The Little Issues Publication #365 – Life, laughter, and many nice meals!

Welcome to the weekend, my pals! I’ve spent each morning this week listening to the birds sing, appreciating this spectacular climate, and considering endlessly about how a lot I really like dwelling in Ohio. The truth that I get up daily in my favourite place on the earth is one thing I hope I’ll by no means take with no consideration. 

I’m headed out to stroll with a good friend this morning, adopted by (a very simple) hike with Sean this afternoon and I’m fairly blissful about each. My youngest son had his final day of faculty yesterday and we’re taking him to TN (simply the three of us) to rejoice his thirteenth birthday this coming week.

We’ve taken every of the boys on a visit by themselves for his or her thirteenth birthdays – you possibly can see these journeys here and here. I can hardly wait! Shoot me any strategies you might need for meals or enjoyable within the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge areas.

ON THE BLOGS this week:  This zesty Italian dressing is so easy to make, it’s prepared in just some minutes! And I promise you it’s infinitely tastier than something store-bought.

When you’ve made the dressing, put this California spaghetti salad in your must-make checklist for summer season. It’s full of contemporary greens, tangy Italian dressing, and pleasant twirls of pasta, you’ll need to savor every chew.

Pot pie has by no means been simpler to make – all the irresistible flavors of classic chicken pot pie are here in an ideal stability of savory hen and healthful veggies, wrapped in a buttery crescent roll crust.

Three totally different sorts of beans simmer within the crockpot with loads of seasonings and sizzling sauce to make one of many best aspect dishes you possibly can placed on the desk. These spicy baked beans come along with barely 5 minutes of effort.

Crispy cauliflower, toasted bread crumbs, and nutty, savory parmesan are great collectively on this delicious aspect. This roasted garlic parmesan cauliflower is snackable proper off the pan!

Tender and buttery, sauteed mushrooms and onions are a terrific aspect dish on their very own. Nonetheless, for those who occur to get pleasure from them anyplace close to as a lot as I do, you’ll need to pile them over your subsequent pan of steak bites or serve them with these roasted chicken thighs.

In case you’d advised me a few years in the past that sooner or later sooner or later I’d be air frying vegetables for a day snack, I probably would’ve laughed. Exhausting. Properly, quick ahead to at this time, and right here I’m happily eating air-fried green beans with bang bang sauce. And, they’re terrific.

Smooth, moist, and bursting with tart cherries, this cherry almond bread with a sweet almond glaze, is scrumptious and straightforward to make.

Strawberry Simple Syrup is simple to make with simply 3 elements and it may be utilized in so some ways! Add a splash of strawberry syrup to a glass of mint lemonade or to a pitcher of mojitos and also you simply may discover your new favourite drink to sip this summer season. Pour it over my grandmother’s German pancakes for a breakfast that everybody will love.

Each scoop of this Twix ice cream is bursting with chunks of cookies, caramel, and chocolate. In case you love Twix sweet bars, this ice cream simply could be your latest favourite taste!

What I’m CRAVING: My good friend Lori’s creamy, cheesy, shrimp and grits caught my eye this week and made my mouth water. I can’t wait to attempt them!

favourite issues: these leggings, this movie, and this music

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these cropped leggings. Whether or not I’m understanding or lounging at house, they’re tremendous comfy, and even after a number of years, they nonetheless look nice. The cropped size is my favourite and I simply ordered a pair extra pairs for summer season. 

For many who care, these are high-waist leggings that by no means budge and so they even have nice pockets. They match like others that price far way over these. (I found this model at TJ Maxx some time again and I preserve a watch out for them now. Luckily, the $72 leggings, usually with that tag connected, are nearly all the time out there on Amazon for simply $22.) 

What I’m WATCHING: Living. My oldest son satisfied me to look at this one with him and whereas it begins out very sluggish, it’s a superb film and I used to be engrossed by the top. (The film is an adaptation of Kurosawa’s film, “Ikiru”. I’ll undoubtedly be watching the unique, subtitles and all, certainly one of as of late.) 

Invoice Nighy performs a paper-shuffling bureaucrat within the Nineteen Fifties who finds out that he has most cancers and a restricted time to reside. This film is about what he does with the remainder of his life. Whereas not remotely thrilling, adventurous, or suspenseful, this film had my older sons and me glued to it and left us speaking about it later.

What I’m LISTENING to: Shovels & Rope. I keep in mind discovering their music a few years in the past and enjoying them on repeat for some time. A reader jogged my memory of them final week (Thanks, Amy!) and I instantly added them to my Nathaniel Rateliff / Houndmouth / Shaky Graves station. A few of their music is a bit grittier than the others and I like the combination rather a lot. They’re a little bit of conventional people, rock and roll, and nation rock mixture.

“I’ve no larger pleasure than to listen to that my youngsters are strolling within the reality.” – 3 John 1:4 ESV

Wishing you a stunning week filled with little issues that make you smile!

Mary