The Little Things Newsletter #352 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

February 18, 2023

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Sean and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this past week with a few days away on our own. We stayed about an hour from home and it was a lot of fun to explore a new-to-us part of Columbus and a few new restaurants too.

So, that’s my excuse for the later-than-usual weekly newsletter today. I’m happy to be home now and ready for the fresh new week ahead.

ON THE BLOG this week: All the ingredients we love in classic Chinese Egg Rolls come together in this Egg Roll Stir Fry recipe. This is an irresistible bowl of deconstructed egg rolls and you’re going to love it.

Fluffy mashed sweet potatoes top a saucy mixture of seasoned ground beef and vegetables to make this Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie.

Creamy Smoked Salmon Chowder is filled with carrots, onions, celery, garlic, wine, and a hint of bacon. If you enjoy smoked salmon, you will love this chowder.

Crisp buttery blueberry waffles are a spectacular breakfast treat that will have you coming back for just one more bite until they are gone.

Speaking of breakfast treats, fluffy buttermilk pancakes filled with crumbled breakfast sausage add up to a whole lot of awesomeness in these Sausage Pancakes.

You know how much I enjoy making my own seasoning mixes, right? Smokey, salty with a hint of pepper, homemade french fry seasoning takes fries to a whole new level.

Roasted and drizzled with pure maple syrup, these classic maple roasted carrots are almost candy-like in their sweetness.

Sweet and just a little bit spicy, this honey sriracha chicken stir fry is filled with bite-size sticky sweet chunks of chicken and tender-crisp peppers. The whole recipe comes together in under 20 minutes.

favorite things: this cuticle oil, this movie, and this book

What I’m CRAVING: Have you tried Sticky Toffee Pudding? It’s one of those things that I can not resist when it’s on a dessert menu. Soft, fluffy, incredibly moist cake smothered in a toffee caramel sauce is unforgettable. This recipe is on my list to try soon.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this cuticle oil. It made a visible difference the very first time I used it. I’m hooked! I’ve tried much pricier cuticle creams, oils, or moisturizers over the past year or two. This one was the least expensive by far and it works so much better than anything else I’ve tried.

What I’m WATCHING: The Hunger Games. My youngest son just finished reading the book, so we were finally able to watch it together. I loved experiencing it all over again through his eyes.

What I’m READING: Saving CeeCee Honeycut by Beth Hoffman. Thanks to a sweet reader who emailed me with this recommendation, I’m happy to have a new author to follow. I don’t typically enjoy many books told from a child’s perspective, but I found this one interesting. While it started out sad, this wound up a heartwarming read. Thanks for the recommendation, Melinda!

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 ESV

Wishing you a beautiful week full of little things that make you smile!

Mary