The Little Things Newsletter #470 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s been a drizzly wet week here in Ohio until yesterday, but I loved the overcast days and enjoyed the sound of rain while I worked. As a result, I’m extra happy about a few days of sunshine now too.

My youngest son finished school this week and we’re kicking off the summer with a whole lot of nothing on the calendar next week. (I’m thrilled about that!) But first, the weekend will be filled with a baby shower, a grad party, church, family dinner, and a game night.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  Parmesan cheese, black pepper, butter, and olive oil combine to make this parmesan pepper pasta. Its ease of preparation is matched only by its perfection. The recipe is a gentle riff on the classic Italian dish cacio e pepe which translates simply as cheese and pepper. 

Calling all broccoli and shrimp lovers! This flavorful honey garlic shrimp stir fry is exploding with vibrant crisp-tender broccoli and shrimp.

Summery cucumber tomato pasta salad combines garden fresh cherry tomatoes and cucumbers with bite-sized pasta and onions in a vinegar dressing. This is a dish that screams summer cookout!

We are a family of meatloaf lovers. So, naturally, when a friend told me that she makes her meatloaf with a package of Lipton onion soup mix, I knew I needed to try it. I’ll admit I’ve tweaked the recipe a good bit from the original one I found on the Lipton website. I like what I like, what can I say? However, it turns out that those onion soup seasonings work very well for meatloaf.

This tuna pasta salad with bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, red onions, and olives is lightly tossed in a light, tangy, pickle-inspired creamy dressing. All the flavors and textures in this salad combine to make it a hit with everyone who tries it.

Toasting coconut gives it a nutty sweetness and complexity that dried coconut lacks – and it’s so easy to do, too!

Toasted coconut ice cream is fool-proof sweet, creamy coconut vanilla ice cream with the nutty goodness of freshly toasted coconut. It’s perfection in simplicity in ice cream form, friends.

What I’m CRAVING: All the berries in the world! I can not get enough fresh berries lately and I’m thrilled that they’ve been so sweet and tart and perfect lately when I buy them. I just shook together a jar of creamy poppyseed dressing to make this summer berry salad this weekend.

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these bath salts. I’ve mentioned them in the newsletter several times over the years. I never used to be a bath person, but these salts work like nothing else for muscle relief and relaxation before sleep. I rely on them after hard workouts and, as a bonus, I sleep noticeably better after using them in a bath before bed.

What I’m LISTENING to: It’s been a Blues Traveler kind of week over here. I tried a random 90s playlist a few days ago and was transported back to so many fun music memories.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

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

Mary