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Hey, hey! Happy Sunday, friends! I’m back today with another round-up of Our Week in Meals! For those of you who are new around here, this is where I share a little bit about what we’ve been up to over the past week — as it relates to our meals each night. I hope that 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. Shall we back it up to last weekend?

Sunday morning Keith and I were still in Staunton for our quick anniversary getaway (you can see more details on that trip in last week’s post). We had the buffet breakfast at our hotel, took another walk around town to explore the beautiful (and enormous) Victorian homes, and then made our way back to my parents’ house to pick up the kids.

Scrambled eggs + Toast with Peanut Butter + Fruit + Coffee

On our way back home we made a quick stop at Costco as we were passing through Charlottesville. I needed a few items for the house, and I also needed to pick up chocolate chip cookies from the bakery to take to a party that afternoon. There was no time for homemade treats!

Keith and the boys sat in the cafe and ate pizza for lunch while I did the shopping. So much easier than dragging the whole family through the store…

We were home long enough to put away some laundry, unpack our bags, and change our clothes before jumping back in the car to go to a party at our friends’ house.

The fun get together was a nice way to take advantage of the long holiday weekend, but I’ll be honest: we didn’t last long. My boys were so tired from their overnight visit with my parents that they were melting down and begging to come home the entire time. Spencer slept for 14 hours straight that night!

A tray of cookies + my new favorite booties (from Aunt Barbara for Christmas)!

Monday was a catch-up day after our weekend away. I washed bed sheets, folded piles of laundry, went to the grocery store, packed school lunches, and prepped food for the week.

Since I had a giant bag of kale from Costco, I made a sausage, cheese, and kale baked omelet based on my recipe for a Baked Western Omelet. I just browned the sausage in a skillet, chopped it, and added it to the dish. I also sauteed a few cups of kale in coconut oil before adding it to the dish. Stirred in the egg mixture, topped with cheese, and baked at 350 for 45 minutes. This is a great lunch or breakfast to keep in the fridge all week. I eat it cold, room temp, or heated up — whatever I have time for!

I also experimented with a recipe to use up the overripe bananas on the counter. These Peanut Butter-Banana-Chocolate Chip Bars turned out really well, so I’ll share the recipe below. They’re basically like banana bread in bar form, so they work for breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings 9

Ingredients
  

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • In a blender combine bananas, eggs, peanut butter, melted butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Blend just until combined.
  • Pour batter into prepared dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Cool on a wire rack. Slice into squares and store in the refrigerator for up to a week, or wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.
Author: The Seasoned Mom

Ever since I made Veggie Lo Mein a couple of weeks ago, Spencer has been asking for it repeatedly. I knew that I better make it again, so for dinner that night I added 12 ounces of shrimp to the basic recipe to give it extra protein (chicken or beef would also work well). As always, the meal was a big hit!

I served our lo mein with these miniature egg rolls on the side, too. Of course the kids loved them, and Gibbs astutely noted that they were like the Chinese version of McDonald’s food (i.e., fried food)!?

It rained almost all day on Tuesday, so while Spencer was at school for the morning I spent a couple of hours tucked inside the house getting work and chores checked off my list. Nothing exciting, but it was definitely productive!

I ate the last of the Lo Mein leftovers for lunch, and then dinner was an easy but oh-so-good meal: a rotisserie chicken that I picked up at Costco on Sunday + kale sauteed with bacon and onion + an old blog favorite, French Onion Soup Casserole. The casserole only requires about 10 minutes of hands-on time, but it does need an hour for the onions to simmer and caramelize while the broth reduces on the stovetop. To make Tuesday night easier, I prepped the casserole on Monday while we were home all afternoon. That way, on Tuesday I just had to put the toasted bread and cheese on top and pop the dish in the oven. I reheated the chicken while the casserole cooked for about 20 minutes. So simple!

After we took the older boys to school on Wednesday morning, Spence and I made an early run to the store so that I could pick up some ingredients for an upcoming post.

The rain had passed, the temps were warm, and the sun came out. This guy was just happy to spend most of the day outside for a change — no coat necessary!

I spent quite a bit of time preparing some freezer meals to stock our deep freezer (LOVE that), and I’ll be sharing them soon. I made 5 Dump-and-Bake Dinners: Teriyaki Chicken, Veggies & Rice; Turkey Meatball and Tortellini Soup; Mom’s Meatloaf; Black Bean Enchilada Casserole; and Herb-Roasted Chicken and Veggies. These options will make life much easier in the coming weeks!

For dinner that night we had an old favorite: Slow Cooker Italian Sausages with Peppers and Onions (<– the recipe is in my eBook). Keith worked late, so I served his on a hoagie roll with melted provolone cheese when he got home. The boys had Italian bread on the side, and I ate my sausage and veggies straight up!

Thursday was a busy day out of the house. I even dressed in real clothes to go out in public (and by “real clothes” I mean something other than yoga pants and running shoes)!

I had a meeting about an hour away with my amazing web designer and friend, Sydney, so I dropped the boys at their respective schools and headed up north. We have a big, exciting project in the works for this year, so I’m super-excited to start working on it.

I had to be back at the preschool for pick-up by noon, and then Spence and I ran a few errands before finally making our way home. Thank goodness for easy Crock Pot dinners! This Slow Cooker (or Oven-Baked) Salisbury Steak is a retro recipe that is so darn good. Can’t wait to share it on here next month! I served our “steak” and gravy over pasta, with Caesar salad on the side.

Friday was a quiet day at home for the most part. It was rainy all morning, and while I had to take recipe photos for a client, Spencer decided that he wanted to learn how to use the potty (finally). As a result, I spent the bulk of my day closely monitoring his every move and making sure that my rugs weren’t getting peed on! I’m happy to report that he has done a great job (teaching himself), and it’s been a very uneventful process. By the time the third child comes around, Mom is tired and potty “training” looks a lot different!

When the rain stopped mid-afternoon, Spence and I met Margeaux for a walk before heading to pick up the older boys from school.

And dinner was this delicious one dish meal: Dump-and-Bake Italian Chicken Quesadillas! It was so good and so easy! I’ll be sharing the 5-ingredient recipe soon…

We had haircuts on Saturday morning, where I bribed three reluctant boys to sit still in the chair by feeding them snacks the entire time.

Since I took Spencer to a friend’s birthday party late in the afternoon and we had no firm plans for dinner, I left Keith in charge!

He was way more concerned with the cupcakes and trains than he was with the socializing, party games, or any organized activity…

Keith grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner, I got some blog work done, and we called it an evening in front of the t.v. We watched the movie Riding Giants and we both loved it! Have you heard of it? It’s a documentary about Big Wave Surfers like Laird Hamilton, and wow — it was so interesting.

Today I’m planning a grocery pick-up for the week, more laundry (as usual), and a roasted chicken for dinner. Have a great week!

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!

Read More

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Comments

  1. making the banana bars now– used almond butter as that’s what I had. Added a dash of cinnamon and fresh blueberries on top instead of choc. chips! thanks for the idea….will be a healthy snack or breakfast for the week!

  2. Oh the things I would do for FOURTEEN hours of sleep! Haha. Lucky Spence – and lucky Mom 😉

    It sounds like you guys had a fun filled week!

  3. Would like to make the banana bars they look great, but I donot have coconut flour. Can I use regular AP flour or a gluten-free fllour blend? Love reading your blog. Thamk you for allowing us into your life.

    1. Hi, Lynn! That’s a tough one because coconut flour is so different than regular AP flour. It’s incredibly absorbent, so you only need a small amount of coconut flour for baked goods. I have not tried to use AP flour in this recipe, but I think in general you need about 1 cup of grain-based flour for every 1/4-cup (or 1/3-cup) of coconut flour. The liquid measurements will likely have to change too, though, if you play around with the amount of flour.

      If you’re willing to buy it, I know that they sell coconut flour at almost every grocery store these days (it’s often in the health foods/gluten free section). It comes in really small bags, so you wouldn’t have to commit to a huge portion of it if you don’t want to. Hope that helps, and thanks so much for reading along with us! 🙂