Our Week in Meals #233

Good morning, and happy Sunday! It was a beautiful week of sunny skies, warm temps, and kids’ sports here in Virginia. 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…

Sunday started with a walk at Mollie’s farm with three of my friends.

Fortunately, that beautiful weather hung around for most of the week. Such a lovely time of year!

Back home, I baked a batch of soft and chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (a kid favorite!), and took care of other chores around the house.

Keith cooked ribs for dinner, which we enjoyed with a side of quick mac and cheese and a salad.

It was back to the regular routine on Monday morning, as Spencer returned to school and the older two boys resumed virtual assignments at home.

The weather was gorgeous, so we made a quick outing to the local garden center for some front porch flowers after lunch. Baby geraniums that will hopefully grow into their big planters in the coming months…

Plus a walk with friends later in the day.

I needed an easy dinner that I could prep ahead for a quick meal before soccer practice that evening, so I stirred together my favorite seafood salad. We had the salad in buttered, griddled hot dog buns (like “lobster” rolls), with potato chips, veggies and dip on the side.

It felt like summer had arrived on Tuesday! We’re in a sweet spot here in Virginia where the temps are in the upper 70’s – mid 80’s, but the humidity hasn’t fully arrived. We’re enjoying it while it lasts…because summer can be brutal.😅

Our big excitement that day? Casey got braces on his top teeth!

Unfortunately, one of the brackets popped off as soon as he tried to eat something, so we ended up back at the doctor’s office later that day. Poor kid wasn’t thrilled (and neither was I)…

For dinner I made a quick Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry, which we paired with white rice and a side of (store-bought) egg rolls.

All three of the boys were home from school on Wednesday, so we took care of their virtual assignments in the morning and then got outside for the afternoon.

Since it was in the mid-80’s, we headed over to their favorite trail along the Rapidan River so that they could go wading and rock collecting.

Followed by ice cream cones from the Tastee-Freez, of course!

Spencer had soccer practice that evening, so I fed everyone an early supper before we rushed out to the fields. On the menu: Oven-Fried Pork Chops…

…with Southern-Style Green Beans,

…and Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Biscuits (the best weeknight biscuit recipe)!

The kids all returned to school on Thursday, so I had a much-needed quiet day at the house.

It was overcast and gray, but warm and breezy, so I snuck out for a few quick walks in between work projects and chores.

I picked up our weekly eggs from the farm across the street, and met my friend for a walk in the woods before we had to scoop up the kids in the pick-up line.

It was another soccer practice night for the older boys, so I served a 4-Ingredient Chicken Enchilada Casserole at 4:30 before heading out the door. Plus chips, salsa and homemade guacamole on the side!

I met my friends for a beautiful walk on Friday morning once the kids were off to school, and then worked at my desk for the rest of the day.

We had Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta for supper, which I paired with couscous and a salad — so easy!

I also have another book to share this week! The Year of Pleasures is one of Elizabeth Berg’s older novels, but I really enjoy her work and picked up this used copy since it was a bestseller that I had never read. I definitely enjoyed this one, but I wouldn’t say it was her best (I liked The Story of Arthur Truluv and Night of Miracles even more).

In this story, Betta Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to begin anew. Pursuing a dream of a different kind of life, she is determined to find pleasure in her simple daily routines. Among those who help her in both expected and unexpected ways are the ten-year-old boy next door, three wild women friends from her college days, a twenty-year-old who is struggling to find his place in the world, and a handsome man who is ready for love. It was a fun, heartwarming read.

We spent most of Saturday on the soccer fields, since the boys all had games.

We watched the Kentucky Derby that evening, Keith grilled chicken breast for dinner,

and I made a creamy cucumber salad,

and cornbread on the side.

That’s all for now, friends! I hope you have a wonderful week ahead. Thank you for joining me here!