Our Week in Meals #276

Good morning, and happy Sunday! We enjoyed President’s Day, took advantage of spring-like weather, and spent plenty of time in sports this week. 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 started with an early morning walk at Mollie’s farm with three of my friends. Some girl time and fresh air is the best way to kick off a new week!

Keith and I got outside for another walk after lunch, but we otherwise had a quiet day at home.

Dinner included grilled steaks,

crispy-on-the-outside and fluffy-on-the-inside baked potatoes,

and a house salad (use store-bought candied pecans for a shortcut).

The kids had school off on Monday for the President’s Day holiday, so we took advantage of the warm, sunny day and headed up to Culpeper for a walk at Cedar Mountain Civil War battlefield.

Plus lunch at Chik-Fil-A afterwards!

I made Crock Pot Chicken Tacos for dinner,

which I paired with corn, tortilla chips, salsa, and homemade guacamole. Then out the door to Spencer’s basketball practice…

The kids went back to school on Tuesday morning, I snuck in an early walk before the rain started, and then I spent a few hours at the vet with a sick dog.

We were up throughout the night with Teddy, and when the vomiting continued I figured we better get him checked out. Poor thing was miserable! After IV fluids, multiple antibiotics, and plenty of time on the couch, he’s finally feeling like himself again.

Casey was supposed to have his first outdoor soccer practice for the spring season that evening, so I planned an easy meal that I could reheat when he got home. On the menu: breakfast-for-dinner! We had the kids’ favorite secret-ingredient Bisquick waffles, along with maple sausage, yogurt, and fresh strawberries (they’re finally starting to taste good again — the seasons are changing!). In the end, soccer was cancelled because of the rain, so we all ate together at the same time.

Wednesday was warm and sunny again, so in between various work projects, I met two of my friends for walks.

Then it was another evening of juggling sports: two different basketball practices and one soccer practice — all at different times and in different locations. I knew that we needed a simple dinner that we could eat at various times coming and going, so I prepared a batch of 30-minute tomato soup…

…and paired that with either grilled cheese sandwiches (for the kids) or tuna melts. The tuna salad was also prepped in advance, so we just needed to reheat the soup and assemble the sandwiches.

Thursday included a visit from a plumber to fix a bathroom sink, a work-related webinar, and recipe testing with these sweet strawberries in anticipation of spring.

I also finished another book, which was the perfect escape from a cold, gray February: That Summer by Jennifer Weiner. This quick novel is part-mystery and part-“beach read,” and I really enjoyed it. Here’s the summary from Amazon:

Daisy Shoemaker can’t sleep. With a thriving cooking business, full schedule of volunteer work, and a beautiful home in the Philadelphia suburbs, she should be content. But her teenage daughter can be a handful, her husband can be distant, her work can feel trivial, and she has lots of acquaintances, but no real friends. Still, Daisy knows she’s got it good. So why is she up all night?

While Daisy tries to identify the root of her dissatisfaction, she’s also receiving misdirected emails meant for a woman named Diana Starling, whose email address is just one punctuation mark away from her own. While Daisy’s driving carpools, Diana is chairing meetings. While Daisy’s making dinner, Diana’s making plans to reorganize corporations. Diana’s glamorous, sophisticated, single-lady life is miles away from Daisy’s simpler existence. When an apology leads to an invitation, the two women meet and become friends. But, as they get closer, we learn that their connection was not completely accidental. Who IS this other woman, and what does she want with Daisy?

From the manicured Main Line of Philadelphia to the wild landscape of the Outer Cape, written with Jennifer Weiner’s signature wit and sharp observations, That Summer is a story about surviving our pasts, confronting our futures, and the sustaining bonds of friendship.

The older boys had basketball practice later that evening, so we had an early supper of pasta with the best spaghetti sauce,

plus garlic bread,

and Caesar salad. So cozy on a chilly, rainy night!

Friday flew by in a flash. Highlights included a loaf of banana nut bread (since I had some overripe bananas sitting on the counter),

and once the rain cleared, a beautiful afternoon walk.

We had fried fish sandwiches for dinner that night (always a favorite of mine!),

along with vinegar coleslaw, and potato chips.

Then it was Saturday! The kids had basketball games in the morning,

and our babysitter, Mary Kate, came over to stay with the boys that evening. She’s home from college, and we couldn’t be happier about it!

Keith and I made dinner reservations at the historic Lafayette Inn in Stanardsville, which was a first for us. We had a cozy table by the fireplace, and really enjoyed our meal. I started with the grilled Romaine salad with bacon, tomatoes, blue cheese, and Caesar dressing,

and ordered the shrimp and grits for my entree (there were some very creamy stone-ground grits hiding under all of those shrimp, peppers, onions, and mushrooms). Such a fun night out, and a nice change of pace from the usual Saturday pizza!😉

And that’s all for now, friends! Thank you for joining me here today. I know that it’s been a very heavy week in the news, and I hope that you’ve found a little bit of a respite in this space. Wishing everyone peace and love in the days ahead!