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Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week we celebrated Memorial Day, slowed down a bit, and enjoyed the start of the kids’ summer break. I’m still adjusting to a new rhythm, but the boys are living their best lives! All of the highlights from the past few days, 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.

Now, let’s back up to last weekend…

I baked a loaf of zucchini bread for breakfast on Sunday (if you like chocolate zucchini bread try this recipe, or go with this zucchini banana bread if you’ve got some overripe bananas on the counter). Paired with fresh berries, it really felt like summer!

Close up side shot of a stack of the best zucchini bread recipe sliced on a white tray

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t feel very summer-like; instead it was cool and cloudy for much of the day.

I met three of my friends at Mollie’s farm that morning, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law stopped by for a visit around lunchtime, and we otherwise had a pretty low-key afternoon.

Keith grilled pork chops for supper,

Front shot of sliced grilled pork chop on a plate with rice and green beans

which we paired with corn on the cob, Old Bay roasted potatoes, and the Augusta “Green Jacket Salad” recipe from this cookbook. The salad is essentially lettuce, tomato, green onion, and parsley in a red wine vinaigrette with pita bread croutons. Nice for a change!

Let’s chat books for a minute! This week I finished First Born by Will Dean, a mystery-thriller that my mother-in-law loaned me. I always appreciate a smart, well-written novel with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. This one did not disappoint. Once I made it to the halfway point, I couldn’t put it down!

Monday was Memorial Day, and it rained off and on all day. I spent the morning in the kitchen testing a couple of new recipes — one was a big cake failure (it didn’t rise!), but the no-bake icebox cake worked beautifully.

Since the weather prevented us from getting outside, Keith took the older boys to have lunch and see the new Fast X movie in Charlottesville. Meanwhile, Spence and I went over to Yoder’s to do our weekly shopping. Here he is picking out treats on the chocolate aisle while I waited for our meats and cheeses at the deli counter. He came home with a tray of fudge and chocolate-covered graham crackers for his brothers!

We were determined to have a cookout for supper in spite of the cool, cloudy skies, so Keith grilled hamburgers and I made the sides.

Close up side shot of grilled hamburgers on a plate

We paired the burgers with a cucumber, tomato, and onion salad,

Wooden spoons in a white bowl full of the best cucumber onion tomato salad recipe

as well as a macaroni salad (a personal fave),

Close overhead shot of the best macaroni salad recipe served on a vintage tile table

and the orange pineapple fluff salad that Casey stirred together (of course, he added extra marshmallows and left out the pecans!).

It was so nice to see the sun again on Tuesday!

Mollie came over for a walk in the morning, I took Casey to an appointment with the orthopedist at UVA mid-day (trying to deal with these growing pains in his knees!), and I watched Gibbs hit golf balls in our yard.

We had baked General Tso chicken for supper that night, which we paired with rice, steamed broccoli, and these store-bought egg rolls. Such an easy meal, and it always wins rave reviews from my tough critics at the table!

Fork in a bowl of healthy general tso chicken with rice

Wednesday was another beautiful day! I took Spencer to the orthodontist, ran a couple of errands, and got outside for a walk.

Keith and Gibbs played golf that afternoon, so we ate a later dinner when they returned home. On the menu: one-skillet vegetable and 5-cheese baked ziti and garlic breadsticks (from the frozen section).

Overhead shot of a pan of vegetable and five cheese baked ziti on a table with salad and bread

Summer evenings around here look like a lot of porch time…

…and soccer until dark.

I spent Thursday morning in the kitchen photographing a couple of new recipes, and then took the boys up to a park in Culpeper to ride bikes that afternoon — followed by cold treats at Dairy Queen before heading home!

We had bourbon-marinated baked boneless chicken thighs for supper,

Overhead shot of a platter of baked chicken thighs in a bourbon marinade.

along with a Jiffy corn casserole and a simple green salad with dijon vinaigrette.

Overhead shot of hands scooping and serving jiffy corn casserole

I met my friend Ashley for a walk with our dogs on Friday morning, and then hustled home to take Gibbs to a golf lesson. The younger boys tagged along and played mini golf while we waited.

We had flatbread pizzas for lunch, and then headed to the pool for our first swim of the season.

Close overhead shot of homemade flatbread pizza recipe on a wooden cutting board

The pool is set up higher in the mountains, and the water is still freezing at this time of year. No actual swimming for me yet, but the kids had a good time. The annual bluegrass festival was starting at the farm that afternoon as well (and will run all weekend), so we were treated to live music while we swam!

Dinner that night was Southern cornmeal-crusted baked catfish (less messy and more hands-off than stovetop frying!), along with buttermilk biscuits, apple butter, and buttered peas and carrots from the freezer.

Front shot of a plate of baked catfish on a table with cornbread and salad.

And that brings us to the weekend!

Keith and I went for a walk on Saturday morning, took care of house chores and a grocery pick-up, and I made Greek yogurt chicken salad for lunch to take advantage of some leftover chicken in the fridge. We ate our sandwiches outside on the picnic table in the shade with watermelon, chips, and glasses of sun tea. Perfect summer afternoon!

Overhead shot of greek yogurt chicken salad in a blue and white bowl.

We drove up to Culpeper in the afternoon for a little shopping and errands, and got dinner at Pinto Thai while we were in town. This was a chicken and peanut dish, but we also had pad thai, fried shrimp, fried calamari, red curry, and chicken satay.

The cotton candy that they brought out to the boys at the end was the biggest hit, though!

So there you go — another week of easy dinners! I hope that you’ve found some new inspiration for your own table in the days ahead. Thanks for being here, and have a wonderful Sunday!

blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

Read More

Square overhead shot of hands serving a chicken pot pie recipe with biscuits
Overhead image of a bowl of chili mac on a dinner table with cornbread
Hands serving a platter of sheet pan sausage and potatoes

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Comments

  1. Thanks, Blair! Pinned several new recipes to try. I actually have a copy of the cookbook you suggested, need to flip through it more thoroughly. Watch her tv show here in Richmond every Saturday morning.
    Have a great week, and enjoy your porch sitting!

    1. Thanks, Ann! The salad is definitely worth making. It’s simple, but the flavors are really nice together and it’s a light, bright addition to a richer meal. Have a great week!

  2. I read a good book. The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear.
    You may have read and shared this book with us though….
    Im going to put this week’s book on my Kindle. Finally getting around to reading Lessons in Chemistry now.

    1. Hi, Debbie! Yes, I’ve definitely read a lot of Jacqueline Winspear’s books, but I can’t recall that one specifically. I’ll have to go look at it more carefully to see if it rings a bell.

      Hope you enjoy Lessons in Chemistry! I thought that was a fun read!

  3. Absolutely love Thai food! So many great flavors & lots of healthy choices too. What a great surprise about the cotton candy treats!

  4. Photos are all so beautiful. I have a green pea salad recipe that seems to be like your macaroni salad post. Anxious now to make the macaroni salad. Love all the photos, Virginia is so beautiful. Hope you and family have another great week. God Bless all of you and Little Teddy.

  5. Ooh. That cotton candy would have made my night. I can’t believe how tall and grown-up looking all your sons are! Judging Spencer’s height against the grocery shelves, it looks like he’s my height by now, about four foot nine or ten inches. Gibb looks awfully good with that golf club! All that practice has paid off. Ditto Casey with his soccer goal. I’m sorry about his growing pains and hope that gets under control soon. I remember having just a few growing pains myself but they were kind of a drag.