Tiny Tomato Soup Shots with Grilled Cheese Croutons

new recipe my aunt made. i wanna try it and she sent over the recipe to me via the internet(: let me know if it was good! this is my 3rd thing on my never ending list to try!-nora

 

Tiny Tomato Soup Shots with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Makes 12 Soup Shots*
Prep Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Tomato Soup
1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed cream of tomato soup
10 ounces chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
Thinly sliced fresh basil, for garnish (optional)
12 shot glasses or espresso cups and decorative toothpicks

Grilled Cheese Croutons
1-2 tablespoons butter
6 slices good quality, firm French or Italian bread, crusts removed
3-6 slices cheddar cheese
3-4 cherry tomatoes, sliced

*While 12 is the perfect amount when you’re entertaining, feel free to only make the amount of shots you need for a smaller group.



INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare soup according to package directions, using chicken broth in place of water. Stir in the basil, oregano and optional lemon zest. Keep warm.
2. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Trim the crusts from each piece of bread. Fill with 1-2 thin slices of cheese to make 3 sandwiches. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
3. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut each sandwich into quarters to create mini sandwich squares.
4. Thread 1 mini sandwich and 1 tomato slice onto each toothpick.
5. Pour about 3 tablespoons of soup into each shot glass. Garnish with thinly sliced basil if desired. Top each glass with a mini sandwich skewer. Serve on a decorative tray

perfect flowers for a perfect spring (written by Zoe, love you Nora!!)

Perfect Flowers for a Perfect Spring

 

 P.S- my friend has wrote this. zoe is really into flowers (as you can see) hope you like it! P.s out(get it? almost sounds like peace out? get it get it? uh, never mind.

 

The kaleidoscope of color that Nature unveils each spring makes our winter-long wait worthwhile. With a little planning and the right combination of flowers, it's fun and easy to create a spectacular spring flower garden you'll enjoy all season.

Before finalizing your spring garden plans, check with a nursery in your area for advice on which spring flowers will thrive in your specific climate. A nursery professional also can suggest fertilizers that are right for your area's soil makeup.

Sun or Shade?
Identify a couple of spots you'd like to turn into a flower garden and observe them throughout the day. Note the amount of sun they receive. You might discover that one part of your garden plot is sunnier or shadier than another, so choose flowers appropriate for specific spots.
Sun or shade, choose a spot that has good drainage to prevent standing water.
Determine Your Soil Content
Dig up a sample of your plot's soil before planting your flowers to determine if there is hard clay in it that will prevent root growth. Remove any hard clay in the area and replace it with a mixture of two parts top soil, one part sand and one part peat moss.
A little sand will improve drainage, while ample peat moss will help prevent the soil from drying out too quickly. Remember that early flowers usually prefer the moist spring soil, so make sure your flowers get a steady supply of water.
Balance Color and Size
Show off your gardening skills by designing a dazzling display of spring flowers that balance color and size. For an early spring display, choose the traditional seasonal colors such as soft blue, pink, yellow and white. Many species now come in an array of hybrid colors, making it easy to find flowers to suit the season.
Strive to find a balance between low-profile, groundcover-type flowers and larger plants that showcase blooms atop stately stems. Use the smaller, spreading plants to form the front borders of your garden, and fill in the areas behind them with the taller flowers.
You also might want to incorporate a mix of perennials and annuals into your flower garden. The perennials will come up each spring so you won't have to completely re-plant your garden every year, while the annuals can fill in bare spots and give you the opportunity to make some design changes each spring.
A Sample Spring Garden These flowers are perfect for an early spring garden that has partial shade, such as an area surrounding a tree. They are hardy, early blooming plants that are widely available.
Low-profile, groundcover varieties
These great groundcovers will spread, so plant them at least 6" apart.

• Primroses are perennials that come in more than 400 species and a rainbow of colors.
• Pansies are fast-growing annuals that offer numerous color choices, including many varieties with delicate markings or "faces" (blotch patterns).
• Lobelia is a petite annual that blooms continuously and produces hundreds of flowers, typically in tones of blue, white and lilac.

Taller plants

• Virginia Blue Bells are hardy perennials that produce early spring clusters of trumpet-like, soft blue blooms on stems 18-36" tall.
• Christmas Rose earns its name by producing rose-like blooms of white, pink or yellow in early spring, even with snow on the ground. These perennial blooms will be about 15" above the ground.
• Celandine Poppy is a perennial that blooms in early spring with showy, deep yellow blooms about 16" above the ground.

Photo Mobiles!!!

Handmade Mobiles

Using only a wire wreath form, ribbon or fishing line and a few decorative items, you can create four different mobiles that are both pretty and practical. Give a mobile as a homemade gift to brighten someone’s day, and then adorn a special corner in your own home with a beautiful, breezy decoration

 

1. Display your summer photos in a unique way and enjoy smiling faces every time you pass by your craft. Add encouraging quotes and statements to make it extra special. This also makes a great homemade gift for a grandparent!
2.  
3. Take the photos you want to use and mount them on colorful pieces of construction paper or scrapbook paper. Leave them at full size or cut them down into fun shapes to feature your favorite parts of the photo. Use a hole punch to add a hole for hanging purposes to each mounted photo.
4. On the backside of your mounted photos, write a meaningful note, message or special quote with a marker. Finally, use string, ribbon or fishing line to hang your photos at alternating heights around the wreath form. If you like, you can also cover the wreath form before hanging your photos using the same method as the Ribbon Mobile.
5. Tip: If you’d rather not hole punch your photos, tie small clips to the ribbon, string or fishing line and clip your photos on after hanging from the wreath form.

Hanging Tips To hang any of these completed mobiles from the ceiling, use 4 pieces of ribbon, fishing line or string and tie to opposite sides of the wreath form. If using ribbon, add a little dab of hot glue to keep it from sliding around. Bring the separate pieces together in the center and then tie a small loop at the top.
Use a simple ceiling hook,  available at Lowes and other places, to hang your finished mobile wherever you please. Try hanging above a dining table, in a child’s bedroom or in an area where it will catch a nice breeze now and then, such as an entryway or sunroom. If giving the mobile as a homemade gift, include a ceiling hook with it to make hanging easy for the recipient.

Hi

I got bored. what are you guys up to? <3


-nora

Summer Daze - cool and refreshing recipe!

- Cool fruit pop!

ingredents-

*fruit( any kind is ok. my favorite that i want to try is kiwi,stawberrys, and watermelon)

* popsicle holders (there are some at walmart and i used to have one from the dollar store!)
* water or fruit juice (your pick)
Directions-

*cut up all your fruit into pretty small peices
* now fill your popsicle holders wil the fruit ( don't cram it in there, you need to put the sticks in yet)
* now put either water or juice and fill it close to the top
* and stick the popsicle stick things that come with them and freeze
*enjoy!
-xoxo, nora
Hey people of the inter-web. my friends have all said this recipe was good, i haven't been able to try it myself becuase we haven't been able to get good, cheap fruit yet. But if you try this lemmie know! oh and quick note** half my friends have said to use water, and half my friends said it was better with fruit juice. you can decide which you like best!**

Spring Cleaning - Bedroom

 We all don't like spring cleaning, but we all have to do it. im creating a mini series on spring cleaning in different parts of the house. Todays post is on the bedroom. joy. if your like me, a teen that does not like to clean her room, then these tips might help you a bit because i hate cleaning my room. what you do first is you take all your clothes that need washing and you wash them, get them off your floor. And yes, im even talking about that one lonly sock under you bed chillin out with a bunch of dust bunnies. Then go through your clothes and make it into 2 piles. 1 is the clothes that you like and are keeping, and the 2nd pile is the donating/selling pile. And if your like me, the selling pile has very little. After that set all the clean clothes aside, maybe outside of your door till your done. Now take all your sheets and blankets and pillow cases off your bed, and put everything on your dressers,desks, and mostly your floor, onto you bed. this now gives you the chance to clean the floors. wash/ an or vacumn your floors and wipe all your desks and dressers off. Then little by little, take stuff and put them away neatly until you cleared your bed. make you bed, open your windows and enjoy the fresh air. you've pretty much accomplished cleaning your room! good job and good luck
- xoxo Nora

Hello Spring

Spring is here finally and you know what that means right? It means a fresh start. When spring comes, to me it feels like its a chance to clear my head, set new goals, and do more fun stuff! One thing I will be doing is cleaning myself out. I will be eating (or at least trying to) better, making myself feel calm, baisically and I know it sounds weird but, baisically making me feel brand new and squeaky clean. This is the time to get outside, do more crafts, try new recipes, and make more memories. let me know what you think, and I will be making more posts soon since it is 1 in the morning right now(: night or should i say morning.
ahhhh haha(: