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Grilled Cheese Recipes with a Twist

Grilled cheese is a delicious food option when the months get colder, especially when accompanied by a bowl of hot soup. But while the simplicity of the recipe is part of why it’s such an easy classic, the same old combination of bread, butter, and cheese can get boring. That’s why we’ve made up a list of a few suggestions for twists on the old favorite, for you and your family to try this fall! Classic Grilled Cheese A basic grilled cheese is classic and fairly easy to make, requiring only a few ingredients: bread, cheese, and butter. For a classic grilled cheese, start by heating around one tablespoon of salted butter in a non-stick pan, over medium-low heat on your stove. Put together your sandwich, with your bread and whatever cheese you fancy (or combination of cheeses!) Some people put their butter on the exterior of the sandwich on both sides, rather than in the pan, but it’s truly up to you. Press your assembled sandwich together slightly, so it’s less likely to fall apart, and gently place it in your pan. You then want to cook it approximately three to five minutes on the first side, or until it’s golden brown on the bottom. The cheese should be slightly melted at this point, so the sandwich should stay together when you flip it. Flip the sandwich over with a spatula. Add more butter to the pan if you need it, as the butter is very important for getting the golden brown bread right. Cook it around three to five more minutes again, until this side is also golden brown and the cheese inside is fully melted! After that, your grilled cheese is ready to eat! A favorite way to serve it is with soup, often tomato. However, one of the great things about grilled cheese is how customizable it is. From the type of bread and cheese, to all sorts of additional toppings you can put inside, you can really make it any way you want. So, with no further ado, here’s some suggestions for spruced up grilled cheese for you to enjoy. Mushroom Swiss Grilled Cheese For this recipe, soften some spinach and mushrooms in olive oil before you make your sandwich, with salt, pepper, and other seasoning to taste. When you’re making your grilled cheese, simply use swiss cheese, and add your mushroom and spinach mixture to it, before grilling as normal! Egg in a Hole Grilled Cheese Cut a circle in the center of each slice of bread you intend to use. Make this uniform by using a small empty can, or a round cookie cutter. Then, start your grilled cheese like usual, with heated butter in a non-stick pan! Add your slices of bread without assembling the sandwich or putting cheese on, and instead crack an egg into the holes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook it until the bread is golden brown on the bottom, gently swirling the pan occasionally as it cooks. Flip your bread carefully, so the eggs don’t break, and add your cheese slices to the top of each slice. The cheese will begin to melt. You want this to cook, again, until the bottom side of the bread is golden brown! Finally, add your topping slices of bread to the browned bottom halves, and keep cooking until the eggs are cooked and the cheese is melted. This should only be around another additional minute. The egg should be soft enough for the yolk to break and be soaked up by your toasty bread! Nacho Grilled Cheese For this twist on the original recipe, you want to use nacho cheese. That’s the part that’s the most set in stone -- other than that, there’s a lot of flexibility depending on what you like on your nachos! You want to get your cheese on the bread first, while it’s still open-faced, and then you can add your other toppings. We recommend thinly sliced rings of jalapeno, and maybe some guacamole. If you want some extra protein on your plate, you can make some seasoned ground beef beforehand in a separate pan, and put that on as well! Other options include sour cream, shredded chicken, or diced tomatoes. When all your nacho-esque toppings are added to your open sandwich, you can close it with the second slice of bread, add more butter to the pan, and just grill both sides until they’re golden brown and the cheese is melted, as usual. We hope you enjoy some comfort food for the autumn months. Let us know your own favorite version of grilled cheese in the comments, if you have any you’d like to share!

Easiest Plants to Take Care of for a Pop of Color in Your Home

Have you ever thought about bringing home a plant, but hesitated because you were unsure how to take good care of it? If so, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Not everyone has a natural green thumb or the time and energy to research and create the specific conditions some plants need to survive. Lucky for us, some plants are incredibly easy to take care of! Here’s a few of the hardier plants available that can breathe some life into any home. Peace Lillies Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) are one of the most popular indoor plants, all because of how simple they are to care for. They like low to medium light, which means they can be placed nearly anywhere in the home. As for watering, peace lilies aren’t fussy plants that need a specific amount of water every day. They actually only need to be checked once a week. Pro tip: if their soil is still damp, you still don’t have to water them! Peace lilies are able to live through periods of drought, so a little forgetfulness is a mistake these plants will easily forgive. In addition, peace lilies are known for their incredible ability to clean the air and neutralize toxic gases like benzene, formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide. Aloe Vera Plant We’ve all heard that succulents are easier to care for, but here’s one of the most useful and popular, the aloe vera plant! Coming second on our list, the aloe vera enjoys sitting in indirect sunlight or artificial light. Homes are usually the perfect temperature for the aloe vera, considering their range of comfort, and it’s another plant that only needs to be watered sparingly. A thorough watering every three weeks should do the trick! Aloe vera plants are well known for their medicinal use, since they can be applied topically to scrapes or burns. Sounds like a handy plant to keep in the kitchen; just make sure you avoid sitting it in front of a window! Spider Plant Last but not least, we have the Chlorophytum comosum, or spider plant. Now, don’t run away just yet! It’s only called the spider plant because of its arching, ribbon-like leaves, not because it’s harboring any critters. The spider plant is known as one of the most adaptable house plants, easiest to grow, and has a reputation of being nearly impossible to kill. They’re a great choice for a first time plant owner. The spider plant enjoys indirect lighting the most, but can live in any condition besides direct sunlight. This is a plant that you can water well and can survive in both humid and non-humid environments. This is another plant with air purifying properties, and is sure to make a statement wherever you decide to let it thrive in your home. There’s a plant for everyone out there! Whether you’re prone to overwatering, underwatering, or moving your plant around to try and find the perfect spot, there’s tons of plants that make for good options for gardening beginners. Make sure to let us know in the comments what kind of plants you like best, and what you more experienced gardeners think are best for beginners!

Stay Connected Online to the Phoenix Public Library

As social life, schools, and workplaces migrate increasingly online, it’s easy to lose touch with the support we have right here in our community. Fortunately, the Phoenix Public Library remains running strong, and offers a wide range of online programs for children and adults alike! Early Childhood Tools The stage between 3 and 5 years old is home to critical development for young children. And even before we found ourselves in the midst of a pandemic, not everyone had access to quality early childhood care. Tools for School is a program developed by a kindergarten teacher and offered by the Phoenix Public Library. This YouTube series is designed for parents and guardians to use with their children. We’ve all seen some of the less educational YouTube entertainment designed to keep children occupied, but Tools for School offers real-world activities for truly engaging, family-centered kindergarten prep! College and Job Search Support Phoenix Public Library offers learners of all ages resources, mentoring, and resume-building skills. Check out their one-on-one college student mentoring programs on topics from entrepreneurship to filling out FAFSA. PHXWorks is a program designed to offer career support. Their online offerings include one-on-one resume help, job hunting and career programs, and workshops to build your interview skills. Online Storytimes Children who develop a love for books early in life become stronger readers, writers, and communicators. To that end, in these busy times, PPL’s Early Literacy Librarians offer both live and pre-recorded storytimes for children and families, in English and Spanish. To have your child’s name included in the day’s welcome and goodbye songs, tune in to their Instagram account on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. You can find pre-recorded storytimes to enjoy with your family on the Phoenix Public Library website! Infant-Caregiver Sign Language BabyTime with Sign offers a grand total of 27 brief courses covering different areas of ASL vocabulary. Long before babies can speak, they can—and are seeking to!—communicate with the important people in their life. Using sign language with infants and toddlers aids in fine motor development, cognitive development, language development, bonding, and decreasing frustration—for your baby and you alike. This is just a tiny selection of the online programs Phoenix Public Library offers. Their website features a full listing of programs and] online classes, as well as i nstructions to registe r for your eCard! We could all stand to use the library a little more often, especially in times like these.

Hiking Trails in the North Phoenix Area

With so many things currently closed, it can be hard to know what to do for fun when you want to get out of the house. To give you a helping hand, we’re providing a list of some of the best hiking trails in our area! You can have fun, take in some scenery, and work up a sweat all at once. Phoenix Mountain Preserve The Phoenix Mountain Preserve has trails for all levels of hiker, from barrier-free nature walks, to more intense climbs towards the peaks. You’re bound to see something beautiful whether you stay low or go high, so you really can’t go wrong! The linked website provides information on all the different types of trails, as well as their lengths, so you can check it out before you go and see what might be the best fit for your family. There’s the opportunity to check out a really gorgeous sunset, and if you’re an advanced hiker, you could see about watching from one of the peaks. (Picture from the Phoenix Mountain Preserve website) Reach 11 Recreation Area Reach 11 Recreation Area is 1,500 acres of park, with 18 miles of multi-use trails. That’s a lot of options! You’re really spoiled for choice, with trails running along the Central Arizona Project canal and an incredible bevy of brightly-colored wildflowers during the blooming season. It’s much less mountainous than our last suggestion, so it’s great if you’re looking for a more leisurely walk and the opportunity to check out some greenery. There’s nothing like some time in nature to help you forget your worries! (Picture from the Reach 11 Recreation Area Yelp page) Apache Wash Trailhead Only a seven minute drive from our very own community here at Acero North Valley, this trailhead is good for all levels of hiker, and a good spot to walk year-round! This is another place with the opportunity to look at some beautiful desert wildflowers. The trail itself is only around 2.8 miles, but it’s a loop trail, and right near home, so it’s easy enough to keep going if you’re not done. You might notice something you didn’t see the first time around! (Picture from Apache Wash Trailhead Yelp page) Remember to always bring lots of water when hiking, and have fun! If we missed one of your favorite hikes, please let us know what it is in the comments! We’re always happy to hear more suggestions. We hope you enjoy!

Our Top Reads for National Read a Book Day

National Read a Book Day falls on September 6th each year. Whether you’re a voracious reader or just trying to get into the habit, it’s a good reminder to slow down, carve out an hour, and spend some time alone with a book. To Fall in Wonder Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt If you haven’t read this under-celebrated classic, you’re in for a bittersweet treat. Join 10-year-old Winnie Foster in meeting the Tucks, a family who stumbled into immortality by drinking from a freshwater spring. We won’t spoil the rest, but it’s a journey filled with wonder from beginning to end, and perfect for a reader who doesn’t mind a bittersweet conclusion. To Learn Something The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo If you already know Marie Kondo’s name, you know what you’re in for: A gentle, personalized approach to our connections with objects and environments. You don’t have to be ready to commit to an apartment deep-clean to read Kondo’s therapy session of a book. When you are ready to apply your newfound knowledge, Kondo even offers an accompanying journal, to use with the book and document your journey. To Connect With The Earth The Turquoise Ledge, by Leslie Marmon Silko Leslie Marmon Silko’s memoir contains lessons about living side by side with rattlesnakes, about uranium mining and history, about the intersection of science and spirituality that summons the clouds to the Sonoran desert. This is more than connection with the Earth, it’s a history lesson, it’s a lens into one woman’s journey on it—one that honors the land it was written on, at every turn. For Some Good Nonsense The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart The under-appreciated spiritual cousin of A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Mysterious Benedict Society offers secret societies and brilliant children facing high stakes with a happier, goofier tone. George “Sticky” Washington, The Great Kate Weather Machine, tiny contrarian Constance Contraire, and a woman dressed like a number two pencil join Reynie on his mission: to infiltrate the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. If you missed The Mysterious Benedict Society as a child, don’t worry; it’s a story you never grow out of. We’d love to hear some of your favorite books in the comments, as well as if you try any of these suggestions. Happy National Read A Book Day! We hope you take the opportunity to read.

Crafty Ideas for At-Home Art

Getting creative is, in our humble opinion, one of the best ways to spend some time when you have to stay home. It’s a fun way to get your hands moving and your brain working, and you might wind up with a great souvenir from your project -- or at the very least a fun story. However, we know it can be difficult to figure out where to start, especially if you don’t have a lot of artistic experience. Here’s some suggestions for fun art projects you can try out without needing a single art class! Collage Collage is a great creative outlet, especially if you have old magazines or newspapers lying around that you wouldn’t mind cutting up. It allows you to create something memorable out of already-existing pieces, and works well for people that don’t feel they have a lot of innate artistic ability -- you can make it look very much like what you’ve envisioned without needing to create each aspect by hand, the way you might with a drawing. All you really need is magazines to cut pieces from, some glue, and something to put your collage on! This can be paper, a notebook, cardboard, a poster, or whatever else you feel like decorating. There’s a wide variety of options for a beautiful artistic outcome. Box Decorating This art project is both beautiful and functional. Just about any box works for this, whether it’s an old gift box, a shoebox that needs some renovation, or the type of simple wooden box you can get at most craft stores. After you’ve chosen your box, you can create a masterpiece with just a hot glue gun and essentially anything you’d like, from plastic flowers and sequins from your local craft store, to some of your broken jewelry, to photographs or pages from books (and that’s just a few of the possible combinations!) Beautifying an old box means you get to flex your creative muscles and wind up with a new and innovative storage solution that’ll be as nice to look at as it is useful. Plant Pot Painting Potted plants can be a great way to brighten up your apartment. Unfortunately, the pots they come in don’t always match the liveliness of the flowers! Acrylic paint can be a great solution for that, and it’s even better if you can grab a paint sealer to ensure your artwork doesn’t get messed up when you water the plants. Each member of the family can pick a pot and get to work, and the end result is bound to be a fun and pretty way to keep your plants looking fresh. A fun tip is to try drip decorating, where you elevate your pot upside down, and drip acrylic paint down it from the bottom up. After you let it dry and seal it, it’ll be a gorgeous swirl of colors. Getting creative is a great deal of fun, and the end result can help liven up a wall, or even provide somewhere new to store your trinkets. It’s also a fantastic way to spend time with your family, doing something that everyone can be a part of. If you or your family have been working on a new art project recently, we’d love to hear about it! Your ideas may even inspire us for our next creative endeavor.

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