Our Week in Meals #108

Good morning, and happy Sunday! I hope that you’re enjoying a relaxing weekend. Our week included holiday food and fun, our first snowfall, as well as the town Christmas parade. I’m sharing all of the highlights, along with our easy 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…

It was cool and wet on Sunday morning, but that didn’t stop me and Teddy from joining my friend Mollie for a long walk over near the kids’ school.

I immediately came home to a hot cup of coffee — made Christmas-style! Right now I’m loving an “eggnog latte,” which is really just eggnog that I steam in my milk frother and add to my coffee. SO foamy and good!

Keith had to leave on another business trip for the week, so we headed into Charlottesville for a family lunch before dropping him off at the airport.

I promise that Casey and Spencer were having fun, in spite of the looks on their faces!

We loved our meals at Martin’s Grill! It’s a little local diner, but the food is awesome! We had everything from fries and onion rings,

to salads,

subs, chicken tenders, barbecue brisket, and my sandwich (below). It all tasted really fresh, and everything was just about devoured by the end!

Since there’s a Starbucks right near the airport, we had to stop for my first Gingerbread Latte of the season! I sipped on the coffee and walked the dog while the boys played on a nearby playground, and then we headed back home for the evening.

Dinner was an easy recipe that required minimal effort and I knew the kids would enjoy: Dump-and-Bake Italian Chicken and Rice. So simple, satisfying, and healthy!

We took advantage of beautiful 55-degree temps on Monday and spent as much time as possible outside. Tired boys and puppies are always better behaved, so there were plenty of hikes, war games, and walks.

Snack time! This eggnog yogurt from Trader Joe’s was SO good! It far exceeded my expectations, and now I want to make the really long drive back to TJ’s just so that I can stock up on some more. It’s delicious with my 5-Minute Swiss Muesli or granola on top, as well as a perfect topping for a slice of Cranberry Baked Oatmeal or a bowl of Slow Cooker Gingerbread Oatmeal. Fun seasonal find!

Casey has been asking for pork chops recently, since he regularly sees a commercial on TV for the Bojangles Pork Chop Griller Biscuit! I didn’t prepare biscuit sandwiches, but I did make my Dump-and-Go 4-Ingredient Baked Pork Chops (which are tastier and healthier than the fast food that Casey was hoping for)!

We had the pork chops with rice, homemade slow cooker applesauce (my fave!), corn and peas. Such a hit with the kids — Gibbs went back for 3 servings of the pork!

That sauce is to-die-for, so just spoon it over everything!

Tuesday was a pretty quiet day at home. After a morning walk in town with my girlfriend, I got some work done at the house, waited for a new dishwasher to be installed, and prepped our dinner for the Crock Pot.

I served one of Spencer’s favorite meals: Slow Cooker Garlic Sesame Chicken with leftover rice from the night before, plus frozen broccoli that I steamed in the microwave. The kids love that sesame garlic sauce when it’s spooned over the broccoli! If you prefer the Instant Pot, this recipe works really well in that appliance, too!

We woke up to snow on Wednesday! It was just flurries (with little that actually stuck), so I considered it the perfect amount. Everything looked pretty for a few hours, the boys had fun, but it didn’t cause any school cancellations.

After I dropped the kids off at school, I took Teddy into town for his first grooming appointment. Poor pup was terrified (and didn’t even get his hair cut), but he came home with a bath, clipped nails, and the softest, fluffiest puppy fur ever. Now I just have to take him back once a week for the next few weeks to help him get more “comfortable” with the shop and the grooming process. Goodness — so high maintenance!????

While I waited for Teddy, I took a walk in the snow up Main Street. Our cute little town is looking so festive, with wreaths and lights on just about every building and lamp post!

Since Keith was still out of town, I picked a kid-favorite for dinner that night: Pizza Quesadillas! So easy and so fast! We often make these for lunch on the weekends, but they’re also a great last-minute dinner option when I don’t want to run to the grocery store…

After the snow storm on Wednesday, I was craving some serious comfort food on Thursday!

I started the day with a batch of hearty, healthy, fluffy Oatmeal Pancakes, which I will be sharing on the blog soon! I had to work on this recipe way longer than I expected, because apparently oats in pancakes don’t always work. I finally nailed it!

A peppermint mocha while running errands with Spencer in Culpeper that afternoon (look at me — treating myself to Starbucks twice in one week!). That’s about twice as many times as I usually get Starbucks in a month…and I love it!

Mollie came over later for a walk around our property. Meanwhile, I was simmering a big pot of Bean Soup for dinner.

Served with cornbread, this is one of my favorite soups that I’ve ever made. So excited to share it with you in a couple of weeks (it’s perfect for that leftover holiday ham)!

The sun came out again on Friday, so Spencer and I spent plenty of time outside with the dog — even if there was a definite winter chill in the air! Someone refuses to wear a coat…

We picked up carry-out pizza and Caesar salads from the local pizza shop in town for an early supper that evening (around 4:45 p.m.!).

…and (store-bought) Christmas cookies for dessert!

Then we were out the door! I took the kids to the annual Christmas tree lighting and Christmas parade in the town square. The churches were handing out hot cocoa, cookies and brownies, so the boys were in heaven with their friends! Love our small town.❤️

Our Saturday included a hike in the woods, where Casey was sure to find a big, wet mud puddle.????????????

The holiday bazaar was going on nearby, so afterwards we stopped to grab some ice cream from the Moo Thru truck for a snack. It’s never too cold for ice cream, right?

Dinner that night was a cozy, comfort food classic from my childhood: my mom’s Spaghetti Sauce, which I served with salad and garlic bread! I will share the details in an upcoming post, so stay tuned…

And that’s where I’ll leave off for the week! I hope that you have a wonderful Sunday. Thanks for stopping by!

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