Our Week in Meals #326

Good morning, and happy Sunday! I filmed another TV segment this week, enjoyed the spring-like weather, read a couple of good books, and celebrated with an early Valentine’s Day supper. 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.

Since it’s Super Bowl Sunday, I wanted to share a link to this article on GMA’s website, where I’m sharing some tips and recipes for a budget-friendly Game Day gathering. It’s not too late to whip up some homemade soft pretzels, a pot of chili, or a tray of crispy baked chicken wings!

Now, let’s back up to last weekend…

I made a batch of chocolate chip muffins for the boys on Sunday morning,

as well as a loaf of banana nut bread,

and then headed over to Mollie’s farm for a walk with my friends.

Geese walking on a frozen pond!

We cheered for the boys in their hockey game that afternoon, and then Keith grilled steaks for dinner (taking advantage of a warmer evening!).

We had Charleston red rice on the side, along with roasted cauliflower and roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon.

Shall we chat about this week’s books? I really enjoyed It All Comes Down to This by Therese Anne Fowler — a beautiful story of family bonds, sisterhood, love, and heartbreak. Here’s the quick summary from Amazon:

With her keen eye for human foibles and emotional truth, humor and deep feeling, acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Therese Anne Fowler delivers a stylish, insightful take on the dysfunctional family dramedy.

Meet the Geller sisters: Beck, Claire, and Sophie, a trio of strong-minded women whose pragmatic mother, Marti, will be dying soon.

Beck, the eldest, is a freelance journalist whose marriage has long been devoid of passion, and she’s recently begun to suspect that her husband, Paul, is hiding something from her. Though middle sister Claire is an accomplished pediatric cardiologist, her own heart is a mess, and her unrequited love for the wrong man is slowly destroying her. And while Sophie, the youngest, appears to have an Instagram-ready life of glamorous work and travel, her true existence is a cash-strapped house of cards that may fall at any moment.

But Marti’s will surprises them with its provision that the family’s summer cottage in Maine must be sold, the proceeds split equally between the three sisters. While there’s a ready buyer in C.J. Reynolds, he’s an ex-con with a complicated past and a tangled history with one of the women.

Choices and consequences, mistakes and misapprehensions, obligations and desires: before long, everyone in this cast of indelible characters will have to come to terms with the ways their lives have turned out differently than they expected, as well as the secrets they’ve been keeping from each other––and themselves.

My other recommendation this week is French Braid by Anne Tyler. Similar to It All Comes Down to This, the novel is a funny, joyful, brilliantly perceptive journey deep into one Baltimore family’s foibles — from a boyfriend with a red Chevy in the 1950s, up to a longed-for reunion with a grandchild in our pandemic present.

Monday got off to an early start, with a drive over to Richmond for another cooking segment on the CBS station’s “Virginia This Morning” show. We made this recipe, which seemed to be a big hit with the hosts and crew. I’ll share more details when the program airs!

I was back home by early afternoon, with just enough time to stop at Yoder’s for a couple of groceries, walk the dog, and fold the laundry before picking up the boys from school.

We had an early dinner before hockey practice, which consisted of Crock Pot pulled pork with apricot preserves on sandwich rolls, coleslaw, and potato chips. Keeping it really easy for a day when I was away from the house and didn’t really have time to cook!

After a short walk with Keith on Tuesday morning, I made my way into Charlottesville for a regular check-up with the dermatologist.

Back home for an afternoon meeting, I then scooped up the boys from school, and eventually put supper on the table. It was a “breakfast-for-dinner” night, so I made baked buttermilk pancake squares (with blueberries in half of them), which we paired with the kids’ favorite Vermont maple breakfast sausage, and this really creamy vanilla bean yogurt and fresh fruit.

On their night off from organized practices, the boys spent the evening out in the yard, taking advantage of the balmy weather.

Assembling a new soccer goal (the old one was destroyed in a storm)…

…and enjoying a beautiful sunset.

A very welcome 70-degree Wednesday…

…and Casey got his first round of braces off!

I used up some leftover cooked taco meat that was stashed in the freezer to make a pan of beef enchiladas for supper. We paired the enchiladas with tortilla chips, salsa, and homemade guac.

On Thursday, I took advantage of another warm morning and met Mollie for a walk. The rest of the day was largely spent at the computer getting work done — a brief reprieve from the doctor’s appointments and running around that I did the rest of the week!

My mom recently served chicken and stuffing casserole, followed by her easy apple pie for dessert. I thought that sounded delicious, so I copied her! We hadn’t had my chicken and stuffing casserole in ages, and it’s always a hit with the kids. I paired the casserole with southern-style green beans and store-bought cranberry sauce for an easy weeknight dinner.

While I didn’t get around to making my mom’s apple pie before we had to leave the house for Casey’s soccer practice, you should definitely do so if you have a chance. It would have been the perfect dessert to follow that comfort food supper (just like my Mom said)!

Friday included a morning at the doctor’s office for the boys’ annual well-check,

plus a grocery pickup, some house chores, and a bit of work.

I took Gibbs to golf that afternoon, and then since Keith was out of town for the evening, I let the kids pick our dinner for the night. They chose pasta, so I kept it really simple with this dump-and-bake creamy tomato basil pasta, paired with Caesar salad and store-bought garlic knots (another kid-favorite).

And then it was the weekend! We spent Saturday running to and from sports again — first to Charlottesville for Spencer’s indoor soccer game, and then back to Madison for the younger boys’ hockey game.

We had chicken and pastry for lunch,

…and then all of my boys took me out for the special Valentine’s Day dinner at Graves Mountain Lodge here in Madison that evening. It’s always so cozy, with the big fireplace and live bluegrass music. Unfortunately, I couldn’t convince any of my guys to stay for the country line dancing hoedown that took place at the Lodge after supper!😉

Posing with the bear…

The Valentine’s buffet included round of beef, roasted leg of pork, fried shrimp, bourbon-glazed salmon, as well as sides like baked apples, spinach salad with strawberries, coleslaw, roasted carrots with orange marmalade, homemade rolls, and cornbread muffins (among many other options).

And we can’t forget dessert: red velvet cake (one of my favorites), chocolate mousse, and strawberry cheesecake! Such a fun evening. I ran into an old friend while we were there, which was an extra special treat.

So there you have it — another week of dinners! I hope that you’ve found some new inspiration for your own table in the days ahead. Have fun watching the Super Bowl (or enjoying the Super Bowl snacks), and have a very happy Valentine’s Day!💓💗💞