Recipe 1: Yummy and Simple Tomato Soup with Crisp Parsley Toast

Many people have asked for my recipes and I figured we could plug them in here! This recipe is one of my favourites for quick-fix dinner/lunches at any time. I've altered it Takes about 15-20 minutes total from start to finish. Makes about two to three servings, depending on the size of your portions. (I always go for the big bowls.)

Ingredients:
2 can Campbell's Tomato Soup
1 can water (I just use one of the cans to measure it out)
1 loaf of Italian bread (I buy mine from the Kroger bakery, sliced with the bread slicer. You can also use regular bread, or make "croutons" by tearing bread into small cubes)
Olive oil (can use butter as substitute)
Cheddar cheese, grated or shredded
Herbs/Spices to taste:
(These you can "customize" to your own likings, these are just my personal faves that have gotten wonderful reviews from those who've had it.)
--basil
--oregano
--garlic powder
--cilantro.
--parsley

Directions:
1) Empty both cans of soup into a medium size pot, set on medium heat on the stove.
2) Stir in water. Make sure it's well blended. Let simmer for two-three minutes.
3) While that's simmering, line a cookie sheet/oven pan with aluminum foil. Arrange sliced Italian bread on the pan. Set the oven to about 350F.
NOTE: You may also use regular bread or make "croutons" by tearing the bread into cubes. For croutons, simple arrange in a single layer across the pan.
4) In a small bowl, pour just enough olive oil to cover the bottom.
NOTE: if you're using butter, heat in the microwave 10 secs, stir. Microwave in 10 second intervals with stirring between.
5) Mix in a little bit of parsley, enough to "fleck" the olive oil/butter. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the bread. If making croutons, slowly pour or spoon the mixture over the bread pieces.
6) Bake the bread in the oven for approximately 5 minutes.
7) Returning to your soup, mix in your spices. I usually do 2 parts basil, 2 parts oregano, 1 part cilantro, 1 part garlic powder. This is usually 1 tsp per part, but I usually do it by sight ("eyeballing it"). Mix well.
8) Cover the soup, and turn heat to medium-high.
9) Grate cheddar cheese. Shredded will work just as well.
10) After ten minutes, check the toast. The toast is ready when the edges of the toast are very lightly browned, and feels firm to the touch. Croutons will be slightly browner.
11) Serve.

Serve soup in a bowl topped with cheese, with a side of toast. If using croutons, they may be served atop the soup as well.

I've included my pictures of my soup and toast as well. :)
Enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments!

A New Chapter in the Book

Proverbial book, that is, but a book nonetheless. Moving out last October has certainly put a spin on things in my world, and I'm hoping I can start documenting them more and more here, as well as most some of my wonderful ideas and recipes that some Facebookers have been dying to get their hands on.

First things first, I'd like to show off a couple of the new reward programs I am loving! The first is called Swagbucks. It gives rewards in the form of "Swagbucks" for doing simple things, such as having a toolbar, answering a daily poll, or going through a "NOSO Path," that is a path of No Obligation Special Offers. Follow the path, get Swagbucks. You can also fill out surveys, perform tasks, watch videos, etc to earn SB. Even searching with their search engine (conveniently found on the toolbar!) can earn you surprise SwagBucks.  After all that, earning points for doing simple tasks, you can trade them in for Sweepstakes Opportunities, or some cool prizes! They've got it all from stick rubber ducks for the bottom of your bathtub, all the way up to sewing machines and TomTom GPS Systems. Pretty sweet deal for just clicking through a few things a day! To help get you started I've place a widget on the right side of this blog, so all you have to do is click and start earning!

My Coke Rewards is the program I've been with the longest. Simple enough, CocaCola has printed codes on the inside lid of every Coke product, as well as on the inside of the boxes of canned products. Each code can be entered for points (minimum of 3 points per code) and you can turn these in for prizes or sweepstakes. I'll admit, MCR does have its downfalls: points expire after 90 days of inactivity, and the prizes aren't too great unless you have major luck as a Sweepstakes winner, or are a Coca-Cola fanatic. If all else fails, I would always happily accept you MCR donations. :D

Kellogs and Huggies are also companies that have Rewards programs. I haven't looked into either of these too terribly well yet, but I will keep you updated as I learn more. As always, links are provided there so you can check them out yourself!

I think that's about all for now, I'll check in later with everyone. Maybe post some more recipes later in the day. :)

--K