Our Week in Meals #250

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week we celebrated Teddy’s third birthday, enjoyed a little taste of fall (food, not weather), and participated in a beautiful fundraising walk. 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 met my friends Mollie and Sallie for a walk at Mollie’s farm early on Sunday morning…

…and then baked a batch of our favorite chocolate chip cookies to have on hand for the week ahead.

Keith smoked a turkey breast for dinner that night, which we paired with store-bought cranberry sauce, an easy box of Stove Top stuffing,

broccoli and cheese,

and cranberry muffins. Such a delicious taste of the cooler weather to come (it’s definitely not here yet)!

Teddy turned 3 on Monday! He celebrated with a new stuffed toy and some cheese on his breakfast. 😉

I met my friend Ashley for a walk in the woods that morning, and then buckled down at my desk to get work done while the kids were at school.

We had Oven Roasted Chicken Breast with Molasses, Apples and Onions for dinner, which I served with rice, dinner rolls and steamed green beans.

Tuesday morning!

I had a bunch of errands to run in Culpeper that day, including a stop at Starbucks to buy gift cards for the kids’ teachers. When I realized that the fall drinks had just been released, I obviously had to order my first (iced) pumpkin spice latte of the season!🍂🍁🎃

I made an Easy Ground Beef Noodle Casserole for supper, but divided the larger recipe between two smaller baking dishes. We enjoyed one that night, and I froze the other dish for a later date. Such a simple way to get two meals for one effort!

I paired the casserole with garlic bread and a green salad with red wine vinaigrette.

After a walk on Wednesday morning, I spent most of the rest of my day testing new recipes in the kitchen.

We had Roasted Pork Tenderloin for supper (minus the mustard sauce this time), along with mashed potatoes, sauteed asparagus, and pumpkin bread.

I recently got this new Harvest Bounty loaf pan, so I was excited to try it out with the pumpkin bread. Simple pleasures that bring me joy!

I read a really interesting book recently and wanted to mention it here. Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro, released a new novel this year called Klara and the Sun. It has already been nominated for multiple awards, has been called One of the Best Books of 2021 So Far, and is unlike any other book I’ve ever read. I initially found it slow in parts, but at the same time I couldn’t put it down and wanted to know how it would all end! A quick summary from Amazon:

Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

Definitely worth a read!

Thursday was a repeat of the day before — cooking, cleaning, school, work, and a walk with a friend before the afternoon carpool pickup.

I captured my favorite furry friend (with a fresh haircut) on International Dog Day, even though he refused to look at the camera!

Since there was some pizza dough hanging out in my freezer that needed to be enjoyed, we had homemade pizzas for dinner that night. Plus a salad on the side for something green!

Teddy and I got out for an early walk on Friday morning to avoid the heat once the boys were off to school.

Other than a quick stop at Yoder’s for baking supplies, buttermilk, cream, lunch meat, and peanut butter, I stayed at the house to check some items off of my to-do list while the kids were gone.

We had taco quesadillas for supper, along with chips, salsa, guacamole and corn. Easy…and always a favorite with the boys!

I spent Saturday morning at a 4-mile fundraiser walk to benefit some local charities here in Madison.

The course was in Hebron Valley, and it was a beautiful, flat (or as flat as you can find in Madison) route among the corn fields, cows and mountains.

And then I came home and baked a pound cake with caramel icing! It’s all about balance. 😂 I’ll share this new recipe soon…

I was ready for a break from the kitchen that evening, so Keith picked up takeout from The BBQ Exchange for supper. This was my pulled bbq chicken platter with cornbread, collard greens and coleslaw.

There you go, friends — another week of dinners wrapped up! Thanks, as always, for joining me here today. I hope that you’ve found some new inspiration for your family’s table in the days ahead!