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 Sunday! I’m checking in after another full fall week of school, sports, and cozy recipes. I hope that you had a good one, too! 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.

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. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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…

We had a quiet day at home on Sunday, and took full advantage of the beautiful fall weather. I baked muffins for breakfast and walked the dog up the road, while Keith spent the morning taking care of yard chores.

Our afternoon was largely consumed with football and cleaning out closets. It’s overwhelming to switch out clothes each season, but always a relief when it’s done and organized. We’re officially in sweater weather!

Keith smoked chicken for dinner that evening,

Close up front shot of a platter of roasted brined chicken

while I made creamy mac and cheese, buttered peas and salad alongside.

Front shot of two white bowls full of stovetop mac and cheese

Time for another book review! I recently finished Harvest Season, which is the sequel to Growing Season by Melanie Lageschulte. I enjoyed this one even more than the first, and I’ve already ordered book #3 in the series (The Peaceful Season). These novels are hard to explain, because they’re unlike most other books I’ve read. They’re not mysteries, thrillers, romance, or chick lit. They’re just light, easy to read, and simple (in a good way). They kind of remind me of the book version of a Hallmark movie — fun, enjoyable, lighthearted, and fairly predictable! I find myself attached to the characters and looking forward to the next, so I suppose that’s a positive review…even if they’re not award-winning literature.😊

Back to the routine on Monday! ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Spencer returned to school, while the older boys and I stayed home to focus on their distance-learning work. ​​​​​​

I needed to run an errand in town, so I treated them to drive-thru burgers and cones for lunch while we were out!

They spent the afternoon in the dirt…

And I made Taco Pie for supper,

Front shot of taco pie served in a small blue dish with a cornbread crust

with tortilla chips, easy homemade guac, salsa, and steamed, buttered corn.

Close up front shot of an easy guacamole recipe served in a colorful bowl

Tuesday was another day of homeschooling in the morning, followed by soccer practice for the boys in the afternoon.

So many soy beans!

I loved having the chance to get out and walk the dog during the boys’ practice — the weather was perfect! These yellow flowers (or weeds?!) are everywhere right now, lining the roads and trails so that everything looks so colorful.

I also received a really fun gift this week! I always look forward to the seasonal Special Delivery Box from my friends at Taste of Home, and the fall version did not disappoint. This package included a new cookbook called Farmhouse Favorites, as well as recipe cards and lots of cool kitchen tools — like biscuit cutters, measuring cups, mini microwave-safe Bundt cake pans, a spatula, and a silicone pressure cooker rack. This is a great gift idea for yourself or your favorite home cook!

Dinner that night was a pot of Easy French Onion Soup, served with salad and plenty of extra baguette on the side!

Close overhead shot of a white bowl of french onion soup

Wednesday was another gorgeous fall day!

I took the dog for a walk bright and early, and then the kids and I stayed busy with their school work for a few hours.

We picked up a grocery order, and stopped at Cake Krums bakery for one of our favorite fall snacks: Apple Butter Donuts!

For dinner, I made my 5-Ingredient Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia, which I paired with a box of garlic and herb couscous, green beans and dinner rolls.

Overhead shot of baked tilapia fillet surrounded by fresh parsley and lemon

Thursday was my one day this week to get work done while all 3 of the boys were at school. I tackled my to-do list after a short walk in the woods with the dog on a very gray, cloudy morning.

We spent the afternoon on the football field for the boys’ practice…

…and then came home to a quick weeknight dinner. Knowing that I’d be in a hurry to get a meal on the table, I took a shortcut and used a store-bought rotisserie chicken to prepare Chicken and Bisquick Dumplings.

Close up front shot of chicken and dumplings in a blue and white bowl with serving spoon

I made a salad and warmed some 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins for the bread basket. The muffins were stashed in my freezer, so no baking necessary!

Friday was largely devoted to chores and errands outside of the house that I can’t easily take care of when the kids are around. While they were at school, I dropped the dog off at the groomer, delivered lunch to the teachers and staff on behalf of the PTO, met a friend for a walk, and grabbed lunch at the Panera drive-thru. I ate a really glamorous tuna salad sandwich on focaccia in the parking lot (while enjoying the peace and quiet and waiting to pick up the dog)!

On a cool, rainy evening, classic Stuffed Shells hit the spot for supper! I divided the full recipe between two 8-inch square pans so that I could bake one that night, and stash the extra pan in the freezer for a later date.

Plus a salad and garlic bread on the side!

Front shot of homemade garlic bread in a dish on a wooden table

Spencer and Casey came with me to my favorite little antique shop on Saturday morning, where they found plenty of treasures (old trains, haunted house decorations) and I found a cute little desk for Gibbs’ bedroom. Success!

Keith smoked ribs for dinner that night (here’s my slow cooker version, which is also delish!)…

Close up front shot of slow cooker barbecue ribs on a plate with coleslaw and cornbread

…and I made a batch of bakery-style Corn Muffins to have on the side.

Front shot of a corn muffin on a blue and white plate with another muffin on a plate in the background

Since there was a lingering head of Romaine hanging out in the vegetable drawer, I also tossed together a simple green salad with our favorite Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette.

Glass bottle of homemade pepper jelly vinaigrette on a wooden table with salad in the background

There you go! Another roundup of our easy meals from the past week. I hope that you’ve found a couple of new dishes to add to your own menu in the coming days. Thank you so much for being here!

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

Square overhead shot of hands serving a chicken pot pie recipe with biscuits
Overhead image of a bowl of chili mac on a dinner table with cornbread
Hands serving a platter of sheet pan sausage and potatoes

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Fun update as usual, Blair! I ordered “The Harvest Season” as I think it will be perfect while I’m finishing up dealing with a nasty cold!

    As usual when I read your blog, I found myself going from one recipe to another today. Was looking for a broccoli recipe for dinner tonight and stumbled onto one of your blogs from 2013 when you and your family were visiting the Madison Fire Station and you were pregnant with Spencer! So long ago, and Gibbs and Casey were so little!!

    The yellow flowers are called Wing stem and are considered by most to be weeds. However, we have seen monarchs on them at this time of year so in my book that earns them a certain amount of space. Also lots of Golden Rod around right now which is really great for bees. This is the time they are madly storing up pollen so they can get through the winter.

    Have a great week!
    Norma

    1. Hah! I knew that someone would be able to tell me what the yellow weeds are called if I shared a picture! 🙂 I figured they weren’t technically flowers, but I still think they’re pretty. There are always so many bees and butterflies on the plants when I walk by.

      I can’t believe that you found your way back into the blog archives and saw some of those old photos. I love having so much of our lives documented — I just never expect others to find those old posts as well.

      Hope you enjoy the Harvest Season book and that you’re on the mend! xoxo

  2. I notice that you frequently add a salad to your meals. Do your sons eat the salads or are they just for the adults? Salads are not a popular choice here. All the rest of your meals are eagerly devoured.

    1. Hi, Doroth! My kids are hit-or-miss with the salads. I always put some on their plates, but sometimes they go untouched, while other nights they get eaten. Ranch dressing helps! And I typically leave off too many “extras” that I might otherwise put on my salad or my husband’s salad — for instance, we love the addition of dried cranberries, nuts, croutons, feta or blue cheese, etc. Only one of my boys likes those toppings, so I’ll often leave them off of the the other kids’ salads. Some nights I’ll just put cut up raw veggies on their plates instead of the full lettuce salad. So they might get grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and carrot sticks — but no actual lettuce. Just depends on how much of the various ingredients I have in the fridge. My husband really likes a salad with most meals, though, so that’s the main reason they’re such a staple on our menu. I try not to worry about how much (or how little) the boys are actually eating — it all seems to balance out in the end. 🙂