Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
Good morning, and happy Mother’s Day! I hope that all of the special ladies out there are enjoying a beautiful weekend. Our past few days have been full of spring parties, cakes, and seasonal treats. I’ve got 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 rained almost all day on Sunday, so I spent the morning cooking in the kitchen and photographing a few recipes. After lunch, the younger two boys had swimming lessons in Culpeper…
followed by coffee rolls for snack!
My girlfriend had a Cinco de Mayo birthday party that afternoon, so we headed straight over to their farm after the pool.
I brought along my Black Bean and Corn Salad,
which we enjoyed with steak fajitas, chips and salsa, and Betty’s homemade refried beans. Such a great meal!
Plus a slice of the most delicious cake from Costco’s bakery!
By the time we returned home, the skies had finally cleared!
Casey and I took the dog out for a much-needed walk up the street before bed, and I couldn’t believe how green everything looked after the rain.
Monday morning started with a beautiful walk with the dog, before I had to get to the kids’ school to meet the caterer to help set up for the teachers’ luncheon (which the PTO organized for Teacher Appreciation Week).
It was a soccer practice evening, so I was glad to have dinner ready and waiting for us in the Crock Pot that afternoon.
We enjoyed this Garlic Sesame Chicken (which can also be made in the Instant Pot), along with steamed broccoli and basmati rice. Spencer loves the sweet sauce from the chicken over broccoli, so he requests this meal often. It’s definitely kid-friendly!
I walked over to my neighbor’s farm on Tuesday morning to pick up some baked goods and veggies from her garden.
Cheese scones, spinach, lettuce, and fresh asparagus!
I prepared my Quick and Easy Vegetable Lasagna for dinner that night, which is such a nice dish to enjoy throughout the summer months. It’s a lighter option that takes advantage of fresh vegetables, including mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, onion and herbs. Plus, it tastes delicious!
I roasted the asparagus that I picked up that morning in the same oven as the lasagna, which we enjoyed with garlic breadsticks (from the freezer).
Spencer and I met my parents in Charlottesville for lunch at Chik-fil-A on Wednesday. That place never disappoints!
Plus a Butter Pecan Iced Coffee on the way home.
We had soccer practices again that evening, so dinner was served early at 4:30 p.m.! I prepped the filling for our Taco Pie in advance, so that I could just add the cornbread topping right before baking.
On the side, we had tortilla chips, salsa and queso. Plus a delicious salad that I made with lettuce from my neighbor, plus tomatoes, diced avocado and pickled red onions!
When we had lunch at Panera recently, I realized that they included pickled red onions in just about every sandwich and salad that we ordered. The onions were a great addition, so I decided to make my own at home (using this recipe from Bon Appetit), which took a grand total of about 5 minutes.
I met my friend Mollie for a hike in the woods on Thursday morning, and she brought me these beautiful strawberries that she picked with her 2-year-old son.
I can assure you that the strawberries went to good use right away! I went home and baked a 5-Ingredient Gooey Butter Cake to enjoy for dessert that night — topped with fresh berries!
I’ll share the easy cake recipe soon. It would be great for a Fourth of July picnic this summer!
When we picked Teddy up from the groomer after lunch, Spencer insisted that the dog needed this new donut toy…
I made a 4-Ingredient Thai Shrimp Curry for dinner that night, which we enjoyed over rice. There’s hardly a “recipe” required, but I’ll share the details below in case you need a quick new meal option in the week ahead. You only need about 5 minutes of prep and 8 minutes to cook the dish!
I started with a jar of this Sharwood’s Thai Red Curry sauce,
which I combined with a bag of frozen vegetables and a pound of peeled, deveined shrimp.
Tasty and fast!
4-Ingredient Thai Shrimp Curry
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 (12 ounce) bag frozen stir-fry vegetables
- 1 ½ cups (14.1 ounces) Thai Red Curry Cooking Sauce*
- 1 lb. peeled and deveined raw shrimp
- Cooked rice, for serving
- Cilantro, parsley, or green onion for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add vegetables to the skillet and sauté until tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add curry sauce and stir to combine.
- Increase heat to medium-high. Add shrimp and cook until opaque (about 3-6 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp).
- Serve curry over rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro, parsley, or green onion.
Notes
Nutrition
Friday was Field Day at the younger boys’ school, and Spencer was so excited about the bouncy houses and water slides that he woke up at 5:45 a.m. to put on his bathing suit. Cute enthusiasm, but not-so-cute at that time of day!????
Can you spot Teddy waiting for Spencer’s bus to arrive at lunchtime?
Reunited!
I got my hair cut that afternoon, and then picked up the older boys at school. Casey came home from Field Day with some very creepy face paint (he was aiming for a panda bear, but we all decided it looked more like a skeleton)!
I decided to take the night off from cooking, so instead we ordered dinner from a new Southern restaurant in town called Miranda’s.
We tried the fried chicken tenders, fried chicken sandwich, Virginia ham sub, cheeseburger and this giant tuna salad sandwich on toasted rye, plus a house salad with honey mustard dressing.
Everything tasted really good!
Before the rain arrived on Saturday afternoon, we spent the morning on the soccer fields. Spencer and I took Casey to his game here in Madison, while Keith drove down to Charlottesville for Gibbs’s game.
They stopped at Whole Foods on the way home to grab some pizza for lunch and to pick up a few steaks for dinner.
Keith grilled the New York Strip steaks that evening,
which we served with sweet potato fries that I found stashed in the back of the freezer,
as well as my favorite Fried Cabbage. I had half of a large head of cabbage sitting in the fridge from recipe testing, so this was the perfect way to use it up!
There you go! Another week of easy dinners done, and now I’m off to enjoy Mother’s Day with my kiddos. Have a great week, friends!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Everything looks green after the rain & it looks so beautiful. Sort of make up for the dreary hours earlier from the rain.
Costco have a very good cakes selection. I love their double decadent chocolate cake. It’s to die for as well as addictive. It’s worth the money they charged.
Happy Mother’s Day Blair, hope you have a wonderful day with your family!
Hi Blair,
I look forward every Sunday to your awesome site. The pictures are so beautiful….. I wish I was there….Your suggestions on your recipes are never boring & I cant wait to try them.
You have a beautiful family!.
Does your husband realise how lucky he is to have such a wonderful woman as you? And I can tell you are a fantastic mom.
May I ask what state you live in? It’s so gorgeous looking at your beautiful pictures. Cant wait til sunday!
Hi, Judy! Thank you so much for your kind note! I’m not perfect, but I definitely do my best — and I *think* my family appreciates it. 🙂
We live in Central Virginia (Madison County), about 45 minutes from Charlottesville — at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s definitely a beautiful area, and I try hard to remember that every single day and not take it for granted. Snapping photos regularly helps me focus on the beauty! Thanks again for reading the blog.❤️