Ingredients

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Creamy Tomato Soup with Fresh Basil

• 2 28 ounce cans of San Marzano tomatoes

• ¼ cup of Challenge Butter

• 1 cup of diced onion (about one medium size onion)

• 1 cup of fresh rough chopped basil, plus 1/8 cup of diced basil for garnish

• 1-2 crushed cloves of garlic

• ¼ cup of olive oil

• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste

• 2 8 ounce packages of Challenge Cream Cheese, softened

• 1 cup of ½ and ½ or milk

 

 

 

Toasted Cheese Dippers

• 12 slices of good quality bread-I used bakery fresh sourdough

• 6 tablespoons of Challenge Butter Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil

• 2 cups of shredded Parmesan cheese

• 8 ounce tub of Challenge Salsa Flavored Cream Cheese Spread or unflavored original variety, softened

• 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• 1 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese, or your favorite variety

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to broil. Cover a baking sheet with foil.

2. To begin the Creamy Tomato Soup, place one can of tomatoes into a blender and pulse to puree. Pour tomatoes into a medium size pot.

3. In a medium skillet over medium high heat, add butter and diced onion. Cook until golden brown and soft, about 4 minutes. Place cooked onions into blender along with basil, garlic, olive oil, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and salt. Pulse until well blended. Add the remaining can of tomatoes and puree until smooth. Add tomato mixture to pot with pureed tomatoes. Stir all ingredients together, then place pot over medium high heat and bring to a low boil. Add cream cheese and stir or whisk until melted. Stir in ½ and half and remove from heat.

4. To create your Toasted Cheese Dippers, begin by combining Challenge Salsa Cream Cheese with shredded cheddar and pepper jack cheese in a medium bowl.

5. Cover one side of bread with Challenge Spreadable Butter. Dip buttered side of bread into shredded parmesan cheese. Spread cream cheese mixture on the unbuttered side of bread, top with second piece. Continuing with the remaining pieces of bread until you have created six sandwiches. Arrange the sandwiches on the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and broil until cheese is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Flip sandwiches over and broil the other side. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Cut each sandwich into four strips.

To serve, pour soup into serving bowls. Garnish with diced fresh basil. Serve with dippers for the perfect lunch or dinner!

Serves six

 

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