Chicken and Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Tomato Soup

Steps

• To Make the Soup

• 1

  Melt butter in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add onions and half (½ tsp.) of the salt.
• 2

  Cook the onions in the butter, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and some are lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.

  
• 3

  Use your hands to carefully squeeze the whole tomatoes into the pot, breaking them into smaller pieces in your hands before dropping them in with the onions. Pour any extra liquids from the tomato can into the pot and stir the tomatoes into the onions.

  
• 4

  Stir in the brown sugar, low-sodium chicken stock, and remaining (½ tsp.) salt. Turn the heat beneath the pot to medium-high and bring the soup to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.
• 5

  After 15 minutes, turn the heat beneath the pot back down to medium and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer for another five minutes.
• 6

  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth, then taste and season with more salt if needed.

  Note: To use a regular blender, carefully ladle the soup into the blender, only filling it halfway. Blend until smooth, leaving a slight opening in the top of the blender for the steam to escape. Blend the soup in batches to avoid overfilling the blender.

  

• To Make the Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

• 1

  Position the heart-shaped cookie cutter onto a slice of bread, centering the bottom point of the heart near a bottom corner of the bread. Press down firmly to cut into the bread, twisting very lightly if needed. Repeat to make eight heart-shaped slices of bread.

  Note: A 4” heart-shaped cookie cutter is an ideal size for these grilled cheese sandwiches.

  
• 2

  Set a large, nonstick pan over medium heat. Spread about 1 ½ teaspoons of mayonnaise (or softened butter) across the surface of one slice of heart-shaped bread. Place the bread, mayonnaise side down, into the hot pan.

  
• 3

  Top the bread with ¼ cup of shredded cheese, then two crispy bacon halves.

  
• 4

  Top the bacon with ⅓ cup of shredded chicken, then carefully top the chicken with another ¼ cup of shredded cheese.

  Note: We love Colby Jack for its melting quality and flavor, but shredded Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or a soft Cheddar cheese will also work! Sliced cheese will also work for this recipe, and we recommend cutting the slices of cheese into the same heart-shapes as the bread for an easy fit.

  
• 5

  Spread about 1 ½ tsp. of mayonnaise across the surface of another slice of heart-shaped bread. Place this slice of bread, mayonnaise-side up, onto the last layer of cheese. Use a spatula to gently press down on the sandwich.

  Note: These sandwiches have a lot of layers, so gently pressing them down as they cook helps the cheese melt into the other ingredients and hold the sandwich together!

  
• 6

  Cover the pan with a lid to trap the heat and help the top layer of cheese melt too. Cook the sandwich for 2-3 minutes until the bottom layer of cheese is melted, then carefully flip the sandwich over with a spatula. Gently press the sandwich down with the spatula again.

  
• 7

  Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the other layer of cheese (now at the bottom) is completely melted and the bottom slice of bread is golden brown. Remove the sandwich from the pan and transfer to a Chinet Classic® Lunch Plate or Chinet Classic® Dinner Plate.
• 8

  Repeat with remaining ingredients to make four sandwiches.
• 9

  Ladle warm tomato soup into a bowl and serve alongside the warm grilled cheese sandwiches.