Our Week in Meals #203

Good morning, and happy Sunday! It was all about fall around here this week — from cooler temps to cozy, comfort food meals. We’re embracing the changing seasons! 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…

I took full advantage of the weather and met two of my girlfriends for a walk at Mollie’s farm on Sunday morning.

Later that afternoon, Keith and I took care of house chores while the kids spent a few hours digging in the dirt.

Keith grilled steak tips for dinner that evening (a favorite around here!),

which we paired with Grilled Potatoes,

homemade applesauce that I canned earlier in the season,

braised red cabbage (leftover from a previous meal, frozen, and just reheated that night), as well as steamed broccoli.

Sunsets are just so beautiful at this time of year! Nothing compares to that autumn glow…

Monday was back to the grind of work and school! We dropped Spencer off, and then the older boys and I took the dog for a walk in the woods before tackling their virtual assignments.

Dinner that night was some leftover Virginia Brunswick Stew that I had stashed in the freezer.

I made a salad on the side, along with these Easy Batter Rolls from Taste of Home.

And then, since I had a handful of apples in the fridge that weren’t particularly good for snacking (too mushy), I made an Easy Apple Crisp for dessert. ‘Tis the season!

I’ve got another great novel for you this week! I recently finished The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd, which was a recommendation from my mother-in-law after her book club really enjoyed it. It’s historical fiction, in which the main character, Ana, is married to Jesus. The story is really an account of one woman’s bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside of her, while living in a time, place and culture intended to silence her. It’s less about religion, and more about women’s lives at that point in history. I found it fascinating, entertaining and powerful. Definitely recommend this one!

Tuesday morning started with a dog walk and school work…

…followed by soccer for the older boys after lunch. There were storm clouds on the horizon, but the rain held off until later that evening.

I made Crock Pot Smothered Pork Chops for supper,

which I paired with cheese grits,

Arkansas Green Beans, and store-bought crescent rolls. The boys don’t care for grits too much, but they sure do love those pork chops. Casey and Spencer had two or three servings each!

Tuesday’s storms brought in cool, crisp air on Wednesday morning.

I had all 3 kids home with me that day, so we devoted the morning to school-related activities, picked up a grocery order, and grabbed subs for lunch while we were out.

I spent the afternoon testing some new holiday baking recipes, while the kids set up a Halloween-themed Lego table. These mini decorations that we ordered from Target entertained them for hours!

Hay bales!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​I whipped up a very fall-inspired dinner: Skillet Chicken with Apples…​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

…served with buttered noodles, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Cranberries…

…and 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Gingerbread!

The kids returned to school on Thursday, so I met two of my friends for an early walk and then returned home to tackle a bunch of work for the week.

I needed a quick dinner that I could easily reheat after the boys’ football practice that evening, so we had 9-Can Beef Soup paired with cheese quesadillas, tortilla chips, salsa…

…and of course — homemade guacamole!

Friday morning!

I spent time fiddling with the internet (that wasn’t working), and then got frustrated and instead drove up to Culpeper to buy bagels and pick up lunch at Panera’s drive-thru. I met Keith at his office for a picnic outside on a beautiful, cool and sunny afternoon. I don’t think that we’ve had a “date” without kids in over 6 moths!

This was the Autumn Squash Soup with a baguette and the Barbecue Chicken Salad.

And a simple dinner to end the work week: homemade pizza and salad. This makes all of my boys very happy!

I spent Saturday morning cooking and photographing Thanksgiving recipes, and then we all got haircuts that afternoon.

Since I had prepped so much food earlier in the day, I just reheated a bunch of dishes for dinner that night. We had roasted turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, and a bread basket full of corn muffins, 2-ingredient pumpkin muffins, and sweet potato biscuits. Makes me excited for the holiday season!

And that’s it for the week — another roundup of easy, homemade dinners. I hope that you found a few new ideas for your own table in the coming days. Thanks so much for joining me here, and have a great Sunday!