YUM.

*grilled brie + apple sandwich with roasted tomato soup

and little floating basil leaves*

fordy is playing his first season of tackle football *gulp*, and for us this means that 4 weeknights are devoted to practice, and starting in a week another night (or morning) will mean game day. i think it's insane how intense the program is, but fordy loves it...no LOVES it. i mean, he loves it like i love the beatles. it's his thing, and i can't knock it for that reason.

so tonight, time being tight and smack dab in a middle of the summer dinner rut, i asked what could i make? and i fell back on a family favorite that is both fast and easy, but a more *ahem* doctored up version. my criteria was that it had to be healthy and for me vegetarian, and using ingredients i had in-house.

the solution: grilled brie + apple sandwiches and michael chiarello's roasted tomato soup. because of this recipe, i will never ever (never ever ever) eat campbell's tomato soup again. i used canned tomatoes, but if you have an overabundance of tomatoes, please make this soup! the extra step of roasting them really enhances the flavor and it's so fresh, lana and fordy prefer it over any soup that i've made.

here is the recipe if you'd like to give it a go:

michael chiarello's homeade tomato soup (via food network):

Ingredients
1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add basil and cream, if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.

*i substituted vegetable stock for the chicken stock and also used milk instead of cream, just to make it a little lighter.

(and thought i'd show and tell a photo of the little man in uniform...the photo doesn't emphasize it, but the shoulder pads are HUGE. makes me giggle everytime i see him).