Our Week in Meals #167

Good morning and happy Sunday! It was another short school week around here, complete with donuts, basketball and a lot of cozy, comfort food. All of the highlights from the past few days, along with our easy dinners, are included in today’s roundup of Our Week in Meals!

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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…

After a gray, wintery day on Saturday, it was nice to see blue skies again on Sunday. I met my girlfriend for an early walk, and then returned home to spend the rest of my morning in the kitchen (testing a new recipe and photographing a couple of others).

Meanwhile, Keith and the boys got some yard work done. He’s training them on the wood splitter!

The rest of our afternoon included a hike along the Rapidan River, followed by football watching on TV.

Dinner that night was an easy meal that I threw together in the Crock Pot earlier in the day. We had Beef Tips with Mushroom Gravy, served with mashed potatoes, a side salad and dinner rolls. Perfect Sunday supper!

The boys had the day off from school on Monday (thanks to the MLK Jr. holiday), so we met our friends at the gym in the morning for a workout/play date…followed by treats at Dunkin’ afterwards!

Love the Girl Scout Samoa Cookie Cappuccino!

We spent some time playing at the house after lunch…

…and then made a trip to Ruckersville to buy a birthday present for Gibbs’s friend at Tractor Supply. On the way home, we stopped in two different antique shops, which the kids actually loved.

It was like a treasure hunt for them, while I hit the kitchen jackpot. Vintage Pyrex galore!

Dinner was a quick and easy Chicken Divan with rice before the boys headed off to basketball practice.

I finished a book that night, too! If you haven’t read any of the Maisie Dobbs novels by Jacqueline Winspear, I highly recommend this series. They’re well-written, quick mysteries that keep you turning the pages. I read A Dangerous Place most recently, which is set in Gibraltar just before the start of World War II. It wasn’t my favorite book from the series, but it was still entertaining.

It was 14 degrees when we went over to my neighbor’s farm on Tuesday morning to pick up our eggs for the week! We are NOT accustomed to these temperatures in Virginia, so the boys and I got back into the house ASAP.

I felt sorry for the cows, but the winter sunrises sure are beautiful!

The sun was shining and it turned out to be a beautiful day, but it sure was cold. In fact, I stayed tucked inside near my gas fireplace, sipping hot tea, and wearing my coat all day (even indoors). I just couldn’t get warm!😂

Keith left for a business trip that afternoon, so the boys and I were on our own for dinner. I took the easy route and thawed a batch of Corn Chowder from the freezer, which I paired with cheddar scones (also from the freezer) and side salads. Perfect on a cold night!

I went to my friend’s farm for a frosty walk on Wednesday morning, followed by a few errands in town.

After a quick lunch at home, I made my way to Charlottesville for a checkup at the dermatologist. Not a fun way to spend the afternoon, but an important one. The sun is really great for dog walks…and not so great for my mole-prone skin…

The boys and I had Dump-and-Bake Cream of Mushroom Chicken for dinner, along with egg noodles and green beans.

Thursday morning started with a strength class at the gym, before I returned home to photograph a recipe.

After lunch, I had to drag Teddy out of his cozy dog bed so that we could go for a walk with my girlfriend.😂

That night was kind of crazy because Gibbs stayed late at school, and I had a babysitter come over to stay with Spencer (so that he could sleep) while I took the older boys to their late basketball practice. I knew that I would need a meal that I could prep in advance and have waiting for us to quickly eat when we returned home from school, so I put a batch of Crock Pot Ribs in the slow cooker that morning.

We paired the ribs with cornbread, coleslaw, and baked beans for a quick and easy dinner that the boys loved.

I met my parents for lunch in Charlottesville on Friday, and we had a great meal at the Tip Top diner on Pantops. I ordered the tuna salad sandwich on rye, plus a Greek salad to share with my mom. Delish!

Keith returned home that afternoon, so we finally sat down to dinner together again. I kept it really simple with a kid favorite: Spaghetti and Meatballs, as well as Caesar salad and garlic bread.

Yesterday was a good combination of basketball and time with friends. After his practice in the morning, Spencer went over to a friend’s house for lunch while we took the older boys to their game. Gibbs refused to make a normal face or smile for the picture…

Once home, Gibbs and Casey each had friends over to play as well — which meant a house full of even more boys than usual! I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies to feed the hungry kiddos…

It was pizza and a movie night at our house! Keith picked up a couple of pies and rented Abominable for the kids, making it an easy evening for all of us. Perfect night in!

And that’s where I’ll leave it for today. I hope that you’ve found some new inspiration to add to your own meal plan in the week ahead. Thank you so much for stopping by!