Tomato Soup

As promised, I tried to make tomato soup like I had last weekend.  I don't think I made it exactly like he did, but it was very tasty!

First, I browned 1/2lb of Bob Evans Hot Sausage.  Last weekend, my sister's boyfriend used Chorizo, but my neighborhood Kroger did not have any this morning, so hot sausage it was.  I browned it a bit past done because I wanted it to be crispy.  When it was done, I took it out of the pan and let it sit on paper towels to drain some of the grease.

I added olive oil to my pot and sweat 1 onion, 2 stalks celery, a handful of baby carrots (I will never use big carrots because I use baby carrots for so many other things, I can't find a reason to buy big ones), a poblano pepper, and 2 cloves garlic.  I think last weekend, my sister's BF used a jalepeno or maybe chipotle in adobo, but I like the flavor of poblanos and I didn't really care if it was a little less spicy.  Once the veggies were soft, I added 1 big can of peeled, whole tomatoes and 1 pint of veggie stock.  I brought it to a boil then lowered the temperature and simmered it for about 20 minutes.

While this was simmering, I prepared grilled cheese for broiling.  I used sourdough bread (no ciabbatta at Kroger) with cheddar and muenster cheese - delicious!

When the soup was done simmering, I chopped a handful of cilantro, added it to the pot, and then blended it all with my immersion blender.  I turned the heat off and melted in about 4oz goat cheese - wow, this makes it so creamy and really cuts the chance of it being too spicy.  I stirred in the sausage bits and everyone loved it!