The Little Things Newsletter #463 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! The spring flowers are blooming and it’s looking so pretty around the village. As I was out walking this week, I found myself stopping several times just to admire the beautiful flowering trees.

Today is filled with new recipes for me to cook and photograph and I’m looking forward to it. Plus, it’s raining outside and I’m cozy inside, so no complaints here.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: This easy and impressive poblano corn chowder has serious comfort food power. Gather your ingredients and be ready to gather the praises that will be heaped on you when folks dunk a spoon into a big bowl of this flavorful chicken, corn, and potato chowder with a hint of heat from roasted poblano chiles.

Tender chunks of savory chicken dance with crisp green beans in a sauce that’s the perfect blend of savory and spice in this chicken and green beans stir fry.

A taco quesadilla is the happy marriage of perfectly flavorful taco meat and the crunchy, cheesy goodness of a quesadilla. Use leftover taco meat and you’re just moments away from a meal everyone will love!

A hot skillet full of sizzling, cheesy, flavorful lasagna dip on the table is guaranteed to put smiles on everyone’s faces! True to its name, this hot cheese-laden dip is redolent with the garlic and tomato goodness of comforting, hearty lasagna.

Hash brown waffles are hot, crispy potato perfection. They’re perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and they make a terrific base for all kinds of toppings. They’re fantastic with gravy or a fried egg on top – or both. Hashbrown waffles are immensely snackable with the dipping sauce of your choice too.

These easy, five-ingredient peanut butter s’mores have a layer of marshmallow and milk chocolate sandwiched between two layers of peanut butter cookies. Can you think of anything more calculated to bring happiness in a single bite?

Rich and creamy vanilla ice cream exploding with pieces of homemade chocolate chip cookies is what chocolate chip cookie ice cream is and what makes it so irresistible. This chocolate chip cookie ice cream will keep you coming back for more.

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Lynne’s Chocolate Mint Dream Bars. This is just the most outrageously awesome dessert, words fail me. My boys go nuts over it every time we make it.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this little Read more

Old Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler

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Old Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler

a photo of a bowl of blackberry cobbler topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

All you need are 6 simple ingredients, including self rising flour to make this old fashioned blackberry cobbler recipe just like your grandma used to make. You’ll be feeling all the nostalgia with this simple dessert recipe that’s perfect for spring or summer.

Easy blackberry cobbler recipe – I think this is the same recipe every mom in America made us as kids. My mom’s recipe came from a heavy blue cookbook that I want to say may have been Better Homes and Gardens or Betty Crocker. Either way, do not skimp on the sugar and always serve warm with ice cream.

The real secret compared to other recipes is that I always butter the dish. The butter creates the most wonderfully delicious bottom on the cobbler. It’s so rich and comforting!

Blackberry Cobbler Ingredients

When I said you only need 6 ingredients to make this recipe for blackberry cobbler, I meant it! It’s so simple! Most of the ingredients are pantry staples too! Here is everything you’ll need:

  • Sugar: just regular white granulated sugar, some of the cobbler topping and some sprinkling on top
  • Self-Rising Flour: found on the same aisle as the all-purpose flour
  • Salt: enhances all the flavors
  • Whole Milk: helps binds the batter together, 2% milk works fine too
  • Butter: adds flavor and richness to the crust
  • Blackberries: can be fresh or frozen, more details below

The measurements required for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

What is Self-Rising Flour?

Self-rising flour is a flour that has a leavening agent already included in it, usually baking powder. It usually has a little salt added to it as well. It helps the baked good rise.

If you don’t have self-rising flour or you can’t find it, you can make your own! Just 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt for every 1 cup of flour in your recipe.

Can I Use Frozen Blackberries?

Both fresh and frozen blackberries work great in this recipe. Of course we love this in the summertime with those juicy, fresh blackberries, but sometimes you need blackberry cobbler when it’s not summertime, so frozen blackberries will work just fine.

No need to thaw them ahead of time. Just sprinkle them over the top frozen and they will thaw as it bakes. If you let them thaw beforehand, they will bleed into the cobbler batter and make it purple and they will be mushy and not the right texture.

How to Make Blackberry Cobbler

One of my favorite things about cobbler recipes is that they are so

Cheesecake Baked Yogurt [+Video]

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Cheesecake Baked Yogurt [+Video]

a photo of a baked yogurt sitting on a serving tray with a slice being removed topped with fresh strawberries and a graham cracker crust crumble

Are you looking for a new, healthy breakfast recipe? Our Cheesecake Baked Yogurt is easy to make. In fact it only takes a few ingredients and your favorite Greek Yogurt to make a simple and unique breakfast or brunch recipe.

STOP with the boring ol’ breakfasts you’ve been eating for years and years! You can make this special brunch recipe for Mother’s day, Easter or just because you’re having a lazy day at home and need an easy breakfast recipe. It tastes like a baked custard and you’ll feel like you’re eating dessert for breakfast!

Ingredients for Baked Cheesecake Yogurt

There are three components to this recipe – the baked yogurt, the berry sauce topping and the graham cracker topping. I like to make the graham cracker topping and berry sauce first (up to days ahead of time), and then make the cake. Here is everything you will need:

  • Graham Cracker Topping: graham crackers, butter, kosher salt and cinnamon
  • Berry Sauce: cornstarch, water, fresh raspberries, sugar and lemon juice
  • Baked Yogurt: vanilla Greek yogurt, eggs, cornstarch, honey, vanilla extract and mixed berries
    • NOTE: The cornstarch is critical to getting the right texture for the berry yogurt bake. It soaks up extra moisture to get the perfect bake.

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Cheesecake Baked Yogurt

Let me take you through the process of making each part of this baked yogurt recipe

Graham Cracker Topping

  1. Blend: Add the graham crackers to a blender or food processor and pulse until fine crumbs.
  2. Mix: Add the melted butter, salt, and cinnamon and mix to combine. Set aside to use later.

Berry Sauce

  1. Combine: Whisk the cornstarch and water together in a small saucepan until dissolved then add the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice and stir to combine.
  2. Boil: Turn the stove on to medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it boil for 3 full minutes stirring occasionally then remove the pan from the heat.
  3. Strain: Press the berry mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds.
  4. Cool: Let the sauce cool completely to room temperature. Store in the fridge.

NOTE: You can also use raspberry jam instead of making homemade sauce. Just warmed it up a little to drizzle on the cake.

Baked Yogurt

  1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350℉ and spray an 8×8″ baking dish (or an 8″ ro

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream

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Rich and creamy vanilla ice cream exploding with pieces of homemade chocolate chip cookies is what chocolate chip cookie ice cream is and what makes it so irresistible. This is an ice cream that will keep you coming back for more!

scoops of ice cream in black bowl on wooden table with black and white towel

Not to be confused with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, this ice cream is made of chunks of homemade (or bakery-style) chocolate chip cookies tucked into creamy rich vanilla ice cream. I love this ice cream when made with these cookies or these cookies.

The salt is optional, but I love that little something extra that it adds. Feel free to skip it if salted chocolate isn’t your thing.

The key to the overall texture of the finished ice cream is simply that the cookies be chewy and not too crispy. We aren’t looking for a crunchy bite in the ice cream, we want chewiness to remain when they’re frozen! They should retain their signature texture and flavors when they have been layered into the ice cream.

ice cream scoop of ice cream in container

Take this to the next level by layering scoops of this ice cream between a couple of soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies. And for a fun twist on this combination, scoop the ice cream between a couple of Monster Cookies and tuck them into Read more

Easy 5 Minute Lemon Feta Grilled Asparagus Recipe

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Easy 5 Minute Lemon Feta Grilled Asparagus Recipe

a photo of a white plate topped with a pile of grilled asparagus spears tossed with feta cheese

Lemon Grilled Asparagus with Feta is a vibrant, flavorful side dish that’s both refreshing and savory! Fresh asparagus spears are perfectly grilled with a zesty lemon dressing, creating a smoky char. Topped with crumbled feta cheese, this dish adds a creamy, tangy contrast to the bright, crisp asparagus.

This easy 5 minute grilled (or broiled) asparagus recipe has a short ingredient list and even shorter cook time, but it’s our kids’ favorite side dish!

Recipe Origins

Remember how I used to be picky? Well, immediately after we had our first daughter we moved to California. California is beautiful, amazing weather (we lived in San Diego) and they have awesome produce. Which is great, unless you’re me and you don’t really care for all of those weird vegetables. Remember, this is the old me, the new me will devour veggies faster than anything else. Anyway, we had dinner at my sister in law’s house and I was informed she was making a really easy grilled lemon pepper asparagus recipe

Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuun! How in the heck was I going to get out of this one?! We were all going to be eating dinner together in the backyard for heaven’s sake!!!! Wait, there was a dog. I for sure could slip one to the dog. Nope, I already was feeling sneaky and knew I couldn’t pretend to eat something and feed it to the dog without feeling horribly guilty. I was going to have to suck it up. And suck it up I did, and it was good. It was real good. And so began my veggie journey. That day I learned that grilled asparagus is phenomenal and since then I’ve converted my mother who always said asparagus was like a nasty weed growing by an old ditch. And now she even loves it. Booyah, baby!

Ingredients for Lemon Pepper Asparagus

You only need 6 ingredients to make this easy vegetable side dish! The olive oil helps the asparagus get a nice char on it and it also helps the seasonings cling to the asparagus. Here is everything you need:

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Lemon Zest and Juice
  • Asparagus
  • Salt and Black Pepper
  • Feta Cheese
    • TIP: If you aren’t a feta fan, parmesan cheese makes a great substitute!

The measurements and details for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Buy the Best Asparagus

Buying the best and freshest asparagus doesn’t need to be complicated. We have a few tips that will help you pick the best bundle of asparagus.

First, check the tips. They should be pretty firm to the touch and mushy at all.

Next, check the stalks. They should not be soft or rubbery at all.

Finally, check the ends. Even though we will be trimming the ends off, they are a good indicator of the freshness of the asparagus spears. You don’t want the ends to be woody, shriveled or split.

One more tip for buying asparagus, try to av

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