Our Week in Meals #456

Good morning, and happy Sunday! It was an exciting week on the blog, since I was finally able to share my cookbook cover reveal! 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.

THIS WEEk’s Meals

Mustard Pork Tenderloin

Southern Tomato Pie

Honey Mustard Dressing

Crab Roll

Baked Meatballs

Chicken Shawarma {Grilled or Roasted}

Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad

Bisquick Waffle Recipe

Baked Chicken Thighs

Chicken Quesadilla with Corn and Black Beans

Easy Guacamole Recipe

Peach Galette

Now, let’s back up to last weekend…

Sunday morning included a walk and church.

That afternoon, I took Spencer to soccer in Charlottesville while Keith and the older two boys went to golf.

Back home for supper, we had mustard pork tenderloin…

…along with a Southern tomato pie,

a green salad with honey mustard dressing, and some pasta tossed with store-bought pesto.

Let’s chat books! This week I read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I think I’ve read just about all of her books at this point, and I’ve really enjoyed them all. She has a way of weaving together a story that just totally sucks you in. In this novel, a reserved physics professor pursues her dream of joining NASA’s 1980s space shuttle program, discovering unexpected love and purpose until one mission changes everything.

Ashley and I met for an early walk with our dogs on Monday morning before I started my work for the day.

Lunch included leftover tomato pie, which tastes good cold (straight from the fridge), and doesn’t get soggy!

Our slower summer schedule and dinners together at a reasonable hour each night quickly came to an end this week. Fall sports have officially started and school begins in a couple of days. This means that we’re pulled in multiple directions each night, we spend a lot of time driving around Central Virginia, and we’re rarely all home at the same time for supper. It’s not ideal, but we’ll make it work…

That night, Gibbs had golf practice, Casey had soccer at the high school, and Spencer had soccer in Charlottesville. I made a batch of crab salad earlier in the day so that we could assemble crab rolls for dinner as needed. We paired the sandwiches with potato chips and fresh fruit for a light and easy summer meal.

Tuesday was cool and gray, but that didn’t change our plans. I got out for a walk, Casey and Keith played golf, and Gibbs had his first golf match of the season with his high school team. Spencer also had soccer practice later that night, which meant dinner was (once again) consumed in shifts…

I made spaghetti with baked meatballs that afternoon, which I just reheated as needed.

On the side, a loaf of Ashley’s croissant sourdough bread (so decadent!) and a side salad.

Another cool, cloudy day on Wednesday. Can you believe how green everything is in August? It has been a very wet summer…

I met Mollie and Adria for a walk at Mollie’s farm that morning, got work done mid-day, and then took Spencer to soccer practice that evening.

Gibbs also had golf and Casey went to youth group, so I prepped dinner in advance and left Keith in charge of the grilling. On the menu: chicken shawarma,

which we served with warm flatbread, basmati rice, tzatziki sauce, hummus, feta cheese, and a cucumber, tomato, and onion salad. The kids requested this meal, which is definitely a favorite around here.

Spence and I headed up to Culpeper for a few errands on Thursday morning, while Keith and the older boys were at the driving range. This brown sugar strato frappuccino was one of the best coffee drinks I’ve had in ages. I asked for half of the frappuccino syrup, so it was still plenty sweet — but not too sweet.

Keith and Spencer were back in Charlottesville that evening for another practice, while I took the older two boys to the high school Open House. Since we were again eating dinner at different times, I made a big batch of our favorite “secret ingredient” Bisquick waffle recipe earlier in the day, and then just popped the waffles in the toaster to reheat them as needed. Maple sausage, fruit, and hash browns on the side!

A cloudy morning made way for a gorgeous, sunny Friday.

I spent the morning at the middle school with Spencer to meet his teachers, and then our friends came over for a visit that afternoon. Amy and I sat on the porch and chatted while our boys entertained each other. Soaking up the last few days of summer break!

Once Gibbs was home from golf and before Casey went to soccer, we had an early supper. I used leftover baked chicken thighs that I thawed from the freezer to make chicken quesadillas…

…served with tortilla chips and guacamole.

And that brings us to the weekend! We spent Saturday in Nelson County visiting my parents and my aunt and uncle.

Keith, my dad, and the older boys played a round of golf, while my mom and I took Spencer for a swim in Lake Monacan.

We had a classic cookout for supper: grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, and brats, baked beans, potato salad, Caesar salad, caprese salad, chips and onion dip, and my mom’s plum galette with vanilla ice cream (this is her peach galette recipe, just swap plums for the peaches). Such a delicious summer meal!

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 wonderful Sunday!