Our Week in Meals #24

Happy Easter, friends! I’m popping in this morning with a quick roundup of Our Week in Meals before heading off for egg hunting and holiday brunch-ing.

For those of you who are new to the blog, 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. With that, let’s back up to last Sunday…

I spent the morning in the kitchen — testing recipes, photographing recipes, and packing the boys’ school lunches for the week. Meanwhile, Keith and the boys did some yard work and played an intense Corn Hole match.

For lunch I had an Asian Sesame Chicken Mason Jar Salad. This was one of the FOUR different mason jar salads that I made in the morning and then enjoyed throughout the week. I’ll share them all soon!

Mid-afternoon we went up the road to Tastee-Freez for a sweet snack. Perfect on a warm day!

Gibbs reminded me that the toppings are always the best part…

From there we headed to the elementary school so that Casey could practice his basketball (he’s obsessed!) and so that Spencer could practice his “scooting.”

Dinner was another delicious new recipe — Grilled Salmon with a Garlic and Herb Marinade. I paired the fish with Caesar salad and sourdough bread. I’ll share the marinade recipe soon because it turned out really well!

The older boys returned to school on Monday morning, and Spence and I spent the rest of the day at home. This little guy was outside almost all day long enjoying the beautiful weather…

I had a bunch of overripe bananas on the counter, so I made two loaves of our favorite Whole Wheat Banana Bread — one for the kids for snack, and one for Mollie (who just had a baby this week!). This is seriously the BEST recipe and it’s the only banana bread I ever make. It’s also lower in sugar and fat than most quick breads!

I tried a new recipe for dinner and it turned out well! This 5-Ingredient Italian Baked Chicken is a combo of roasted tomatoes, pesto chicken, parmesan, and prosciutto. So much flavor! On the side we had pasta and sauteed spinach, which I cooked with olive oil, butter, garlic, and lemon juice.

Tuesday was such a beautiful (warm) day! Spencer wanted to check out the blossoms on our red bud trees before I took him to school that morning…

After lunch I made a batch of my mom’s Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal Cookies for a sweet treat. They’re thick, chewy, and so darn good. My boys love them and consider it a HUGE victory when I let them have these for breakfast with a glass of milk!

We had soccer practices all evening, so I fed the kids an early supper at about 4:30 before we left for the fields. It’s such an awkward schedule, because we don’t get home until about 7:45 p.m. (which is already past their bedtime and way too late for them to eat dinner). They usually just have a bowl of cereal or a small snack before they shower and CRASH in bed, but Keith and I end up either eating in stages, eating on the go, or having a really late dinner (which I don’t love). I’m still trying to figure out the logistics on these evenings, as I know many parents are.

I had originally planned to give the boys soup and sandwiches that night, but it was 85 degrees outside and soup just didn’t sound appealing. Instead, they got English Muffin Pizzas and fruit, while I grabbed another one of my mason jar salads from the fridge. This was the Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad, which I ate early in the evening.

When we got home later that night, I also had a smoothie before bed. Going to sleep on an empty stomach just doesn’t work for me!

After a late night on Tuesday, Spence and I stayed home for the day on Wednesday. I juggled recipe photos, blog work, and conference calls in between jaunts outside in the sandbox and on the tractor.

We had fun exploring the yard to find dandelions, bugs, pink flowers,

and blossoms on our apple trees! Fingers crossed that they actually bear fruit this year…

After picking up the older boys from school, I prepared a double batch of Easter Cupcakes to take to the preschool party on Thursday.

Spencer’s request!

For dinner I made my low-carb Skinny Taco Stuffed Peppers, served with cheese quesadillas on the side for my hungry boys. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef on this particular night because I knew that we would have beef the following evening. Keith was working late, so I set aside a couple of peppers for him and baked them in a smaller dish when he was heading home. This is an easy prep-ahead meal to suit different schedules!

I spent Thursday morning at the preschool setting up for the kids’ egg hunt and helping with the Easter party.

Little boy with a giant basket!

When we arrived back home mid-afternoon, I started dinner in the slow cooker. We had my Slow Cooker Korean Beef from THIS POST, which I served with brown basmati rice and steamed broccoli.

On Friday morning I met Kristin for an early walk at Chris Greene Lake after we dropped off our older kids at school.

The skies were overcast, but the temperature was perfect! Our little guys had a good time getting dirty in rock piles, throwing leaves, and picking up every stick on the trail.

Spence and I made a grocery run afterwards before returning home for lunch.

Leftover Taco Stuffed Peppers!

Instead of cooking dinner that evening, I was busy dyeing Easter eggs with the kids.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated so this messy project was done OUTSIDE! For some reason our eggs never quite look like the pictures on the box, but we only had one cracked egg and ZERO tears (so I considered it a huge success). I set the expectations looooow. ????

Everyone was happy when Keith picked up pizza, subs, and chicken fingers from Giovanna’s on his way home from work…

We spent Saturday morning on the soccer fields, as usual.

Keith took Gibbs to his game while Spencer and I watched Casey play in Madison.

After lunch Casey helped me decorate an Easter cake for today. Can you say, “SUGAR?!”????

And yes, I ran out of white frosting for the sides of the cake!

Dinner that evening was simple and fresh — 3-Ingredient Garlic & Herb Grilled Pork Tenderloin Kabobs (recipe coming soon)! I served mac and cheese on the side, which always makes the kids happy.

And that brings us to today! I’ll be sure to check in next weekend with a full recap of our holiday festivities! Have a great week ahead!