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Hey, hey! Happy Sunday to you, my friends! It was kind of a weird week around here. Between a snow day and Spencer’s preschool Spring Break, we were totally out of our routine. That said, we managed to stay busy and of course we enjoyed plenty of delicious food. Are you ready for a look at Our Week in Meals?
For those of you who are new around here, this is where I share a little bit about what we’ve been up to over the past week — as it relates to our meals each night. I hope that this series gives you a glimpse “behind the scenes” at some highlights from our life, shows you how I balance a busy schedule with feeding my family, and offers a few new ideas for your own weekly meal plan.
Before we back up to last weekend, I wanted to share this recent post from SparkPeople. A lot of you regularly ask me for recipes that serve just one or two people, so I thought that you would appreciate this roundup of 50 Healthy Recipes for One. A few of my favorite dishes from the blog are included in the list, so check it out!
Last Sunday we headed up to Culpeper because we needed to do some shopping for the boys’ soccer equipment. Before hitting the sporting goods store, we went for a quick walk at a park in town.
Hunting for Pokemon.
We also went out to lunch at Chilis, which was a big hit with the kids. A highlight: the endless chips and salsa!
I had a bowl of Southwestern Chicken Soup,
and a salad. The food tasted good, I appreciated not having to cook (or clean the kitchen), and Keith and I both commented on how nice it is now that our boys are slightly older and can actually sit down in a restaurant for an extended period of time. We’re making progress!
I did some fridge clean-out for dinner that evening and served a bunch of leftovers from the week. I had the Black Bean Tacos with slaw and avocado from Saturday night, while Keith and the boys had leftover French Dip Sandwiches (that I had frozen from a couple of weeks ago) and coleslaw from the night before.
Spencer and I got to enjoy another lunch date on Monday when we met my mom in Charlottesville at Jason’s Deli.
I love the salad bar there, so that’s what I went with (and it tasted better than it looks in this photo)!
After lunch my mom entertained Spence at Bounce n’ Play while I did some grocery shopping. The store was a zoo with panicked shoppers getting ready for the impending Monday night snow storm. Central Virginia does NOT take snow lightly (even if there are only a couple of inches in the forecast)!
Dinner that night was one of my mom’s classic recipes. I had a craving for it last week, so I pulled out her old recipe card and whipped up a batch of Red Beans and Rice on Sunday afternoon. It only takes 20 minutes from start to finish, and it keeps in the refrigerator or freezer very nicely. On Monday evening, my only task was cooking the rice (in my rice cooker) and reheating the Red Beans and Rice. I served a salad alongside for some greens. Recipe coming soon, because it’s too good to keep to myself!
My mom’s recipe calls for ground beef, but I used ground turkey because we had beef the night before. It can also be made vegetarian as well!
We got a few inches of snow overnight, so the boys were home from school on Tuesday. They were bored after about 2 hours of indoor play, so let’s just say that it was no accident when I photographed a recipe with wine that morning!????
I may have poured myself a glass while cooking at 10:30 a.m…
For dinner that evening I served Baked Garlic and Lemon Chicken, which I tossed with pasta. It made the boys happy, and it was very easy. Recipe coming this spring!
The older boys returned to school on Wednesday morning since the snow was entirely melted by Tuesday afternoon. It was a FREEZING cold day, though! The winds were gusting and it never got above 30 degrees, so when Spencer started complaining about being “bored” by 8:30 a.m., I knew that I better take him somewhere to run around indoors.
We ended up at the mall in Charlottesville, where he jumped in the play area while I warmed up with a mocha. We were both happy!
We took a spin through Costco (where we ran into my friend Kristin and her little guy Jonathan at a sample table!) before returning home for lunch.
He is NOT a fan of shopping…
I did some fridge clean-out that night for supper. I finished off the Red Beans and Rice (with half an avocado on top), Keith had a salmon burger from the freezer and a baked potato, and the boys had fish sticks with veggies and baked potatoes.
Thursday was a completely uneventful day (in a good way)! Spencer normally would have had preschool that morning, but the school was closed for spring break so he was home with me instead.
It was still really chilly outside, so we stayed indoors for the most part — kept busy with train tracks, trucks, laundry, books, and the movie Cars! About the time that he started trying to wrestle on the ground with me though, I knew that we better bundle up and head outside!
Ice stomping,
and tractor driving.
Keith was out of town that evening, so a veggie-filled dinner was on the menu! Hah!
I was channeling warmer weather and a new season with this Creamy Pasta Primavera. It sounds fancy(ish), but it’s really just a box of our favorite Horizon Cheesy Mac mixed with sauteed fresh veggies. I’ll share the recipe soon!
St. Patrick’s Day started with a festive breakfast (that wasn’t actually Irish at all)!
The boys were so excited when I served them Lucky Charms cereal + Green Smoothies!
My friend Mollie came over for a walk that morning, but otherwise Spencer and I had a quiet afternoon. I got the night off from cooking because Keith picked up dinner from the local Italian restaurant on his way home.
The meal obviously wasn’t Irish (or green), but at least there was this:
Do you have some leftover beer from the holiday? If so, you should definitely make my Irish version of French Onion Soup: Quick and Easy Guinness Soup. It’s so good!
Keith introduced the boys to Monopoly that evening, which the older two really liked. I don’t have the patience for board games, so it’s a good thing that Dad could take charge of this one!
Spencer only lasted about 5 minutes…
On Saturday morning I went to a summer camp expo here in Madison to get some ideas for how I might keep my boys busy over their break. Schools finish up in mid-May, so the countdown is on and I’m starting to panic!????  I also took the time to plan out our meals for the coming week so that I could write a grocery list for Sunday. Hooray for organization!
Keith’s parents arrived mid-day for a visit. Keith recently pruned some of our fruit trees, so he needed his dad’s help in hauling away the limbs. Meanwhile, Carole spoiled the boys with cookies and Legos!
Before the grandparents headed home, we all went out for dinner at one of our favorite local spots: Jack’s Shop Kitchen. This little guy didn’t like waiting for his food,
but by the time our meals arrived everyone was happy. The boys had grilled shrimp, burgers, and grilled cheese, while I opted for the Lemon Shrimp Salad + plenty of Spencer’s Parmesan fries. We ordered a few desserts for the table, but those disappeared so fast that I never even got a photo. The Carrot Cake and the Flourless Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Ice Cream were both delicious!
Shrimp and Greens + Green Beans, Shaved Fennel, Pickled Red Onion, Toasted Almonds, Goat Cheese and Citrus Vinaigrette
And that brings us to today! The boys were supposed to start swimming lessons this morning, but that got cancelled. Instead, I’ll be heading to Charlottesville to do some grocery shopping, taking Casey to a play date, and cooking chickens and veggies for dinner. Have a great week ahead!
