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Hello, hello! Happy Sunday, friends! I have another week’s worth of photos to share, so grab a mug of coffee (or iced tea!) and stay for awhile! It’s time to catch up with another Weekend Recap — and this time I have a new easy Slow Cooker Greek Chicken dinner recipe to share, too! 

Last Sunday was Father’s Day, and the boys spent most of the day outside (which is just how Keith likes it)!

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They hung this awesome swing that my brother gave them in a tree out front, and it’s perfect…because they all fit!

While the kids were in the yard with Keith, I was busy in the kitchen. I prepped the ingredients for a pasta salad for Monday night’s dinner, and I made the Farm Herb Vinaigrette from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks so that we could use it on a salad for dinner and throughout the week. The companion cookbook, Morning Glory Farm and the Family that Feeds an Island, is even better (in my opinion)! The books are especially useful at this time of year because they offer so many tasty recipes that take advantage of seasonal produce.

This book is from the farm stand on Martha’s Vineyard that’s right near my parents’ house. The best!

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The kids came inside to briefly help me with one baking project: Blueberry Muffins! They have enjoyed the Tractor Mac series of books for a few years now, but they recently spotted a Blueberry Muffin recipe in the back of this particular book:

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Since we had just purchased blueberries at the farmer’s market the day before, I figured that the timing was right to make a batch of muffins for the week ahead.

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My assistants did some stirring, but spent more time demolishing an entire can of almonds and the remaining giant bowl of blueberries. Apparently tree swings make little boys VERY hungry!

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In the afternoon we started a project to add pavers around my herb garden in an effort to clean up the appearance of the area and keep the weeds out. More to come on that!

Casey took his job seriously!

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For Keith’s Father’s Day dinner I had purchased some New York Strip Steaks at Costco, which he grilled. They were PERFECT! On the side I made some garlic bread in the oven, as well as the “Perfect Oven Roasted Broccoli” from Andie Mitchell’s book, Eating in the Middle.

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We had a Farmer’s Market Salad as well (greens, spring onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, almonds, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds)…plus the dressing that I made earlier in the day!

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Monday was a busy one, as usual. Maggie and I started our week with a SUPER tough workout with Mark. Plenty of burpees (and other fun exercises) left us feeling fatigued in both our upper and lower bodies — definitely the sign of time well spent at the gym! If you want the full routine from Monday’s workout, check out THIS POST! You can try it yourself!

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The older boys spent the morning at summer camp at Rounton Farm, which they loved. Really, what’s not to love about hiking with your friends at a place like this?! Best of all, they came home exhausted every day! It was in the 90’s this week, so the heat definitely wore them out too.

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Rounton Barn

And in case they weren’t tired enough, a little bit of playground time in the afternoon never hurts either!

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I snapped this photo on Monday afternoon because Keith wanted me to keep him updated on the progress of the new metal roof that was installed on one of the outbuildings. Spencer and Casey had fun watching the guys work, and we kept the sweaty men happy with plenty of water and homemade blueberry muffins!

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Since we were out of the house for most of the day, it was nice to have dinner ready to go. I had prepped everything on Sunday, so I just had to toss together my mom’s recipe for Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad. It’s a great option at this time of year when it’s too hot to even think about turning on the oven, and it’s incredibly kid-friendly. All 3 of my boys asked for seconds with this meal!

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On Tuesday morning the kids ate a normal breakfast (Cheerios, banana, yogurt, milk)…but were hungry again by the time we were driving to camp. Gibbs and Casey both ate two of these bars in the car, so I’d say they liked ’em! Just thought I’d share in case you’re looking for new or different options (I found them in the freezer section at Target). The ingredient list is short, and it’s all recognizable stuff like nuts, oats, and cinnamon (with a little bit of brown rice syrup as a sweetener).

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While the campers were hiking in the woods (and finding Copper Head snakes, spiders, and bird eggs…among other things), Spencer and I joined Mollie for a 30-minute walk. It was a great way to catch up and get some fresh air, but also a nice recovery from Monday’s more intense workout.

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I picked up the older boys at noon and we came home for a picnic lunch on the porch.

Make-Your-Own Pita Bread Pizzas

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Spencer took a 3-hour nap that afternoon (unheard of!) and I almost didn’t know what to do with myself! I made a batch of the Oat Balls from Kristin Cavallari’s book so that I would have some more healthy, filling snacks on hand for the boys. While these are not the most photogenic food on the planet, they are definitely 100% kid-approved. What a great way to get little ones to eat tons of healthy ingredients like nut butter, coconut oil, chia seeds, and oats.

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Dinner was really easy and delicious that evening, too. When the older boys were out of town last week I made some mozzarella-stuffed meatballs in the slow cooker. I took photos for the blog (recipe coming soon!), and then I froze them in batches to enjoy later. On this particular evening, I just used the thawed meatballs to make meatball subs for dinner, along with some sauteed zucchini noodles on the side.

Cheesy!

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I met Maggie at the gym on Wednesday morning for a workout with Mark. This is a great partner exercise to share because it’s fun, but it’s also a good way to isolate and strengthen the core and upper body. Just get on your knees and toss a medicine ball back and forth! We used a 10-pounder here and did 3 sets of 20 throws. As Mark noted, throwing 10 pounds is a lot harder than just lifting 10 pounds!

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While the older boys were at camp that morning, Spence played Project Supervisor,

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and then helped me bake a batch of cookies.

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Casey and Gibbs have been asking for Gingerbread Cookies for awhile now, so we went ahead and made some of Mrs. Hodgdon’s Chewy Ginger Oatmeal Cookies. They were one of my childhood favorites, and now my kids love them too. And even though ginger is often associated with Christmas, we have no problem enjoying these spiced oatmeal cookies year-round!

As a side note, I used whole wheat flour with this batch and they turned out perfectly — couldn’t tell a difference from the originals!

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Spence took another good nap that afternoon, so the older boys rested, played outside, and flew paper airplanes. Have you seen my post on How to Make the Perfect Paper Airplane? It’s a skill that every parent (or grandparent) should have! ?

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We had a tasty summer slow cooker meal for dinner that night! I made some Slow Cooker Greek Chicken with a bunch of fresh herbs from the garden (you could also used dried herbs — just decrease the amounts) and sliced red onion. I served the chicken over pitas or salad with Tzatziki Sauce, hummus, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red bell peppers, and feta cheese. It was SO good and so easy…and I didn’t have to turn on my oven!

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Here are the full instructions if you want to try it:

Slow Cooker Greek Chicken

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Total: 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 - 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 red onion sliced
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • Olive oil salt, and pepper
  • For serving: pita or flatbread; Tzatziki sauce; hummus; olives; tomatoes; cucumbers; lettuce; bell peppers

Instructions

  • Place chicken in a large zip-top bag and drizzle with olive oil. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add oregano, basil, garlic, and thyme to the bag. Seal the bag and toss everything around to coat the chicken. You can let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for a couple of hours (or overnight), or you can just dump it right into the slow cooker.
  • Place sliced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Dump chicken and herbs from the bag into the slow cooker (on top of the onion).
  • Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shred with a fork or chop chicken before serving.
  • Pile the chicken on top of pita bread or on a big salad. Garnish with fresh veggies, Tzatziki sauce, hummus, and feta cheese!
Author: The Seasoned Mom

Thursday was basically a total wash-out with heavy rain and thunderstorms all day. Maggie and I decided to join Mark for his Thursday morning Bootcamp Class, which was a nice INDOOR alternative while the rain was pouring down. As if my abs weren’t sore enough from Wednesday’s workout, these Jack Knifes on Carpet Sliders definitely worked the core!

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Spence and I dropped the boys off at camp and then headed into Charlottesville for some grocery shopping and a Costco stop. Running errands with a toddler on a rainy day is NOT fun…but it sure beats running errands with 3 boys on a rainy day, so I’ll take it. Spence was actually really good too…I was the one to blame when the jug of iced tea slipped out of my wet hands in the parking lot, cracked, and spilled everywhere. At least we got our food, though!

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Fortunately we could pick up Molly from the vet mid-afternoon. She had a tumor removed in the morning and the surgery went really well (hooray!). Poor dog felt fine until we made her wear the Cone of Shame. She refused to even walk with it on her head! ?

She has mastered the pathetic look — and it works…I took it right off!

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Late afternoon Casey helped me bake a batch of Raspberry Brownies from a recipe that my mother-in-law gave me. I wanted to photograph them for the blog on Friday so that we could share them with family over the weekend. {Amazing} recipe coming soon!

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For dinner we had grilled salmon, baguette, and kale salad with cucumber and avocado. Delish!

Keith’s Plate: Heavy on the bread and fish, easy on the salad! ?

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And Keith pointed out a beautiful summer sunset from our front porch, so of course I had to take a photo!

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Friday was pretty low-key. The older boys finished their last morning of camp at Rounton Farm, Spence spent most of the day outside “doing jobs,”

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and I spent much of my time closely monitoring my recovering patient to make sure that she didn’t lick her wounds post-surgery (and keeping her little body full of plenty of pain meds).

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For dinner that evening we had grilled Golden Chicken (soooooo good!), plus rice and broccoli. I added Tzatziki sauce as well since I had some leftover from earlier in the week. Perfect summer meal (and the recipe will be coming soon)!

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We spent Friday night on the couch flipping through magazines and watching the NBC special about the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team. Did you catch it? I found it very fascinating…Keith on the other hand was bored out of his mind! ?

On Saturday morning Keith took the older two boys to visit his parents at Wintergreen. They had plans to attend a local minor league baseball game, so Spence and I decided to stay home (mostly because Spence wouldn’t last through one inning of the game), but also to keep an eye on Molly as she continues to heal. We headed to the farmer’s market for our weekly staples.

Black raspberries from Liberty Mills Farm!

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My assistant is easy to bribe with cookies from the market…

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We brought home:

  • Kale
  • Lettuce
  • Pickling cucumbers
  • Cookies
  • Eggs
  • Tomatoes
  • Eggplant
  • Broccoli
  • Blueberries
  • Black Raspberries

Since it was a gray and misty day, Spence stayed inside to play with cars,

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while I did some cooking in the kitchen. I was ready for another batch of my Clean and Healthy Strawberry Crisp, but this time I made a Cherry-Berry Crisp with cherries, blueberries, and black raspberries.

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I also boiled some eggs,

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cleaned out a “craft” cabinet that I’ve been avoiding,

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made a batch of Cinnamon Vanilla Almond Milk from THIS book,

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and tried my hand at roasting my own red bell peppers over an open flame. Um, yeah. That’s probably the last time I’ll do that. It’s way too easy to buy the jar of roasted peppers, and I was worried that they would catch my kitchen on fire the entire time. Oh well.

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After lunch we spent some time on the couch watching Spencer’s favorite John Deere videos,

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before heading out on a special Mom-and-Spence date to his favorite — Sweet Frog!

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And since the rest of the family was gone for dinner, Spence requested macaroni and cheese. Done! I had leftover chicken and rice from the night before and we both shared some cucumbers and hummus on the side.

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The rest of my evening was spent getting some work done and writing up this post. Quiet, relaxing, and productive!

I hope that you all enjoy the rest of your weekend! Stay tuned tomorrow for a fun new cake recipe (hint: it’s BOOZY)! Cheers!

blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

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