Our Week in Meals #315

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week we finished the kids’ soccer season, celebrated Thanksgiving, and decorated the house for Christmas. All of the highlights, along with each of our dinners, are included in today’s roundup of Our Week in Meals.

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.

This week’s Recipes

Easy Bolognese Sauce

Classic Caesar Salad Recipe

Goldfish Baked Chicken Nuggets

Cucumber Dill Salad

Baked Apple Slices with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon

Creamy Beef and Shells {One Pot!}

Sautéed Zucchini

One-Bowl Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins

3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits

Virginia Country Ham Biscuits

Pimento Cheese Recipe

Mom’s Easy Candied Pecans

Chicken Lo Mein Recipe (“Chinese Noodles”)

Ramen Noodle Salad (Chinese Coleslaw)

Homemade Waffles

Smoked Turkey Breast

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Pan Fried Pork Chops

Old-Fashioned Southern Corn Sticks

Now, let’s back up to last weekend…

Spencer and I were still in Williamsburg for his soccer tournament on Sunday morning, while Keith and the older boys were in Fredericksburg for another tournament.

After Spencer’s morning game, we headed home to Madison and spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking, picking up groceries, and getting settled for the week ahead.

Keith and the older boys returned from their soccer tournament right around dinnertime. We all sat down to spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, as well as Caesar salad and a baguette that I picked up at Panera when we stopped for lunch in Richmond. First meal together as a family of 5 in a few nights, and it felt good to be back!

Shall we chat about this week’s books? First up, The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews. This was an entertaining page-turner with a little bit of suspense, mystery, humor, and romance. Definitely a fun read!

I also read the 8th mystery in Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder series, Among the Wicked. Set in Ohio’s Amish country, these novels are always great. I’d recommend starting with the first book in the series, Sworn to Silence.

And finally, my favorite of the bunch: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Here’s the quick summary from Amazon:

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. 

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.  

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

The kids went back to school on Monday morning, and I spent most of the day working in the kitchen.

We’re done with fall soccer for the season, so our weeknights are suddenly much quieter.

Gibbs had an orthodontist appointment after school, but otherwise we watched the World Cup on TV, followed by Monday night football, and had the kids’ favorite baked Goldfish chicken nuggets for supper.

I paired the chicken with cucumber dill salad,

baked apple slices, and frozen French fries.

Tuesday was the boys’ last day of school before the Thanksgiving holiday, so I tried to take full advantage of my time. First, a walk in the beautiful weather…

…and then a stop at Yoder’s Country Market for the week’s supply of buttermilk and other groceries, as well as some “extras” for Thursday.

I grabbed Kite’s country ham for ham biscuits, the best farm-fresh eggnog (which makes a great coffee creamer at this time of year)…

…and the weekly special panini sandwich from the deli counter for lunch. This was the “turkey cranberry delight,” which included their homemade sourdough bread pressed with homemade cranberry salad, turkey breast, and havarti. You could recreate this one with your Thanksgiving leftovers!

I made one-pot creamy beef and shells for supper,

along with sauteed zucchini,

and one-bowl cranberry orange muffins.

Wednesday was the perfect combination of work and play. The boys were off from school, so they spent their time watching World Cup soccer, playing football in the yard, and helping Keith rake leaves. It was 60 degrees outside most of this week!

Mollie came over for a walk that morning, and then I spent some time in the kitchen preparing for Thursday.

I was in charge of appetizers, so I made a batch of my 3-ingredient buttermilk biscuits (for a platter of Virginia country ham biscuits), but added some shredded cheddar cheese for even more flavor,

a batch of pimento cheese to set out with crackers,

and a batch of my mom’s easy candied pecans. Everything could be done in advance, which made Thanksgiving that much smoother.

The kids requested chicken lo mein for dinner,

which I paired with ramen noodle salad (another favorite with the boys), and frozen egg rolls.

On Thursday, we started the slow holiday morning with waffles for breakfast, which Casey helped me make.

This was the first time in years that I wasn’t responsible for hosting Thanksgiving dinner, since our house is currently undergoing a renovation. Plumbers were here all week, the water was turned off, and the back half of our house has been demolished!

Instead, we headed south to Nelson County to my parents’ house that afternoon…and it was quite nice to have the day “off” from cooking!

He might be in middle school now, but some activities never get old!

Hunting for golf balls…

And this almost-13-year-old rarely wants to pose for photos!

I was in charge of the appetizers, which I mentioned above (country ham biscuits, candied pecans, and pimento cheese and crackers).

Mom stuck with our classic Thanksgiving menu for dinner, which included smoked turkey breast and gravy, green bean casserole, sausage stuffing (she adds oysters, too!), cranberry sauce, my grandmother’s sauerkraut, and butternut squash and apple casserole. My aunt brought the ambrosia, and I added pumpkin bread to the table!

My Thanksgiving outfit: poncho + flannel shirt + green cords + cowboy boots (and most of it’s on sale right now)!

And dessert was another annual tradition: pumpkin chiffon pie. We went home happy and stuffed!

Friday’s adventures included lunch out at a delicious Mexican restaurant in Orange, where we loaded up on chips, salsa, guac, burritos, tacos, enchiladas, and this shrimp salad with chipotle ranch dressing…

…followed by a stop at a local farm here in Madison to cut down this year’s Christmas tree.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the US play England in soccer and decorating the house. I took the easy route and made Crock Pot BBQ Chicken for supper, which we paired with store-bought coleslaw, pickles, potato chips, leftover biscuits, and pumpkin bread from the night before.

And that brings us to Saturday! I got out for a walk with my friends Adria and Barbara that morning, picked up a grocery order to re-stock our kitchen for the week ahead, and decorated our tree with the boys.

Speaking of holiday decor, I’ve kept it pretty simple this year since our house is under construction and the clutter is just too much. That said, we have a handful of favorites (some new, some collected) — most of which I’ve picked up on sale, sometimes during “Christmas in July” events.

Many of these are also on sale at the moment, and would make cozy additions to your home:

• Wreath for the Front Porch Door: I order a new wreath from this company every year, and I’m never disappointed. They have so many to choose from, but I often go back to this particular design (the magnolia is also beautiful). Their centerpieces are great as well!
• Ceramic Balsam Woodland Trees (with the tiny star toppers): for my mantle.
• Linen Holiday Tea Towels: these add a festive touch to the kitchen, and make nice hostess gifts, too. I bought one in each holiday pattern, and they all mix-and-match nicely.
• German Pyramid and Candles: the kids love to burn these candles while we eat supper.
• Mrs. Meyer’s Holiday Pine scented hand soap, dish soap, and cleaner: the perfect additions to the kitchen sink.
• Gingham Tree Skirt
• Crafted Wooden Houses: also on my mantle this year.
• Fritz — the Cutest Woodland Smoker: so fun!!!
• Berry and Eucalyptus Branches: I had these eucalyptus stems arranged in this crock on my kitchen counter with these pumpkin stems all fall, so I just swapped out the orange pumpkin stems for red berries instead. Easy and festive!
• Old World Blown Glass Ornaments: this is a fun new tradition! I ordered two ornaments for each family member, and let the boys unwrap them this week. They had to guess which ornament matched which family member (it wasn’t tough!). We used the ornaments to decorate a small tree in our kitchen, which looks beautiful. It’s a fun new collection! We have a donut, taco, hummingbird, gingerbread barn, and Yorkshire terrier on our tree already…just to name a few. The options are endless!

Keith and the boys went to hit golf balls that afternoon, and then we sat down to a tasty supper. It was a hodgepodge of meat that we needed to use up from our freezer, including beef ribs (that Keith grilled), as well as pan-fried pork chops.

Paired with broccoli, baked potatoes, and corn sticks for a simple Saturday night meal!

Finally, before I let you go today, I wanted to remind you that the winners for my 10th Anniversary giveaway have been selected and notified. Congrats to Jessica Gordon, the Grand Prize winner, as well as Deb, Tylene, Cammie, Dalila, Robyn, Margaret, Tim, Lisa, Doris, and Dee, who each won $25 Amazon gift cards. I have notified each winner by email, so please check your email (or junk email folder). If I’ve already heard back from you, you should have received your gift by now. Congrats to the winners, and thanks to all of you for being here each week!💓