you can use regular pizza type dough, and make a larger pizza for the family. Just increase the amounts of the toppings.
2 large free range eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups milk, at room temperature (308ml)
1 cup flour (140g)
a little oil or dripping
Preheat your oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 7.
Place a small amount of oil or dripping into each cup of 2 yorkshire pudding pans, each with 4 holes. (Alternately you can bake it in a large shallow roasting tin as one piece which you cut into squares later). Place the tins into the hot oven to heat up until the fat is hot and sizzling. Remove from the oven and quickly divide the batter amongst each hole, filling them about 2/3 full. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until well risen, browned and crispy, reducing the oven temperature by 5*C/10*F every five minutes.
In my opinion these are even better than Tacos. Probably because they are like little puffy pies and as those who know me well should know by now, if it is in a crust I am all over it.
These almost remind me of the pizza pops my youngest son used to love eating. Oh boy. Did you have a fussy eater when you were bringing your children up?
Cheesy Taco Puffs
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 TBS sugar
- 1/2 cup (110g) white vegetable shortening such as Crisco or Trex (UK)
- 2/3 cup (180ml) milk
- 1 pound (450g)extra lean ground steak
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 TBS mild chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups (245g) grated medium to strong cheddar cheese
- fresh milk to brush on top
- sesame seed to sprinkle
- flour to dust the counter for rolling
Instructions
- Make the filling first so that you can cool it before stuffing the pockets.
- Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Add the ground steak, garlic, and minced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften. Add all of the herbs and spices along with a few tablespoons of water to moisten.
- Cook, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink and is beginning to brown. Set aside to cool completely while you make the biscuit dough.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Stir in the sugar and salt. Drop in the shortening and cut it in with a pastry blender or two round bladed knives until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
- Using a fork, stir in enough of the milk to give you a soft dough that isn't overly sticky.
- Dust a flat surface with some flour. Tip the dough onto it and knead a few times. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Using a floured cutter, cut into 12 6-inch rounds, gathering any scraps and re-rolling out the dough as required.
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with some baking paper.
- Place six of the dough rounds onto the lined baking sheet. Top each with 1/6 of the meat mixture and then divide the cheese between all six rounds, placing it on top of the meat. Leave a small border all the way around.
- Brush the border of each with a bit of milk. Top with the remaining six rounds (you may have to stretch them a tiny bit)and crimp shut with a fork.
- Brush the tops with a bit of milk and sprinkle with some sesame seeds. Cut a tiny vent into the top of each with a pair of kitchen scissors.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Social Icons