The Little Things Newsletter #471 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! As I write this, I’m listening to the birds outside singing their hearts out and there is a brilliantly red cardinal dancing for us on the back patio. I think the birds are as excited as we are for a lovely sunshine-filled day. 

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Did you know you can cook perfect shrimp (from frozen!) in the air fryer without thawing first and it turns out perfectly? The air fryer comes in clutch once again by making shrimp an even easier dinner option.

Tender jasmine rice with bite sized broccoli florets in a cheesy sauce makes this cheesy broccoli rice picky eater approved.

Cabbage crunch salad is a super fresh, crunchy cabbage slaw in a beautifully balanced tart and slightly sweet dressing with a hint of nutty sesame and almond.

Tangy, creamy, and packing a little mysterious kick, Russian dressing is a classic salad topper and dip that deserves a little more attention. Coming together in five minutes or fewer, you’ll want to have a bottle of this salad dressing in the fridge at all times!

Blueberry lemonade is as refreshing as it is beautiful. This vibrant magenta spin on classic lemonade is destined to be your go-to for summer sipping.

This coffee cake with fluffy coffee frosting is truly for coffee lovers. The coffee flavors both the cake and the frosting, cutting the sweetness without detracting from the flavor. But you gotta like coffee. A lot. Luckily, we do, so this is a very popular cake in our house.

Bright and colorful and decidedly retro in the best way, bubble gum ice cream is a unique ice cream with a whole lot of whimsy and hints of banana, cherry, and strawberry.

What I’m CRAVING: Have you heard of banana fritters?? These banana fritters with vanilla caramel sauce caught my eye yesterday and I dreamed about them last night. I think that’s a sign we need to make them soon. They sound pretty amazing!

My FAVORITE THING this week is this jewelry cleaner. If you’ve known me for long, you know that I sure do love sparkling rings, and it doesn’t especially matter whether they’re super fancy, not so fancy, or costume pieces – I like them all. Over the years, I’ve tried just about every jewelry cleaner on the market. This is my current favorite, just a few drops in some warm water and everything is sparkling.

What I’m LISTENING to

Summer Grilled Chicken Salad w/ Creamy Basil Dressing

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Summer Grilled Chicken Salad w/ Creamy Basil Dressing

a photo taken over the top of a large serving bowl full of mixed greens, a sliced grilled chicken breast, corn, halved cherry tomatoes all topped with a creamy basil dressing

During the summer I love to make a big, satisfying salad that packs in a lean protein and is full of flavor without the fuss and mess of the oven. I use grilled chicken with our favorite chicken marinade, charred corn on the cob, crispy bacon, smoky and salty cheeses and of course, our summer basil herb dressing! It’s the best grilled chicken salad recipe on the internet for a reason!

Watch How We Make This Fabulous Summer Salad…

If you’re looking for the most delicious dinner to make on a hot summer day that does not include the oven, this is it! I’m utterly obsessed with the dressing and have been keeping all ingredients on hand to make every version of this summer salad possible.

Sometimes I skip the berries or only add one of the cheeses. Other times I sub out the chicken for another protein or even shove it all in a big fat wrap. No matter how you make it, this is the best summer salad ever. 

Ingredients for the Best Summer Salad

As with most salads, this salad is highly customizable depending on what you have on hand and what your family loves. There are two things I wouldn’t skip…the chicken and the dressing! I can’t say enough about this homemade basil dressing! Most salads use vinaigrettes or ranch dressing, but this unique creamy basil dressing is fresh, light and irresistible!

  • Mixed Greens: You can grab any type of green you want…baby spinach, arugula, spring mix, romaine lettuce, etc.
  • Boneless Skinless Chicken Brea

Bubble Gum Ice Cream

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Bright and colorful and decidedly retro in the best way, bubble gum ice cream is a unique ice cream with a whole lot of whimsy and hints of banana, cherry, and strawberry.

bubble gum ice cream in a bowl with a scoop

Bubble Gum Ice Cream

My earliest ice cream memory is a trip to Baskin Robbins with my Grandpa Zintz. This is the grandfather that introduced me to Pralines and Cream ice cream – my forever favorite as an adult, however my taste buds simply did not appreciate its awesomeness as a young child.

I remember ordering a scoop of bubble gum ice cream “in a cup, please” and Grandpa humored me as I carefully saved every tiny piece of bubble gum and took them home with me. Never had I had such richness as a whole little cup half filled with pieces of bubble gum.

I’m not going to lie, the very thought of all that saved bubble gum makes me cringe now. But boy, did it rock my 6-year-old world.

Whether you choose to actually stir in the bubble gum balls or simply have them on the side, the flavors here are so nostalgic, I can’t help grinning.

The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

bubble gum ice cream in a bowl

Retro Ice Cream

To make this sentimental and delicious ice cream, you’ll need the following ingredients:

  • strawberries
  • banana
  • cherries
  • sugar
  • kosher salt
  • vanilla extract
  • almond extract
  • milk
  • heavy cream
  • small bubble gum balls

Combine the strawberries, banana, cherries, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and milk in the blender. Blend until smooth. Add the cream and pulse to combine.

Pour into the ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Coffee Cake with Coffee Frosting

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This coffee flavored cake is truly for coffee lovers. The coffee flavors both the cake and the frosting, cutting the sweetness without detracting from the flavor. But you gotta like coffee. A lot. Luckily, we do, so this is a very popular cake in our house.

coffee cake with coffee frosting on a plate with a fork

Coffee Flavored Cake

Our friend Tom introduced us to this cake last year and I couldn’t get it out of my head. His version started with a cake mix, and it was truly irresistible. So, I challenged myself to recreate it from scratch. This is truly a coffee lover’s dream come true.

As much as I love a great coffee cake -which is typically made without a bit of coffee in it, but served with coffee- this is a cake for the coffee lover. Coffee flavored cake topped with fluffy coffee frosting? I very happily make and eat this cake as often as possible.

coffee flavored cake on a cake stand waiting for coffee frosting

Coffee Flavored Cake Recipe

To make this little piece of coffee heaven, you’ll need the following ingredients:

  • instant coffee
  • water
  • brown sugar
  • white sugar
  • vegetable or olive oil
  • eggs
  • vanilla extract
  • all purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • coffee frosting
coffee cake with coffee frosting on a plateRead more

Fluffy Coffee Frosting

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As fluffy as a summer cloud, this intense coffee frosting is for true coffee lovers! Top chocolate cake, coffee cake, vanilla cupcakes, or sandwich between your favorite cookies.

This is a coffee lover’s dream come true.

coffee cake with coffee frosting on a plate with a fork

Coffee Frosting

In our family, we love coffee – a lot. We also love cake. And we take our frostings seriously. This coffee-flavored frosting is always a great choice for chocolate cake, naturally, since coffee and chocolate go so well together.

But don’t stop there! It makes a killer filling between two cookies of just about any type. If you’d drink a cup of coffee with that cookie, you can frost it with coffee frosting. From 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies to Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies, we have so many options for cookies here.

Chocolate Chip Blondies are heavenly when topped with this frosting too. Pour a cup of coffee and let’s frost something!

coffee cake with coffee frosting on a plate with a spatula

Coffee Flavored Frosting

To make this coffee-fanatic fantasy frosting, you’ll need the following ingredients:

  • instant coffee
  • water
  • butter
  • powdered sugar
  • vanilla
  • heavy cream
coffee frosting in a bowl with an offset spatulaRead more
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