Our Week in Meals #109

Good morning, and happy Sunday! Well, a few inches of snow drastically changed our plans for the week! Virginia is clearly not equipped to handle much snow and ice, because with just 4 inches on the ground, my boys had 3 full days off from school. We made the most of it with sledding, gingerbread houses, bowling, and any other activities that I could dream up to keep everyone busy. 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…

Before the snow arrived on Sunday afternoon, we tried a new (to us) restaurant in the town of Orange for lunch. Our friends have been raving about this place, so we were excited to feast at My Avocado!

It’s a lot like Chipotle, but it combines both Mexican and Mediterranean options. Everything is made fresh in-house, and we loved our meals. I ate every last bite of my chicken bowl, while the kids devoured their steak tacos and quesadillas.

The soft, warm chocolate chip cookies weren’t bad for dessert, either!

We were housebound the rest of the afternoon and evening while the snow fell, so we took a few breaks outside but otherwise stayed warm indoors.

Teddy had fun running around,

but he was definitely happiest in front of the wood stove (smart man!).

I served my Crispy Roast Chicken with Vegetables for supper, which always feels like the perfect cozy meal on a chilly day.

The snow stopped on Sunday evening, leaving us with a total of about 4-5 inches (which wasn’t much compared to surrounding areas). Thank goodness! That said, the boys still got two snow days out of it!

Since we were all home on Monday, I decided to stir together my Baked Sausage and Cheese Omelet. I use the pre-cooked Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage crumbles, frozen diced onion, and grated cheese, so this really just takes about 5 minutes to whisk together.

With a side of Trader Joe’s Cranberry Rustico Bread and some fruit, it was the perfect snow day breakfast (and I could reheat the leftovers all week)!

The boys did some sledding (as well as plenty of bickering), and I baked an Easy Chocolate Italian Love Cake.

We were all pretty stir-crazy by 1:00 p.m., so we headed over to our friends’ farm for the afternoon. I had a chance to catch up with my girlfriends, Sallie and Mollie, while our boys all played together. Painting snow was the highlight!

I found some sausage in my freezer last week that needed to be eaten, so for dinner that night I made my Dump-and-Bake Sausage, Apples and Sweet Potatoes. I used a fully-cooked Cajun Andouille Sausage (instead of the chicken sausage) since that’s what I had on hand.

This meal is so flavorful and incredibly easy!

The boys had another snow day off from school on Tuesday, so after lunch we packed up and headed about an hour south for a visit at my parents’ house.

Road trip snacks: Christmas donuts (and a Sticky Cinnamon Bun cappuccino for me)!

My mom had baked gingerbread man cookies earlier in the day, so the kids decorated a couple of those before quickly moving on to the gingerbread house!

Once they were fully loaded up with sugar, we took them outside for some mountain sledding.

These hills were steep, and they had a BLAST.

Teddy had a blast chasing the sleds up and down the mountain, too! ????

We came home just in time for supper, so I was very glad that dinner was waiting for us in the Crock Pot. I made my Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Spaghetti, plus a salad on the side.

On their third snow day, the boys and I packed up early and took Teddy to his vet appointment before making our way over to our friends’ farm. Hannah babysat the kids while Mollie and I went for a walk outside. It was chilly, but beautiful!

Good morning, Omelet!

After lunch I took the kids up to the bowling alley in Culpeper, plus a quick stop at Target. Again, I have to keep this crew moving and out of trouble!

Basketball practice was cancelled since the schools were closed, so we all sat down to an easy and healthy dinner: 5-Ingredient Garlic Parmesan Tilapia with rice and broccoli on the side.

We were finally back to our routine on Thursday when the kids returned to school, so the day was a bit quieter! I spent my morning taking care of errands in town and walking with a friend while Teddy was at the groomer.

Keith was gone that night for dinner, so I kept our meal really simple! I used the leftover broccoli and rice from the previous evening, and served them with Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki (which is also great in the slow cooker).

The holiday festivities were in full swing by Friday!

My mom and I spent the morning decorating gingerbread houses with Spencer and his preschool classmates. This was definitely one of his favorite school days ever (for obvious reasons)…

Keith was out of town for a work event that night, so the boys and I were on our own for the evening. We went to an early dinner at Chili’s (the kids’ request), where we feasted on chips and salsa,

burgers, chicken fingers, Caesar salads, and my Chicken and Shrimp Fajitas.

It poured rain all day on Saturday! The boys and I had a quiet morning at home, which started with my Eggnog Overnight Oats. Such a tasty way to use some of that eggnog in my fridge this season…

I picked up a grocery order, which included my baking supplies for all of the Christmas cookies that I’m planning to make, as well as this ice cream. Because it wouldn’t be the holidays without Peppermint Stick ice cream…right, Mom?!

Keith returned home at lunchtime, and then took the boys to the arcade in Culpeper to get them out of the house on a yucky day. Meanwhile, I baked 3 batches of Easy Candied Pecans to share with friends and family!

I made my 4-Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole for dinner that night, which is always a hit (and it’s super simple)! We had a green salad and these canned Fiesta Black Beans on the side.

And that’s all for now, friends! I hope that you have a fun, festive week ahead…full of Christmas cookies and eggnog. Thanks so much for stopping by this morning!

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