The Little Things Newsletter #392 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I’m looking forward to a pretty relaxed couple of days to finish off a week that was filled with family time, games, and laughter. I absolutely love having friends and family stay with us, and you know what else I love? That moment when the house is quiet and calm again. (We can admit that, right?)

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: This Brussels sprouts gratin is a savory delight, combining thinly sliced tender-crisp Brussels sprouts with a creamy sauce. A sprinkling of cheese and a breadcrumb topping finish it off nicely, creating a luxurious, comforting side dish.

Flaky buttery pastry tops a luscious medley of tender chicken, hearty vegetables, and a creamy, savory sauce in these puff pastry pot pies.

This tangy, sweet homemade cranberry sauce with lemon trumps anything you can buy at the store. Do you know how easy it is to make cranberry sauce? If you can boil water, I promise you can make cranberry sauce.

Captain Crunch ice cream is a whimsical treat that captures the essence of childhood breakfasts in a delightful homemade ice cream. The nostalgic cereal flavor infuses every scoop of this creamy, velvety ice cream.

These Chocolate Caramel Cookies – or more accurately, Caramel Stuffed Double Chocolate Chip Cookies – are a cookie that I crave every single time I see these photos. They are legitimately mouthwatering.

Buttery crunchy toffee and candy bar pieces are layered with whipped cream atop a dessert so deliriously rich, this Heath Bar cake should carry a warning label.

What I’m CRAVING: I don’t crave salad nearly as often in the winter, but right now? I’m looking forward to prepping all the salads for my lunches this week. I’m thinking I’ll roast a tray of this and this to toss into my salads this time around.

My FAVORITE THING this week is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. I know, I know, two book recommendations in a week? I was setting out our stack of Christmas books this week and couldn’t resist this one. I’m going to read it aloud again this year with my much older kids. (I still have trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that

Captain Crunch Ice Cream

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Captain Crunch ice cream is a whimsical treat that captures the essence of childhood breakfasts in a delightful homemade ice cream. The nostalgic cereal flavor infuses every scoop of this creamy, velvety ice cream.

Horizontal close-up of Captain Crunch Ice Cream topped with Captain Crunch cereal

Captain Crunch Ice Cream

This ice cream is SO good, my friends! When I finally nailed this recipe, the ice cream turned out perfectly smooth and creamy, tasting exactly like Captain Crunch cereal – the perfect pairing for the crunchy cereal on top when you serve it.

It’s been a few years since I first sprinkled a handful of Captain Crunch cereal over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (I owe my friend Christi for that brilliant food pairing idea!) And let me tell you, there’s no turning back once you’ve combined cereal with ice cream.

The crunchy cereal against the creamy smooth ice cream? It’s irresistible. So, turning that flavor combination into an actual cereal ice cream – you know that needed to happen.

Adding milk to a bowl of Captain Crunch cereal

Cereal Ice Cream

When you first taste a cereal ice cream, it is something you won’t forget. Cereal milk is infused with the flavors of the cereal, in the case of this Captain Crunch ice cream, those flavors are butter and brown sugar.

When you combine that cerea

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

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This tangy, sweet homemade cranberry sauce with lemon trumps anything you can buy at the store.

Do you know how easy it is to make cranberry sauce? If you can boil water, I promise you can make cranberry sauce.

Homemade cranberry sauce in white bowl with ladle

For years, I bought cranberry sauce in a can and my husband and boys ate every last bit of it. They clearly enjoy cranberry sauce. We even bought an extra can or two every year, just for the leftovers.

I love so many other cranberry recipes, from cranberry apple pie to Christmas cake, cranberry jalapeno dip to cranberry pancakes. But cranberry sauce? That was never my thing. It was only ever something we had for the boys in the house – until now.

Cranberry Sauce with Lemon

About a dozen years ago, that changed for me. I tried a sandwich that stacked turkey with cranberry sauce and I fell in love with the combination.

It was not a sugary sweet cranberry sauce, it was tangy and just a bit sweet at the same time. I now understand why so many people think it just isn’t Thanksgiving without the cranberry sauce.

I’ve made cranberry sauce a few different ways over the past 10 or so years, but this cranberry sauce with lemon is my favorite version. This is the easiest of the Thanksgiving side dishes to make ahead of time for the holidays too.

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The Best Cheese Ball I Ever Had

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The Best Cheese Ball I Ever Had

a photo of a large cheese ball coated in chopped pecans and minced fresh parsley surrounded by a bunch of Ritz crackers.

I had no idea that an easy cheese ball recipe could be this good. Last year I had the best cheese ball I ever had and now I get to share how crazy easy this appetizer is!

Our neighbor, Michelle thought up the most genius idea, she cancelled neighbor gifts at Christmas. Can we all have a moment of cheering for Michelle? Now, I’m not against neighbor gifts, but I don’t know that I’m for pouring out all of that extra stress for a bunch of cookies the neighbors throw away. Don’t worry, I’m going to tie it all together so you know what it has to do with The Best Cheese Ball I Ever Had

We were so impressed with not just Michelle, but how the neighbors responded. Michelle sent out a big letter announcing that instead of doing neighbor gifts, what if we donated to a cause. Everyone could come visit at a little Christmas gathering at her house, bring a donation for a family in need or a reputable charity and visit with each other, which is more of what Christmas is about.

Oh it was such a success!! So much money earned, and we stuffed our faces, I mean, we all got into the Christmas spirit so much more!

What is a Good Cheese Ball Recipe?

Another dear friend, Angie was there. I casually walked over to her and seeing the food said, “oh what is a good cheese ball recipe? I’m never as in love as I want to be.” And there we were, standing at the food table, shoveling crackers with the best cheese ball I ever had into our mouths. I finally said, “my gosh, who made this?!!!” And Angie says, “Oh, I did.”

What?! How have I never tasted of this goodness before and how could she stand there so nonchalant?! I mean, it looked like a classic cheese ball recipe, but something about it was different.

Look, I’ve had some pretty good cheese balls in my day. Our BBQ Bacon Cheese Ball and German Chocolate Cheese Ball are pretty dang amazing, but now I am sitting here making a humble pie because Angie’s is the best cheese ball I ever had!

Secret Ingredients in the the Best Cheese Ball

I think it’s the secret, artery clogging ingredient that you all are going to use and not complain a lick about because it’s just that worth it.

Kraft Old English Jarred Cheese.

Yes, it’s cheese in a jar. I’ve linked to it so you can see what to look for.

No, it probably isn’t real cheese. I can’t fight you on that one. Can you pretend it is? Just this once?

The rest of the ingredients are the norm, but I’ll do you a favor and give a quick overview because I love seeing a quick list of ingredients.

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