Welcome to the weekend, my friends! We’ve had a wonderfully peaceful Christmas break so far and I’m ready to dive back into the last week of work before the new year. (Bring on 2026, I am sooooo ready for it!) The kids are enjoying their break from school and our weather here in Ohio has been a wild ride of cold, then warm, then super warm, and now it’s supposed to get chilly again.
ON OUR MEAL PLAN THIS WEEK: Grilled cheese sandwiches paired with our favorite tomato soup is the perfect lunch for a chilly day. Is there anything better than the crunch of toasted cheese filled sourdough drenched in tomato soup?
If you haven’t tried it yet, this balsamic glazed meatloaf is about to change your meatloaf game. Served with chunky, buttery, garlic smashed potatoes, and smashed Brussels sprouts this is a meal I absolutely love.
These juicy, tender pan-fried chicken thighs with a golden-crisp skin are possible with just a spoonful of oil and a bit of patience. Paired with this cheesy broccoli mushroom casserole, it is guaranteed happiness on your plates.
Italian White Bean, Cabbage, and Sausage Soup is loaded with great flavors and it’s filled with far more vegetables and meat than broth. I like to serve this soup with warm, toasted garlic bread.
Have you tried baking sweet potatoes in the air fryer yet? If not, I highly recommend that you put this one on your list to try asap. This has become one of my favorite lunches over the past year. It’s about as simple as it gets and it’s my kind of comfort food too.
I’m making room for one more fantastic dessert while we’re on our Christmas break. This chocolate cobbler combines a topping of fudgy, chocolate cake over a layer of rich, gooey chocolate. If you’ve ever had a molten lava cake, then the experience is deliciously similar.
My FAVORITE THING this week is this tiny keychain container. It can be used as a travel pill case or for carrying small jewelry or earplugs. It’s beyond the handiest thing I could’ve imagined! I started carrying mine over a month ago and loved it so much, I wound up giving it to several people this Christmas. It’s super discreet and thin and doesn’t weigh down my keychain at all. I really love it.
What I’m WATCHING:
Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Can you believe we’re just a few days away from Christmas?? As I started writing this today, I realized this will be the 500th Little Things newsletter! This was never really something I planned to do. I just really enjoy sharing our life with you in this way and so I’ve continued writing these emails every Saturday morning.
The world of food blogging has changed a lot over the past 15 years and when I started writing these newsletters almost 10 years ago, it was my way of trying to stay connected with you all despite the internet’s push to “just share the recipe” and stop telling stories along with the foods we share.
Today, to celebrate both my love of Christmas and the fun of sending you this 500th newsletter, I’m giving away $500 in Amazon gift cards.
I enjoy celebrating the holidays so much and I love hearing about your family’s favorite traditions. All you need to do to be entered is leave a comment on this blog post and tell me about your favorite Christmas tradition!
On Tuesday, December 23rd, I’ll pick 5 of the comments that have been left on this blog post and send a $100 Amazon card to each of those readers just for the fun of it. The winners will be notified via the email used to leave a comment on the website.
(Unfortunately, as much as I enjoy receiving your emails, replies via email can’t be included in this giveaway, it’s simply too difficult to track entries that way.)
I’ll go first by sharing my favorite Christmas memory:
When I was 8 years old, I wanted roller skates for Christmas. My mom managed to find a pair of skates, the old-fashioned kind with metal wheels. These were nothing like the skates my friends had, but they were skates and she was so happy to have found them. She cleaned them up and set them aside for me.
However, the old skates needed new laces. She had no spare money for the laces, but she gathered all the change, mostly pennies, in the house and she went to the store.
She took her pile of pennies and a package of laces to the counter at the store and the young and impatient clerk told her that she wasn’t going to take pennies. My mom started crying, but she held her ground and told the clerk that it was still good money and she needed those laces for Christmas. Thanks to help from the gentleman in line behind her, the clerk finally sold her the laces and she brought them home.
When I opened my gift of the skates on Christmas morning, I had no idea how much work and how many tears had gone into those skates. I was just thrilled to be tying on my first pair of roller skates.
For that memory and so many others, thank you Mom. You taught me to be grateful for everything. You taught me that finding joy in the small pleasures of life is far more fun than always looking towards the next big thing.
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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s getting even chillier over here in Ohio and I am soooo here for it. The snow started falling around noon and it’s supposed to keep falling through tomorrow. Do I even need to tell you how excited I am about this?!?! We’re supposed to get 3-6” and for us here in central Ohio, that’s a whole lot of snow.
I’m about to start some tomato soup simmering on the stove and we’ll be dipping the best ever grilled cheese sandwiches into it tonight. My son, Ben, requested clam chowder for dinner tomorrow and I’m looking forward to that too. I’m thinking that we might need some cheesy biscuits to go with it.
ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Sometimes the simplest things end up being the biggest wins. That’s how I feel about this cheesy, crispy, Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadilla. My boys and I threw them together a few weeks ago for the first time with some of the items we tend to have on hand in the freezer. Suffice it to say that these are way tastier than they have any right to be!
This crave-worthy Ground Beef Fried Rice is absolutely packed with flavor, and it’s ready to eat in under 20 minutes. Did I mention that it’s a one pan meal? Yep. Quick and easy with almost no dishes to do? Count me in for seconds.
Everyone seems to have a different name for these melt-in-your-mouth Mexican Wedding Cookies. Regardless of what you call them, they’re dangerously delicious! Eat just one? Yeah, right.
Imagine you’re sitting at a European streetside cafe, sipping a tiny cup of espresso and watching all the people bustling along. The waiter brings you this confection for dessert. It’s a slice of Chocolate Salami, a rich and silky ganache, absolutely packed with crunchy cookies and walnuts. And, the good news? You can make this no-bake dessert at home in just 10 minutes. Buon appetito, indeed!
This luscious Chocolate Sea Salt Ice Cream is the kind of indulgence you whisper about at the end of a long day. I don’t know what it is about sea salt ice cream that has me hooked, but I’m in deep now, and there’s no going back!
What I’m CRAVING: This Christmas salad with fresh greens, mandarin oranges, pomegranate, candied pecans, and crumbled feta in a zesty citrus vinaigrette caught my eye this week. Not only is it beautiful, but it sounds absolutely delicious too!
My FAVORITE THINGS this week
December 6, 2025
Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s a chilly one here in Ohio. I have pipes that tend to freeze here in my studio, so we’ve had faucets going on a slow drip for days (yes, that’s really a thing, friends in Phoenix) and I’m grateful to know to do this now after the first few years of frozen pipes.
Anyone with a different solution? Feel free to message me, we’ve had plumbers look at the situation and basically shrug or tell us it’s just an old house, so I think we’re probably stuck with this method. At least the pipes don’t freeze if we leave the faucets dripping when we have single digit temps. Weird way to start the newsletter, I know, but I’m hoping someone might have a creative solution we might not have tried!
ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Whenever the temperature dips and soup season arrives, I find myself using my crockpot even more than usual more. I am convinced that this slow cooker white chicken chili is the reason crockpots exist. No stress. Just tender chicken, hearty beans, spicy chile, and a house that smells divine.
When it comes to dinners that are lightning fast but still feel luxurious, baked pesto salmon is the way to go. Topped with a homemade parsley pesto with crunchy pine nuts, this dinner takes just 20 minutes from start to finish!
Store-bought puff pastry just might be the ultimate kitchen hack. No more rolling butter and dough and waiting. Just an easy solution for the flaky, buttery crust we all crave. And, this elegant chicken pot pie with puff pastry puts it to good use, covering a savory filling that is loaded with tender chicken, hearty vegetables, and a creamy sauce.
Leafy greens, crunchy apple slices, and chewy raisins are fabulous together in this spinach apple salad with a tangy sweet dressing. The salad is a delightful balance of flavors and textures, making it one of my favorites to share with friends.
Creamy peanut butter, chewy marshmallows, indulgent almond bark, Rice Krispies, and chocolate chips? Stop talking, I’m already interested! But, combine them in a no-bake cookie recipe? Oh, yeah. Sign me up. These unbelievably good avalanche cookies are ready to eat in just 10 minutes.
Decadent fudgy mint brownies are topped with a peppermint buttercream frosting and a heavenly dark chocolate ganache. I may be biased, but you won’t find a better brownie recipe out there. And, bonus? They’re way easier to make than they look!
There’s something gleefully unrestrained about turning a drink as comforting as horchata into ice cream. You still get the sweet, creamy flavors of cinnamon and vanilla in horchata
Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I hope that your Thanksgiving was a wonderful one. This newsletter is a little different from the usual and I’m hoping you will find it helpful! I spent a while this week sifting through my favorite kitchen tools, selecting my absolute favorites to share with you. I’ve been a food blogger for 15 years now and I’ve been cooking 2-3 meals a day for most of the past 25 years.
And over those years? I’ve tried and tested sooooo many kitchen tools, most of which have gathered dust and eventually made their way to donation centers over time. (I’d like to spare you that hassle if I can!) So, if you’re looking for gift ideas for yourself or for those on your Christmas lists, these are my recommendations for kitchen gear that will earn its keep.
KITCHEN ESSENTIALS
For kitchen gifts that actually get used, I’ve got you. Not another candle. Not another mug. These are the things that I use in my kitchen every. single. day. (And the reasons WHY I choose these over others that look just like them at first glance.) Check out my go-to favorites!
KITCHEN TINY EXTRAS
I’ve tried so many kitchen tools over the years. And, far too many of them are gimmicky nonsense. But THESE? These actually work. These are the tools that I keep using, time after time. Can we just agree to say no to “cute but useless” kitchen gadgets? These tools right here are perfect for gifting… or upgrading your own kitchen. Kitchen tools you WILL use!
KITCHEN SPLURGES
Ok, confession time. I am a frugal cook. But, sometimes I make an exception. These things were absolutely positively worth the extra cost. They work incredibly well. They last. And, most importantly, they give me no regrets. Ready for an investment that makes sense? You will not regret clicking this!
KITCHEN POTS AND PANS
Did you know that quality cookware actually makes cooking easier? I used to think that I couldn’t afford good pots and pans. Oh, how wrong I was. Skip the trendy and expensive sets. You don’t need to be fancy. Here are the must-haves. Click here for easier cooking!
THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS: Oh, baby, have I got you covered this year. I’ve never had so much fun with the holiday leftovers. Is there anything more American than sitting down to a feast with multiple pounds of meat on the table for each person? Turkey leftovers are real.
But, they aren’t a problem, at my house! We use it up in sandwiches, s