Our Week in Meals #415

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included fall comfort food, a trip to southwest Virginia, and a cozy book. 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 a morning walk with my friends Adria and Barbara,

while Teddy kept Casey company on the couch. Poor Casey suffered a small fracture in his foot the night before when playing on our basketball court with friends. Keith took him to the ER, where they had a long wait and a late night. Ugh! Needless to say, he’s sidelined for a few weeks, although it could be much worse!

Spencer had a soccer game that afternoon, and then Keith grilled dinner afterwards. We had a little bit of steak in the freezer, so he threw that on the grill along with some scallops. Surf n’ turf!

On the side, I made Aunt Bee’s 3-ingredient cheesy potato casserole and Southern-style green beans.

Shall we chat books? I recently finished The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. This historical fiction is based on a real-life midwife named Martha Ballard, who lived with her family in Maine during the 18th century. It includes drama, romance, and mystery — all of the components to an incredibly gripping story!

Back to work and school on Monday…

I made a quick stop at Yoder’s for some weekly staples, went for a short walk up the road, and otherwise spent the day working at the computer.

Spencer had a friend over that afternoon, while I prepped an easy comfort food dinner: a shortcut chicken pot pie with biscuits paired with a house salad and canned cranberry sauce.

Tuesday included a doctor’s appointment for Casey’s foot (bye bye crutches and into a walking boot!), a vet appointment for Teddy, and a golf lesson and Zoom meeting for me.

I prepped dinner in advance, and then took Spencer to soccer practice that evening. Keith was in charge of assembling the taco quesadillas, which we paired with guacamole, tortilla chips, salsa, and corn.

Wednesday morning and a field of hay bales!

The start of corn harvesting…

After a walk, I spent most of the day cooking and photographing a couple of recipes.

Spencer had soccer again that evening, and we enjoyed sour cream chicken for a late dinner afterwards. Plus yeast rolls from the freezer and another house salad for easy sides!

After a walk with Ashley and our dogs on Thursday,

I ran a couple of errands in Culpeper, and then picked the older two boys up mid-day for orthodontist appointments.

We had kids’ golf lessons on the agenda that evening, followed by a really easy meal: 4-ingredient baked ravioli. Simple, but tasty! Plus a green salad with red wine vinaigrette and frozen garlic knots on the side.

Our Friday morning Pilates was canceled, so three of my friends came over for a walk that day instead.

We took advantage of the beautiful weather before all heading off to work!

Casey got his flu shot that afternoon, Gibbs was on a biology field trip on Skyline Drive, and Spencer had soccer practice. Once everyone was back home, we had 4-ingredient brown sugar and Dijon roasted salmon,

along with one-bowl orange cranberry muffins, white rice, and a side of garlic roasted broccoli. A tasty end to a very busy week!

And that brings us to Saturday.

We packed up and left the house early that morning for Spencer’s soccer game about an hour southwest of us in Waynesboro.

While Spencer’s team warmed up at the fields, the older boys found a driving range (of course). Casey even played with a brace on his foot!

From there, we continued down 81 to southwest Virginia, where our Airbnb was about 30 minutes outside of Roanoke. Spencer’s team has a game here today, so we decided to spend the night and enjoy the fall colors in Appalachia beforehand.

The house was a beautiful old home from the 1700s with plenty of nooks and crannies for hide-and-seek, a pool table that the boys had fun with, and lovely views.

Even Teddy was along for the adventure…

We drove back into Roanoke for dinner at the Wasena City Taproom that evening — pizzas, chicken fingers, wraps, and more…

Keith and Casey had tickets for Terror Manor afterwards — a haunted house in an old factory. Um, no thanks! The rest of us went to get ice cream cones while we waited for them!

So there you have it, friends — another week of easy dinners! 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 fun, safe Halloween!