Our Week in Meals #411

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included a couple of days off from school, a breakfast book club, and seemingly endless amounts of rain. You’ll find all of the highlights from the past few days, along with each of our dinners, in today’s roundup of Our Week in Meals.

For those of you who are new to the blog, Our Week in Meals is where I share a little bit about what we’ve been up to over the past week — as it relates to our dinners each night. 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…

Adria came over for a walk on Sunday morning, I tested a couple of new recipes in the kitchen, we watched soccer and football on TV, and my parents joined us late afternoon for a visit.

We went out for dinner with my folks at one of the boys’ favorite restaurants here in Madison — The Bavarian Chef. The German cuisine — including Bavarian pretzels, schnitzel, and sausages — never disappoints!

Shall we chat about books? This week I read a perfect novel to welcome the fall season: The Cloisters by Katy Hays. Set in the Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, this murder-mystery follows a group of researchers uncovering a mysterious deck of tarot cards…and other secrets along the way. It’s a little bit creepy, a little bit witchy, and a fun way to kick off spooky season.

It rained off and on most of Monday, but that didn’t slow us down. Gibbs spent the day in Harrisonburg playing 18 holes in a golf tournament, while the other two boys went to school.

Ashley and I walked our dogs together in the mist, and I ran a few errands in town — including my weekly stop at Yoder’s. In addition to the usual staples, I picked up more local apples,

as well a jar of ham and potato soup and an apple cider whoopie pie for lunch. They sounded perfect on a cool, damp, autumn day. Here’s my homemade version of the soup in case you want to make a pot!

Spencer had an orthodontist appointment that afternoon, but otherwise our schedule was clear for the evening. I made a hamburger casserole with noodles for supper,

as well as a batch of cornbread muffins.

My Tuesday began with another golf lesson!

Spencer had an indoor soccer practice that evening, so I prepped dinner in advance and left it in the fridge for the rest of the family to reheat in shifts as they arrived home.

On the menu: easy taco soup (which is a lot like chili). It would be delicious with a pan of this jalapeno cheddar cornbread, but I took the easy route that night and instead just paired it with tortilla chips and guacamole.

I baked dessert earlier in the afternoon, though! This easy apple crisp is delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and was the perfect way to take advantage of some of the apples that I picked up the day before.

Wednesday was entirely devoted to errands and appointments — dog groomer, dentist, Target, Zoom meetings, groceries, etc. Not fun, but productive.

I did manage to sneak out for a short walk that afternoon when the weather cleared slightly.

Raindrops on roses!

Spencer’s soccer practice was canceled, and Gibbs is officially done with high school golf season now, so we had a low-key evening at home.

I made slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches for supper, which we paired with coleslaw from Yoder’s and potato chips. Always a hit!

The boys had school off on both Thursday and Friday this week (thanks to teacher work days).

On Thursday morning, the kids and I met my parents for breakfast at the Tip Top diner in Charlottesville.

A couple of months ago, Spencer heard my mom talking about her book club and decided that he wanted a book club of his own. Hah! He chose the book — The Academy (about an American soccer player going to London to try out for a Premier League club’s youth academy) — and invited my mom and I to “join” his club.

We all read the novel on our own, and then met over breakfast to discuss it. My mom even brought soccer-themed decorations to the diner. Hah!

I had a conference with Spencer’s teacher at the elementary school that afternoon, and then took the two younger boys to their golf lessons.

Since time was limited, I planned a meal that I knew wouldn’t require much prep: dump-and-bake chicken parmesan casserole, along with a Caesar salad kit and frozen breadsticks. Keith and the boys really enjoyed this meal…

On yet another dreary day, I was grateful for my Friday morning Pilates session with friends, as well as vibrant flowers from Adria’s garden.

Took the kids to our cute little library in town after lunch, and came home with a good haul!

Soccer practice was canceled again (the fields were literally under 2 feet of water), so we picked up pizzas for dinner and had a cozy night inside.

It was so nice to see the sun again on Saturday!

Casey joined me for an early walk up the road, I updated the photos for an older recipe, we cleaned out the deep freezer, and the boys had their friends over for the afternoon.

Look at the spider webs that were lining the road! Casey and I couldn’t believe how perfect they looked. It was as though they were fake Halloween decorations!

We also have a fairytale-like mushroom forest in our yard at the moment, thanks to so much moisture.

All of the soccer games were canceled for the weekend, so it was nice to be able to take advantage of a free day.

Keith grilled steaks for supper that night,

which we paired with baked potatoes and a green bean casserole (that I had photographed earlier in the day and just reheated at mealtime).

So there you have it — another week of easy dinners! I hope that you’ve found something new to add to your own table in the days ahead. Thanks for being here, and have a wonderful Sunday!