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Good morning, and happy Sunday! Like much of the country, we’ve had some crazy winter weather here in Virginia recently. There’s been very little school, but lots of cozy 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…
Sunday was Valentine’s Day! I started the day with a delicious loaf of Cherry Almond Bread (I’ll share the recipe here soon), while the boys opened a few gifts and snuck bites of chocolates from their heart-shaped boxes.
The weather was gray and cold, so I made a pot of Lemon Chicken Soup for lunch…
…and then dragged everyone outside for some fresh air and a walk up the road. This gloomy February weather was making us all stir-crazy!
I tried to plan a special holiday meal for that evening, which would be a little bit different from a normal Sunday supper. We started with Steamed Mussels in Garlic and Herb Wine Sauce (this was really for me and Keith — the boys were not interested!)…
plus a loaf of crusty No-Knead Bread to soak up all of that delicious broth.
In addition to the bread and mussels, I also made a Caesar salad and Filet Mignon in a cast iron skillet. Such a treat!
And since every Valentine’s Day celebration needs chocolate, I offered Chocolate Pound Cake for dessert. This was actually in my freezer already, so I just had to let it thaw on the counter.
School was cancelled on Monday (thanks to some lingering ice), so we had another quiet day at home.
New Lego sets from Valentine’s Day and a couple of walks outside saved our sanity!
I made Chicken Piccata for dinner that night, along with pasta, green beans,
and garlic bread.
We got a nice reprieve from the rain and ice on Tuesday! Spencer returned to school, and I did my best to get the older two boys outside as much as possible in between their virtual learning assignments.
We took the dog for an early walk in the woods…
…and then went over to our friends’ farm after lunch, where the kids had fun on the go-cart.
Dinner included an easy Pork Sirloin Roast, as well as sautéed asparagus and rice.
A beautiful sunset that evening…
All three boys were home for virtual learning on Wednesday, so we spent the morning on work and then got outside to enjoy the sunshine for the afternoon.
Playtime with friends in the woods…
…and blue skies!
With snow in the forecast for that evening, I decided to make our favorite Beef Stew for supper…
…plus biscuits and a salad on the side. Comfort food!
And for dessert, a King Cake that Keith brought home from a little bakery in Culpeper. Casey found the hidden baby, so he was especially excited about that treat!
School was cancelled again on Thursday morning (thanks to more ice and freezing rain), which was a bummer for me because Thursdays are typically one of the two days each week that I can get work done while all 3 kids are in school. Alas, we had another day at home…
On a positive note, I’ve been doing a lot of reading recently, and I have another really great book to recommend this week! A handful of you mentioned that The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen was the best book that you read last year, so I ordered it for my mom for Christmas. She finished it, enjoyed it, and passed it my way. This historical fiction is the beautiful and heart-rending story of a woman’s love and sacrifice during the First World War. Highly recommend!
Thursday night’s dinner was quick and easy: Nacho Casserole, which I made with ground turkey instead of ground beef, since we had just enjoyed beef the night before.
And it wouldn’t be Mexican night without guacamole on the side! The kids all really liked this meal (no surprise!).
We didn’t get any more snow, but the boys were home again on Friday (thanks to leftover ice). They had fun slipping around the driveway in the morning, we stopped at a local antique store for a quick peek, and then I bought them hamburgers at the McDonald’s drive-thru because I just needed a break from making lunch!🤪
That afternoon we headed back over to our friends’ farm for a little outdoor play date and walk. Keeping the kids busy is my key to survival — and fortunately the sun came out!
I roasted a whole chicken for dinner, which we paired with the potatoes in the pot, steamed broccoli…
…and toasted no-knead Dutch Oven Bread. Another popular meal with the boys, who all cleaned their plates.
Saturday was cold but sunny…and very productive. I took care of house chores in the morning (like scrubbing the kitchen cabinets and base boards!), picked up a grocery order, and then took everyone to get haircuts after lunch.
Keith was in charge of takeout for supper, so I got a night off from the kitchen. We had the usual Saturday night pizza, which makes everyone happy!
That’s all for this week, friends! I hope you’re staying warm and dry, and that you have a delicious and sunny week ahead. Thanks for being here!
So looking forward to making your no knead bread I keep reading about. Wish me luck
Oh, you’ll love it! Enjoy, Glenda!
I so enjoy reading your blog and look forward to receiving it on Sunday. I love all your recipes that you post and have made quite a few of them. Thanks for a wonderful blog! Enjoy your week!
That’s so great to hear, Marian! Thanks for reading each week and for taking the time to leave me a kind note. Have a great week ahead! 🙂
I just LOVE looking at your pics! I have 3 young boys also, and am always on the hunt to make delicious and healthy meals! Thanks for being such an inspiration for a working mom that tries to make from-scratch meals (some of the time lol)!
Thank you, Cassandra!! I’m so glad that you find our ideas helpful. You’re right — from scratch is great most of the time, but I also try to give myself plenty of grace with store-bought shortcuts or quicker options when life gets really busy. No need to add to our stress. 🙂 Take care, and thanks for following along with us!
Hi there! Thanks so much for the inspiration each Sunday as that is when I meal plan for the week! I would love to try the pork sirloin roast you did this week, however our grocery store only has pork boneless half loin. Is that the same thing? Will it work the same way? Thanks so much!!
Hi, Michelle! I’ve honestly never seen a pork half loin for sale around here, so it’s not something that I’ve cooked. From my (very limited) research, it’s my understanding that some stores cut a regular pork loin (which typically weighs about 3-4 lbs.) in half and sell the smaller amount that way. I think it should work fine in this recipe — you just might need to reduce the cooking time to account for the smaller piece of meat. That’s where the meat thermometer will come in handy, since you’ll be able to tell when the pork reaches the desired temp. Hope you enjoy!
The sirloin is the back end of the loin, so you’re right! Just don’t over cook it and it should work great. I think the recipe looks pretty tasty and I’ll try it when pork roasts are on sale here!
Excellent! Thank you!!
Great! Thank you so much! I’m excited to try it!
The mussels dish is such a treat! I am looking forward to it when we can stock up. Last time I made mussels my youngest was a toddler and was packing way her mussels as fast as she could. Thanks for the book recommendation, I always keep a note and add to my list.
Those mussels are so great! We don’t have them often because I have to make a special trip to a grocery store in another town that actually has a seafood counter, but other than that they’re super-simple. Hope you get to read the book! 🙂