I made Ina Garten's easy tomato soup. It was ready in less than an hour, and I can't stop thinking about the grilled cheese croutons.

Ina Garten gives her tomato soup a twist by adding orzo and saffron threads.

To make Garten's tomato soup at home, you'll need:

• 4 cups of chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 3 cups of yellow onions, chopped (about 2 onions)
• 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
• ½ cup of orzo
• ½ cup of heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons of good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
• A large pinch of saffron threads

As Garten always says, store-bought is fine! But if you have time, I highly recommend making Garten's homemade chicken stock. I love making a big batch in the winter and keeping it stocked in the freezer whenever a soup craving hits.

Plus, you can use the leftover stock to make Garten's delicious chicken pot pie and ravioli en brodo soups. To borrow another Barefoot Contessa quote: How good is that?

You only need three ingredients to make her grilled cheese croutons.

Garten's grilled cheese croutons include:

• 4 (½-inch-thick) slices of country white bread
• 4 ounces of Gruyère cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

Garten's recipe also requires very minimal prep.

All I had to do was chop the onions, grate the cheese, and mince the garlic.

To start the soup, I added 3 tablespoons of olive oil to my Dutch oven, then added the onions.

I cooked the onions over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring them occasionally.

Once the onions were golden brown, I added the garlic.

I cooked everything together for an extra minute.

Then, I added the tomatoes, saffron, and chicken stock.

I crushed each San Marzano tomato with my hand over the pot, then threw in the leftover juice from each can.

I added the chicken stock and saffron threads, stirring everything together before seasoning the broth with 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.

I brought the soup to a boil, then lowered the heat to a simmer.

Garten says to let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.

While the soup was simmering, I began cooking the orzo.

I filled a pot with water and seasoned it with two teaspoons of salt. After bringing the water to a boil, I added the orzo and cooked it for seven minutes.

Garten notes in her recipe that the orzo will finish cooking in the soup.

As my soup and pasta cooked on the stove, I began making the grilled cheese croutons.

I placed four slices of bread on a cutting board, lightly brushing them with the melted butter.

Per Garten's advice, I made sure to butter the corners of each slice.

I turned the buttered slices over, piling the Gruyère cheese on top of two of them.

I used the remaining slices to make two sandwiches, placing them right on top of the cheese with the buttered sides facing up.

Then, I toasted each sandwich in a small pan.

In her recipe, Garten says the grilled cheese croutons are "very easy to make" if you have an electric panini grill, but I also found them extremely easy to make on the stove.

I just threw each sandwich on the pan, making sure to toast each side for about two minutes, until the bread turned nice and crispy.

Once the sandwiches were toasted, I placed both on a cutting board and allowed them to rest.

The orzo was ready! I drained the pasta, added it to the soup, and then stirred in the cream.

As the heavy cream swirled into the broth, the color began transforming into a bright and cheerful orange.

Then, I allowed the soup to simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Garten says to stir the soup frequently while it simmers.

As my soup continued to simmer, I cut my grilled cheese sandwiches into croutons.

Garten recommends cutting the croutons into 1-inch cubes.

Garten's tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons is one of her best soup recipes.

The broth of Garten's tomato soup has so much flavor that I couldn't believe it had been on the stove for less than an hour. The broth is both light and rich, with a silky texture that danced on my tongue. The grilled cheese croutons are also an inspired touch, infusing each sip with a delicious dash of gooey cheesiness.

I usually skip tomato soup because I've always found its texture and flavor lacking, but Garten has proved it can deliver both with this recipe. Plus, with such little prep and kitchen time required, it's a great dinner for a chilly weeknight.

This is the only way I plan to eat tomato soup from now on.