A Soup-er Sandwich

I love the day on my menu that calls for a delicious panini and a nice, steaming bowl of homemade soup! And that's exactly what tonight was - Soup and Sandwich night! I took that kickboxing class again (ouch!) so I got home a bit later tonight. Good thing I made my soup last night while we enjoyed our 'Za!

From Flickr - by AmberNectar 13

Soups are great because you can throw everything in the pot and then just let it go! I have recipes that call for only 1/2 an hour of real simmer time, while others call for 2-3 hours of the heat. Either way, you'll have a heartwarming bowl of goodness when the time is up! I knew I'd be getting home later tonight so, rather than eat dinner at 10pm, I decided it would work well to simmer that soup for the 2 hours it needed last night. I did all the necessary spice adjustments, blended it with my immersion blender, and strained it through a sieve to remove all the lumps. I let it cool a bit and then put it in the fridge, in anticipation of tonight's meal.

Tonight, when I came home, I assembled my paninis, turned on my panini grill (which I love! Thanks Bill and Heidi!), and started to heat up the soup...within 30 minutes, we had a delicious, comforting meal of steaming soup and a gooey panini!

Stir's White Bean Soup with Sage and Hazelnuts is a creamy, velvety soup, with none of the fatty dairy ingredients you'd think to find! It's just water, and white beans, and sage, but the depth of flavor would make you think there's 20 ingredients in there! As for the panini, I thought the soup would pair well with a Rustic Turkey Sandwich, with Apples and Brie. Once heated through, the few slices of Brie on each sandwich just started to ooze and get all gooey and delicious! I used a delicious seeded, wheat bread for this sandwich, and it really worked the rustic effect quite well!

Soups and sandwiches, or salads, make for a great, hearty meal. And if you plan ahead, it can most definitely work in your favor when you need something quick and easy. Heat up your soup, grill your panini and sit down to enjoy! Just like that! Making a pot of soup is a great weekend activity, and it makes your house smell SOOOOO good! Try it this weekend! :)