Green Pea Soup & Cheddar Scallion Panini

Last night, we decided to stay in to watch the last episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.  We are both huge Conan fans, and his speech at the end was just amazing, wasn’t it?  I know he is going to get a great gig somewhere else and NBC will realize they never should have given him up.

Tonight I am going out to dinner for a little girls only time with my dear friend Krystyn.  We’re hitting up our favorite spot in her area {she lives in the suburbs…I live in the city}.  I’m excited for some girl time.

Dinner last night was amazingly good.  Admittedly, I was totally unsure of what this recipe would be.  I also didn’t know if I could convince Nathan to eat Green Pea Soup.  It turned out well, and he ate the soup without issue!

Green Pea Soup & Cheddar Scallion Panini {inspired by MarthaStewart.com}

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs butter
• 4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
• 30 oz of frozen peas
• 1 can low-sodium chicken broth {I used bouillon cubes w/ boiling water}
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 slices rye sandwich bread
• salt & pepper
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 3 grape tomatoes
• 1 mushroom
• 1 tbs chopped garlic

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium. Add scallion whites, and cook, stirring, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add peas, broth, garlic, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until peas are tender, about 5 minutes; set aside.
2. Slice grape tomatoes into thin slices and chop mushroom.
3. In a medium bowl, toss cheddar, scallion greens, and mushroom. Make 4 sandwiches with cheddar mixture, sliced tomatoes, and bread.
4. On an indoor grill, cook the sandwiches on 250 degrees for 5-7 minutes on each side.
5. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth (filling blender only halfway to prevent spattering). If necessary, adjust consistency with a little bit of water. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
6. Serve the sandwiches and soup together.

Grade: A+ for the sandwiches, B+ for the soup, A for them together

Comments: Definitely a great stay-in meal!  We both loved the way the sandwiches tasted when dipped into the soup.  It was the perfect combination.  The sandwich itself is delicious.  I would make those just to eat by themselves for lunch.  The soup by itself is a little bland, but it is still very filling and with a little something extra could be good on its own.  If you are going to make the soup, I definitely recommend making the sandwiches with it.

Tagged as: dinners, dinners for two, easy meals, easy recipes, lunch, main dishes, Martha Stewart, recipes, sandwich ideas, sandwich recipes, sandwiches, soup recipes, soups, vegetable recipes, vegetables, vegetarian