Desserts + Dining Out + Our Week in Meals #120

Good morning, and happy Sunday! It was another busy week around here — full of kids’ activities, work, and quick recipes. I’m sharing all of the highlights from the past few days, 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…

I bought my groceries for the week on Sunday morning, and then came home to photograph a couple of recipes. After a rainy morning inside, the family was ready to get out of the house by lunchtime, so we headed to Orange to a little Mexican restaurant that the kids love.

I had my favorite shrimp salad, which includes tons of sautéed fresh vegetables, cheese, avocado and spicy pan-fried shrimp. Plus chips and salsa!

The sun came out for the first time in almost a week, so the boys played basketball after lunch…

while Spencer helped Keith with yard work.

I took advantage of the weather and got the dog out for a much-needed walk.

The cows came over to say, “hi!” (and Teddy barked at them).????

While Keith took the older boys to indoor soccer practice, Spence and I stayed home to finish the laundry and get dinner organized. I served One Skillet Chicken Sausage Tortellini with garlic breadsticks and Caesar salad on the side.

Monday was pretty routine for all of us — the kids went to school and I worked at home.

It was windy, but at least the sun was out and it was relatively warm, so the boys spent most of the afternoon outside. Casey now has a wireless Alexa speaker that he brings out to the basketball court so that he can blast Post Malone while he plays.???? I feel like I have a teenager on my hands already…and he’s only 7! It’s just a good thing that we don’t have any neighbors nearby that can hear his choice of music…

We had our favorite 4-Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole for dinner that night before Gibbs’s basketball practice.

And on the side, a green salad plus chips, store-bought guacamole, and Texas Caviar (recipe coming soon!!).

I used this dressing on my salad, and I thought it was really good!

I got my work done at the computer on Tuesday morning, and then took a long walk up the road with the dog to stretch my legs before Spencer arrived home at lunchtime.

Casey’s basketball practice was cancelled that night, so we had an unexpected quiet evening!

I made my 5-Ingredient Pan Fried Pork Chops for dinner…

…which I served with these Alexia Crispy Seasoned Potato Puffs, broccoli…

…and this Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage. I love the cabbage, but the rest of the family could have done without it! ????

I met my friend Mollie for a strength class at the gym on Wednesday morning, and then Spencer and I headed to Charlottesville for lunch with my parents at Jason’s Deli.

I always get the salad bar, which I love. So many fun toppings!

I also had some of my mom’s muffuletta sandwich (which was great).

Plus ice cream for dessert!

We stopped in HomeGoods before returning home, and my mom was kind enough to buy Spencer this robot claw (which he obviously neeeeeeded).

Dinner that night was my 5-Minute Honey French Baked Chicken Breasts, along with rice and green beans. The kids loved this meal! Then we rushed out the door for Gibbs’s last basketball practice of the season (outdoor soccer starts tomorrow)!

Thursday was a big morning for little Teddy, since he went to the vet to be “fixed.” He also got a microchip and two baby teeth pulled. Poor guy had no idea what was coming…

After dropping the dog off, I made a quick stop at the grocery store where I grabbed a few ingredients for a recipe that I wanted to photograph, as well as a slice of carrot cake for me. Because sometimes you just need cake!

I squeezed in a hike with my girlfriend since the weather was beautiful, did a quick photo shoot for a new recipe, and then met Spencer when he climbed off the bus at lunchtime. Phew…it was a full morning!

We worked on Spencer’s homework that afternoon, rescued Teddy from his traumatic experience at the vet, and scooped up the older boys from school as well.

I thawed a container of my Spaghetti Meat Sauce from the freezer for dinner that night, which I served with a loaf of my neighbor’s homemade bread and a salad.

Friday was a very cold, rainy day. Other than a quick class at the gym in the morning, I stayed close to home and made sure that Teddy was healing properly.

I gave myself a night off from the kitchen and instead let the kids pick the dinner menu. They opted for Chinese takeout, so we picked up a variety of entrées that we could all share.

I guess I did do a little bit of cooking, because I had some tired veggies in the refrigerator that desperately needed to be enjoyed. I stir-fried bell peppers, onion and sugar snap peas in a skillet and ordered a side of curry sauce from the restaurant, which I added to my cooked vegetables just before serving.

We also enjoyed Moo Shu Pork, Chicken and Mixed Vegetables, Shrimp and Broccoli, Sweet and Sour Chicken and three orders of spring rolls.

Keith’s parents came to visit for the day on Saturday, so we all spent the morning at the basketball courts to watch the boys’ games.

When the last game was over, we picked up pizza, subs, and salads from Giovanna’s and brought them home for lunch.

Plus peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for dessert!

There was more basketball at home that afternoon, I made a trip to the grocery store, and then Keith smoked ribs for dinner.

In addition to the ribs, I made my Dump-and-Bake Overnight Macaroni and Cheese,

our favorite shortcut corn muffins, as well as sautéed spinach. Such a delicious Southern feast!

And that’s where I’ll leave it for today! I hope that our easy meals offer some fresh ideas for your own dinners in the week ahead. Thanks for stopping by, friends!

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