Our Week in Meals #414

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included an Apple Harvest Festival, a school holiday, and supper with friends. 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…

Sunday started with an early morning walk at Mollie’s farm with three of my friends.

Keith had to be out of town for the day, so the kids and I were on our own.

Gibbs and Spencer played 9 holes of golf for the afternoon,

while Casey, Teddy, and I headed over to the Graves Mountain Farm Apple Harvest Festival.

This is my favorite community event every year. It’s so fun to see many of the kids’ teachers and friends, as well as Madison’s beautiful scenery.

We skipped the hay rides, but ate plenty of delicious food,

brought home bags of Blue Ridge Crisp apples,

listened to live bluegrass music,

watched the apple butter making,

and brought home pumpkins for our front porch. Truly, the perfect October afternoon!

For supper that night, I made Brunswick stew (inspired by the stew that they serve at the festival)…

…along with a skillet of Southern cornbread (mandatory)!

Let’s chat books! This week I read Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica — a fun, twisty, unpredictable thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. Highly recommend!

Monday was Columbus Day, so it was a work holiday for the Keith, while the boys still had to go to school.

Keith and I went to the golf course to hit balls, and picked up sandwiches from Yoder’s for lunch on the way home.

This week’s special was the turkey apple butter panini, and it did not disappoint!

Since there were no soccer or golf practices on the schedule that evening, I was able to spend a little bit more time on supper. We had apple cider braised pork shoulder,

along with traditional coleslaw,

old-fashioned applesauce (which I had stashed in the freezer),

and Gibbs’ favorite — Duke’s mac and cheese. I also baked these frozen hush puppies (which Spencer loves). If you prefer a homemade version, try this recipe!

Finally, my mom’s easy apple pie for dessert using some of the apples that I bought at the festival the day before. ‘Tis the season!

This ice cream + a slice of that pie is the best combo I’ve had yet!!

Tuesday was chilly but sunny, so I was happy to spend time outside for a golf lesson before lunch.

I prepped dinner in advance so that we could eat an early supper that evening before I had to take Spencer into Charlottesville. We had Crock Pot white chicken chili, along with tortilla chips and guacamole, and a simple green salad on the side.

And later that night, instead of Spencer’s usual soccer practice, we joined his team at the UVA men’s soccer game to cheer on the sidelines. Always a fun time!

A walk with Ashley on Wednesday morning,

followed by stops at the library and grocery store before returning home to work for the day.

Keith took Spencer to soccer practice that night, while I went to the driving range with the older boys.

And for a late supper once we were all back at the house: meatloaf with red skin mashed potatoes and broccoli. Comfort food!

Thursday was another picture-perfect autumn day. Keith and I took a walk first thing,

and I ran a few errands in Culpeper around lunchtime.

The younger boys had golf lessons that afternoon, and then we had an easy dinner once we were all back home: dump-and-bake shrimp Alfredo, along with a green salad dressed in red wine vinaigrette and a baguette that I picked up from Panera earlier in the day.

Friday was a Teacher Workday, so the kids were home from school.

I went to an early Pilates class with a couple of friends that morning, and then spent the rest of the day entertaining lots of boys.

The last of Adria’s dahlias…

Gibbs and his friend played 18 holes of golf, while I took Spencer and his buddy to hit balls at the range.

Keith took Spencer to soccer practice that night, so we ate a late meal once everyone was home. Breakfast-for-dinner included these 5-ingredient baked pancakes with pancake mix (the apple version is pretty great, too!), maple bacon, yogurt, and fresh fruit.

The true highlight of the evening, though, was this decadent cheesecake that a friend dropped off. It had m&m candies and a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie crust…oh, my!

And that brings us to the weekend!

It was a rare soccer-free Saturday, so I spent time cooking and getting the house organized in the morning before hosting our neighbors for dinner that night.

Made a pot of this Autumn Harvest chicken noodle soup for lunch!

Since the weather was gorgeous, we opted for a cookout that evening: grilled burgers and grilled marinated chicken thighs, along with a house salad with candied pecans, potato chips, and the baked beans and potato salad that our guests contributed.

For dessert, I served this easy pumpkin cake (using yellow cake mix) and a pan of brownies (from a gluten-free store-bought mix to accommodate dietary preferences).

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