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Happy Sunday, friends! Between birthday lunches, school performances, soccer, and business travel, we had quite the busy week around here. I’m looking at our calendar over the next few weeks and I seriously cannot believe that the boys are almost done with school for the year.????  Time flies, and we’re already looking ahead to summer vacations, camps, and how-the-heck I’m going to keep everyone entertained! But first, it’s time of another roundup of Our Week in Meals

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. Now let’s back up to last weekend…

Keith left for a business trip to Europe on Sunday, but we squeezed in some basketball at the playground before his departure.

Spencer’s still obsessed with his scooter!

After lunch I took the boys to a playground in Charlottesville to visit with my friend Kristie and her two boys. The 5 kids ran around in the 90-degree heat for well over an hour, breaking only to drink water and eat some snacks…

I took my crew across the street to Sweet Frog for a late-afternoon treat on the way home. Perfect on a hot day!

Dinner that night was super low-key. Keith wasn’t around to grill, so I cooked these salmon burgers in a skillet on the stovetop. The taste was good, but the smoke that filled my house was NOT. Next time we’ll stick with the outdoor grill!

I served the burgers with sweet potatoes and these yellow squash that needed to be enjoyed. I grated the squash and sauteed it in a skillet with butter, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Very simple and it only takes about 5 minutes. The boys prefer the texture of the grated squash (rather than sliced), and they like to top their veggies with a little bit of Parmesan cheese on top.

I recently ordered new quilts, comforters, sheets, and pillows for the boys’ beds — which arrived on Monday afternoon in about a zillion different boxes. On a rainy evening, those boxes provided quite the entertainment for my younger two kiddos!

For dinner that evening I resurrected an oldie-but-goodie blog recipe: my 3-Ingredient Apricot Glazed Chicken. The boys and I actually prefer to remove the skin after cooking — the meat inside is so incredibly juicy and flavorful. Highly recommend!

I served our chicken with quinoa and steamed green beans.

With Keith out of town (and therefore unable to help with sports practices in the evening), I legitimately felt like a taxi driver on Tuesday. Between pick-ups and drop-offs at two different schools in two different towns, plus pick-ups and drop-offs at two different soccer practices in the evening, I basically spent the entire day in the car. I’m not complaining — just stating a fact!

I did manage to get dinner on the table, though! We just had to eat at 4:45 p.m. in order to make it happen. ????  Earlier in the afternoon I cooked the meal (which only took about 15 minutes), and served it at room temp once the boys were home from school and finished with homework. We had Herb-Crusted Chicken Breasts, which I ate on top of a salad while the boys had their chicken with pesto pasta. Might sound fancy, but it definitely wasn’t.

Of course, we were all hungry for bowls of cereal by the time we got back home from soccer at 7:30!

Spencer and I spent most of Wednesday at my parents’ house south of Charlottesville. While there, we walked over to Aunt Barbara’s house to celebrate a birthday lunch for my mom (one day early)!

Aunt Barbara served chicken salad + fruit + a fresh baguette. Delicious!

And a birthday party wouldn’t be complete without CAKE. We shared these cupcakes, and surprisingly we all thought that the strawberry cupcake was the best. That frosting!!!

Flowers that Barbara snipped from her front yard. Hello, Spring!

For dinner that evening I prepared one of the recipes from my grandmother’s box. This Baked Eggplant Parmesan was SO GOOD, and it totally reminded me of my childhood. Best of all, it only took about 15 minutes to prepare. I had my eggplant with salad, while I served the boys’ over pasta. The kids liked the dinner because they said it “reminded them of pizza.”????

Recipe coming soon!

Thursday was my mom’s birthday, so she joined us in Madison for a day of fun! ????  First up: the 1st grade spring musical.

Gibbs worked hard to memorize those lines!

Mom and I then headed to the preschool, where Spencer and his friends hosted a Mother’s Day Tea Party. We were treated to songs, tea, and sweet snacks.

And finally, a birthday lunch at my mom’s favorite local spot: The Market at Grelen.

I had the Vegetarian Caesar Salad (which was great!), but those homemade flatbreads were the stars of the show!

The rain held off long enough so that we could sit outside and enjoy our meal while Spence ate homemade chocolate ice cream,

and played in the giant sandbox.

Dinner that night was one of my easy go-to options. We were hustling back out the door for Gibbs’s second performance of the day, so I prepared chicken quesadillas (using the leftover chicken from Monday night) and served those with salad. It was our Cinco de Mayo meal one day early!

Friday was a very low-key day. Keith was back home from his business trip, so Spencer followed him around for a lot of the day working on house projects while it poured rain outside. I picked up an early dinner at Giovanna’s — our usual Friday night pizza — which we ate while listening to mariachi music for Cinco de Mayo!

After dinner I took all 3 of the boys to the elementary school for a Mother-Son event. The boys scarfed down tons of snacks while watching a wild animal show (and trying hard to sit still)! I was happy to see that my crew was reluctant to get too close to the snakes and instead opted to sit in the back row.????

We were back at the soccer fields on Saturday morning for team photos and games, in spite of the cold, rainy weather.

 Cold and shivering after a wet game!

The boys had hair cuts after lunch, we ate an early supper, and then we settled down to watch the Kentucky Derby! Actually, Keith, Spencer and I watched the Kentucky Derby while the older boys spent some quiet time alone in their bedrooms as a result of some less-than-desirable behavior. ????  Real life, folks…

But dinner was awesome! I wasn’t organized enough to pull together a Derby Day feast, so I’ll just have to make our favorite Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders some other evening. Instead, I made an Asian-inspired meal based on what we had in the kitchen. We were on the end of the grocery week, so I thawed some salmon from the freezer, which I marinated in this Sesame Ginger dressing:

I also stir-fried frozen veggies, cooked a batch of brown basmati rice in the rice cooker, and baked a box of spring rolls (the boys love them!). It all tasted great together!

 So there you go! Another week of easy dinners done! I’m off to enjoy the day with my family and restock our kitchen with a run to the grocery store. Have a great week ahead!

blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

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Hands serving a platter of sheet pan sausage and potatoes

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Comments

  1. Blair, your blog is just the best one! Love your recipes and hearing about your family. Thank you!

    1. Judy, thank you SO much for your kind note! I really appreciate hearing from you and I’m so glad that you enjoy the blog! Have a great week! 🙂

  2. Hi Blair i just wanted to drop in snd tell you that my kids love you! Well actuslly they love the meals that i make from your blog so i love you :-). I love the way your dishes are so simple and easy yet delicious and the way you keep it real by mixing it up with a subway or a pizza everynow and again. My youngest was in tears tonight as she wanted your crustless quiche (or baked omlette) so i had to promise that will be for tea tomorrow night. Keep up the good work ! Angela

    1. Angela! I LOVE your kids!!! It’s so wonderful to hear that they appreciate the recipes and that these meals might even make your life a little bit easier! You totally made my day.

      And yes — I’m keeping it real, and I’m the first to admit that we’re not fancy! Subway, pizza, cereal, sandwiches…it’s all fine for dinner! I do my best to get homemade meals prepared most nights, but certainly not EVERY night. I need a break too! 🙂 Have a great week!

  3. May I please have a link to the Herb-Crusted Chicken Breasts. The one above did not work for me. Thank you.

    1. Hey, Jeanette! I don’t have a link to that recipe yet because it’s not on the blog. I have plans to share the recipe in the coming months, but for now I will email it to you! 🙂