The Little Things Newsletter #449 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! My guys all managed to catch a cold bug over the holidays, but thankfully, everyone seems to be feeling a bit better at this point. There is a lot of comfort food and warm soup on our menu right now and I’m here for every delicious bite of it.

We didn’t put our tree up until late this year, so I’m happily enjoying the lights for a while longer. May this weekend be filled with whatever you like best, be that a fresh house cleared of Christmas already, or a house still glowing with the lights of the season.

ON OUR MENU THIS WEEK:  Dinner tonight is the best ever Green Chile Stew. It is loaded with bite-size chunks of pork that are seasoned with onion and plenty of garlic. The pork is simmered in a green chile sauce until tender enough to almost fall apart when you bite it.

Baked Potato Soup is a favorite with my middle son and when it’s served with all the toppings and a warm loaf of bread, we all enjoy it. Everything you love about a fully loaded baked potato is tucked into this rich and creamy soup. There are fluffy bites of baked potato in every bite.

This Pasta with Cabbage and Sausage is one of the meals I’ve craved the most over the past year and it gets serious bonus points for also being a lightning fast dinner to make.

The first time I baked Sweet Potatoes in the Air Fryer it was a game-changer for me. Over the past couple of years, this has been my lunch at least once a month, if not more often than that. Sometimes I top the sweet potatoes simply with a pat of butter, other times I may fill them with taco beef or stuff them with bbq chicken.

As always, this unforgettable Tomato Soup and crispy, gooey, Grilled Cheese sandwiches make frequent appearances on our menu plan when everyone is home on a chilly afternoon.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Bacon are pure awesomeness from start to finish. Adding salty bacon and a splash of vinegar makes this one heck of a fantastic side dish – although I eat it as a full meal more often than not.

This easy-to-make Chili is filled with beans, tomatoes, corn, and plenty of Mexican spices. I’ve made this chili with meat and without and it’s delicious both ways. My boys like to top their bowls with shredded cheese, sour cream, and a handful of Fritos.

If seeing the ever-popular Peanut Butter Balls (a.k.a. Buckeyes) waiting on a dessert table thrills you, then these salty-sweet bites of chocolate peanut butter and pretzel happiness are going to be your new favorite.

What I’m CRAVING: This Mississippi Pot Roast is on our meal plan for next week. I don’t even recall the last time I made a pot roast, so I’m looking forward to it.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this tiny little rechargeable LED light that can be stuck onto the wall anywhere you need it. We used to have these lights in the camper and now we have a cabinet here at home that’s darker than I like, so I placed one on the wall there. This provides the perfect amount of light for that space. (Side note: while technically these lights are rechargeable, I don’t recall ever actually needing to recharge one of them. We’ll see if this new one works as well as the previous ones.)

What I’m LISTENING to: Untitled Hymn: A Collection of Hymns by Chris Rice. This is a lovely collection and it’s been a really nice transition from Christmas music to the start of the new year.

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:2 ESV

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

Mary