Our Week in Meals #306

Good morning, and happy Sunday! It was a week of ups and downs around here, including some beautiful fall weather and a nasty stomach bug. All of the highlights, along with each of our 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 a walk with three of my friends at Mollie’s farm.

Adria brought us each some of the dahlias from her garden, which have been a beautiful pop of color on the table all week long.

Gibbs went to a friend’s birthday party, the younger boys went for a bike ride, and Keith watched football. Happy campers!

We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for supper, which I paired with our favorite “house salad,” baked beans, and curly fries.

Back to work and school on Monday morning!

In spite of the unseasonably warm weather we had earlier in the week, it’s definitely starting to look like autumn around here.

I spent a good chunk of my day at the doctor’s office getting COVID booster shots with the kids. Not fun, but glad to have that checked off our list for now. Flu shots are next!

I served this 30-minute Italian sausage pasta for supper that evening before Gibbs’ soccer practice, along with Caesar salad and garlic bread.

Let’s chat about books again! I read two really great novels recently, and one that was just okay. First up: The Maid by Nita Prose. Part-mystery, part-thriller, part-coming-of-age story, this heartwarming book was one of my favorites in a long time! Here’s the quick summary from Amazon:

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

Another book that I loved this week: Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This is such a cool concept for a novel, as I found myself Googling the band to find out if it was based on a true story (it’s not…but it was supposedly inspired by Fleetwood Mac). It’s an entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the complicated rise and fall of a successful rock band in the 70s. Definitely recommend this one!

And finally, The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale. This one was entertaining, but I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the previous two. The story focuses on the competitive lifestyle of a trio of ballerinas at the Paris Opera Ballet. An interesting subject, but I also found it to be be a bit too dark and sad in parts.

I spent most of Tuesday in the kitchen working on new recipes.

The boys had golf and soccer practices that evening, so we headed in different directions and ate at different times. I prepared a pot of classic beef chili in advance, which we reheated and served with tortilla chips, guacamole, and all of the toppings.

A beautiful Wednesday morning included a short walk up the road and a couple of errands in town.

Teddy and I both got haircuts that day — but not at the same place. Hah! Those ears!😂

I also received some fun mail that afternoon when my friends at Taste of Home sent me their new seasonal Special Delivery Box, which features recipes, cooking tools, and a cookbook all centered around fall baking. This subscription box is such a fun gift idea for an avid home cook! The autumn box includes the new Taste of Home Fall Baking cookbook, along with an egg separator, my favorite Wilton cookie scoop, knife sharpener, cooling rack, kitchen shears (one of my most-loved kitchen tools), pastry brush, and more.

Before the kids’ soccer practices that evening, I served an easy dinner of baked chicken nuggets, store-bought mac and cheese, pickles, and a side salad.

Spencer woke up in the middle of the night with a nasty stomach bug, so I canceled most of my plans for Thursday and instead stayed home to take care of him.

In the meantime, I juggled a couple of Zoom meetings and computer work.

I made one of my favorite autumn-inspired meals for dinner that evening before sending Casey off to another soccer practice: roasted chicken breast with molasses and apples. I used sorghum instead of molasses, since that’s what was open in the pantry.

Served with buttermilk biscuits, rice, and steamed green beans. Comfort food!

The winds on the first official day of fall brought in a cold front, and we woke up on Friday morning to the most gorgeous “sweater weather” of the season.

It was chilly — but not so cold that we needed coats. Hooray!

Even our animal neighbors were enjoying it…

Spencer was feeling much better that day, but I kept him home from school so that he could continue to rest and recover. We had a relatively quiet day at the house while I worked and took Zoom meetings, before picking the older boys up from school.

Back home for supper, we kept it simple, cozy, and kid-friendly: bowls of roasted tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches on the side.

And that’s where this week’s post comes to an abrupt halt! I came down with Spencer’s stomach bug on Friday evening, and Casey got sick on Saturday morning. We spent Saturday in bed while Keith handled the other soccer obligations, and I definitely do not have any food to report. Just ice chips!

Before I go, I wanted to share one more source for fun fall recipe inspiration. The Homemade Harvest collection over on RecipeLion features a couple of my seasonal favorites, along with many other ideas.

Thank you for being here, and have a wonderful week, friends!