Our Week in Meals #230

Good morning, and happy Sunday! We celebrated Easter, enjoyed a couple of days of spring break, and ate plenty of chocolate bunnies this week. All of the highlights from the past few days, along with our easy dinners, are included in today’s roundup of Our Week in Meals.

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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 was Easter, so we started our morning with Hot Cross Buns,

fresh eggs that my neighbor delivered from their farm the night before,

plus baskets and an egg hunt outside.

We headed south to my parents’ house for the afternoon, where the kids enjoyed another egg hunt, as well as a hunt for golf balls in the stream.

My aunt and uncle joined us for a delicious Easter dinner, complete with Bourbon-Glazed Beef Tenderloin, wild rice, spinach salad (that Aunt Barbara made)…

…and a loaf of No-Knead Bread (that Aunt Barbara also made).

I brought the Coconut Cake for dessert,

along with half of a Strawberry Cake that I had stashed in the freezer. Needless to say, we all left the table very full…and happy!

The boys had their spring break from school for the first couple days of the week, so on Monday morning we drove over the mountain and met my mom in Staunton at the Virginia Frontier Culture Museum.

It was a beautiful day to walk the 2-mile loop while checking out the exhibits of rural life and culture in four homelands of early migrants to the American colonies.

Best of all, the park was deserted and the kids could just run. Definitely a fun outing!

Gibbs requested Chicken Parmesan for dinner that night, which I paired with a side salad.

After two busy days, the boys were happy to play at home (jumping over ditches with Nerf guns) on Tuesday morning while I got some work done.

Since it was too nice to stay indoors, we headed out to the river near Graves Mountain Lodge for the afternoon.

There are so many beautiful magnolia and willow trees lining the river banks…

No surprise, the younger two boys were soaking wet by the time we left!

We had breakfast for dinner again that night, which has become part of the regular routine recently. That night it was baked pancake squares (because the kids love them and it’s easiest for me!), plus bacon and fresh berries on the side.

Wednesday was a “virtual” school day for all 3 kids, so we spent the morning focused on homework (they were not happy about it!).

A walk to the pond across the street after lunch…

And for dinner: Pasta with Sausage and Spinach, plus a side of garlic bread!

The boys all went back to school on Thursday, so I seriously enjoyed a quiet house!

My day included work at the computer, a virtual memorial service for a friend who recently passed away, a visit to my favorite local antique shop, and a walk with my girlfriend in the woods that afternoon before school pickup.

I made a Taco Skillet with Rice for dinner that night, which I paired with extra chips and salad and guacamole.

I met a friend for a walk on a cool, rainy Friday morning, and then Keith and I headed into Orange to get our second dose of the COVID vaccine. Hooray! We celebrated afterwards with a lunch date at Provisions before heading back home. This was the creamy tomato basil soup, along with a giant salad that included all sorts of goodies like marcona almonds, butternut squash, green beans, red onions, radishes, eggs, chia seeds and a white balsamic vinaigrette.

I read another good book this week, too: Songbird Season by Melanie Lageschulte. Novel #5 in her Melinda Foster series focuses on Melinda’s life on her small Iowa farm during the early spring months, as she navigates unexpected roadblocks and challenges both at home and at work. If you’re interested in diving into this series, I would start from the beginning with Growing Season. They’re simple, feel-good books that aren’t particularly action-packed or dramatic, but I find them to be cozy, easy reads. Sometimes that’s exactly what we need!

We had “fish n’ chips” for dinner that night in the form of Crispy Fried Fish Sandwiches…

…as well as baked potato wedges and coleslaw.

Saturday was a relatively quiet day at home.

We got haircuts after lunch, I made a small batch of blackberry jam, and Keith watched the Masters.

I took the night off from the kitchen and honored the kids’ request for takeout pizza! A meal that makes everyone happy…

And that’s it for now, friends! Thanks for joining me here today. I hope that you’ve found a few new ideas to add to your table in the week ahead. Have a great Sunday!