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Good morning, and happy Sunday! It was a week full of summer fun with family and friends, even as we settled back into our routine after a week of vacation. 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…
We left the house early on Sunday morning to drive a couple of hours north up to FedEx Field near Washington, DC, where we watched two English Premier League soccer games. More than any other trip or adventure, this was by far the boys’ most anticipated event of the summer!
A handful of the English clubs were in the United States this week for a “Summer Series” tournament. We met friends in the parking lot for a tailgate lunch, and then watched the first game (Aston Villa vs. Brentford), and stayed for the first part of the second game (Chelsea vs. Fulham). It was so hot, but such a special day for the kids. They couldn’t believe that they were so close to some of their favorite players in the world!
Dinner on the way home was not fancy, but it got the job done: burgers, fries, and ice cream from a McDonald’s on the side of the highway in Opal, Virginia! We were all so sweaty, tired, and hungry at that point…
Let’s chat about books! I recently finished The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell, which was a great, twisty mystery-thriller. I love novels like this, where multiple plots weave together in a smart way and I spend the entire book trying to “figure it all out.” A fun summer read!
Hydrangea season!
Plus a pitcher on the table in my office! These aren’t real, but they’re the best fakes I’ve found. I have the light blue set, but there are a variety of colors and sizes. Just give them a good fluff before popping them in a vase.
Monday morning started with an early walk, followed by a track workout for Casey at the high school.
He just wrapped up his final week of preseason conditioning before the fall soccer season officially starts on Monday.
My parents came for lunch, and I went over to my friend Adria’s farm that afternoon to pick up some veggies and flowers from her garden.
Ripe summer tomatoes and colorful dahlias are always such a treat!
I made an oldie-but-goodie for supper that night: 20-minute linguine with clam sauce,
plus 3-ingredient roasted yellow squash, sliced tomatoes with fresh basil and a drizzle of pizza oil, and garlic bread.
On Tuesday we welcomed the first day of August with a morning walk,
a golf lesson for Gibbs,
and tomato sandwiches for lunch.
We had Crock Pot chicken cheesesteaks for supper, along with French fries (from the freezer) and a Caesar salad made with this creamy dressing.
My Wednesday included a walk with my neighbor Barbara, helping Casey with his training run, picking up groceries, and a Zoom call for work.
I made boxed mac and cheese for the boys for supper (this is their current favorite), and then Keith and I met friends for drinks and dinner at a steakhouse in Charlottesville — Aberdeen Barn. I had a really great wedge salad with blue cheese dressing, followed by the petite filet mignon, baked potato, and onion rings. A fun night out!
It rained off and on most of Thursday, so I was glad to get outside with Ashley that morning before the weather turned.
We had an otherwise quiet day at the house, while Keith and I worked and the boys played. I’ve started testing fall recipes, and I’m getting excited for the cooler weather and the cozy comfort food to come. Unfortunately, we have a number of 90+ degree days in our near future…
I served chicken quesadillas for supper that evening, along with guacamole, tortilla chips, salsa, and corn from my neighbor’s garden.
I joined Barbara for a misty walk on Friday morning, took Casey to do his workout at the track, and then dragged the boys along with me on a variety of errands (much to their chagrin).
I let them pick our lunch spot while we were waiting for Teddy to finish at the groomer in Culpeper, so (not surprisingly) we ended up at the Chinese buffet for all-they-could-eat General Tso’s chicken, lo mein, sushi, and soft-serve ice cream!
Supper was a perfect easy summer option: 20-minute weeknight salmon sandwiches,
along with potato chips and a creamy cucumber salad (still working our way through Adria’s delicious garden cukes)!
Keith was out of town on Saturday, so the boys and I headed south to Nelson County to spend the day with my parents.
Mom served fried chicken for lunch, which she put on salads for the adults. My favorite meal of the week!
We played in the stream, browsed at a local antique shop,
and swam in the lake.
After a busy day in the sun, we were all tired and ready for a low-key evening. I picked up Subway subs on our way home, and enjoyed (yet another) night off from the kitchen. Steak and cheese (and dill pickle chips) is my go-to order there…
And that’s a wrap! I hope that you’ve found a few new ideas to add to your own table in the days ahead. It was a full week with more than usual meals on-the-go (hello, summer)! Thank you for being here, and have a wonderful Sunday!
Hi Blair,
Just wanted you to know that I did receive the email this week. Thanks for checking on it for me last week.
Stay cool.
Jody
That’s great! Glad it worked, Jody.
Hi, Blair. Still haven’t received the Sunday newsletter. I know you reentered my email address but it must not have worked. Don’t know what’s going on.
Hi, Annabelle! According to our email stats, it looks like your emails are bouncing. This means that our system has tried to send it multiple times, but it’s blocked or unable to go through. Here is the explanation that I received:
When the email is bounced it can be for a variety of reasons such as;
– the email address doesn’t exist
– the inbox is full
– poor sender reputation due to spam complaints
– flagged content in the message content
– or a restrictive DMARC record for the creators sending domain
I don’t see a clear issue with the contact’s email address so it’s possible they have a full inbox or something else caused a bounce.
Maybe you accidentally flagged one of my emails as spam? I would try adding my email address as a contact in your email. That should indicate that it’s a safe sender so that your email will accept our weekly newsletters. Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything more that we can do on our end.
I don’t understand what you mean by adding your email address as a contact in my email.
Also, I don’t have your email address.
In order to mark an email as safe, it helps to add the sender to your contacts. The email address that my newsletter comes from is blair@theseasonedmom.com
Here’s how to do so with Gmail (although it might be different with your email provider since you don’t use Gmail):
On your computer, go to Google Contacts.
At the top left, click Create contact.
Click Create contact or Create multiple contacts.
Enter the contact’s information.
Click Save.
Hope that helps!
Beautiful pictures of the corn in the fields….it looks so healthy and pretty. The State of VA has such beautiful scenery. Love the cucumber recipe.
Thank you, Virginia! I agree — we are spoiled with natural beauty in this part of the state. Have a great week!
Hi, Blair! Love the gorgeous scenery in your photos! Just a quick recommendation for a perfect
summer book if you haven’t already read it: The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand. I always love her novels set in Nantucket, but this one is especially intriguing because her main character is a food blogger, so we hear about her fabulous food and hosting activities. I am thinking of you
when I read it!
Stephanie
Thank you, Stephanie! I heard about that book, but then forgot to actually read it. I’m adding it to my list right now. I can’t wait!!
Hi, excited to try two of these casseroles. I fix a nice supper each week for my daughter each week on a work day and she stops by and picks it up for her and family. She and son in law keep our yard work done and will not take any pay for it so I fix them as nice of a meal as I can. So am fixing the chicken, broccoli one and soon will fix the chili and corn bread one. They will love it. Very hot here gets up to 107 on our area of Texas. Love the swimming pics this week looks wonderful.
Oh my goodness, that is SO HOT. Hope you have lots of water and/or air conditioning to keep cool!
The dinner-for-yard-work trade sounds ideal for all involved. Hope they enjoy the meals!
I’m glad Casey is ok again with having his photo taken. That look of wonder on his face at the soccer game is magical. The boys didn’t insist on staying til the end of the second game?! Gibbs’ golf seems to be coming right along. It’s so nice for Gibbs and his Dad to share a hobby!
I’m glad to see that the boys wear life jackets at the lake. Not so many worries about an accident:)
Tell the boys to get used to running errands! It’s in the contract when you’re born and, besides, it gets them in training for if they get married. Besides, look at the pay-off! Chinese food! I wish we had more Asian Cuisine restaurants in Las Cruces. You can buy the standard ingredients here but I know of only two places in town. I would think in a university town there would be more diversity?!
I am so DONE with this weather. 108 yesterday and 110 today. Who needs it?
My love and best wishes to all of you!
Hi, Marion! I don’t blame you for being done with the weather there. That sounds unbearable!
Casey would have loved to stay for the entire second game, but his younger brother was hot and over it. 🙂
Life jackets are required at that lake, and I’m so grateful!
We don’t have any fancy or authentic Chinese food around here, but the inexpensive buffet is one of the kids’ favorites — and they don’t know the difference.
Have a good week!
I really enjoy your Sunday chats and learning what your family does and eats during the week. I often save a recipe or two. Love your boys and watching them progress in their sports and enjoy seeing them enjoy eating out. Keep sharing and much love to you and your beautiful family….Gramma….
Thanks, Gramma! I’m so glad that you enjoy following along with us. Thanks for your note!
Thanks for catching me up with the recipes. I really appreciate it. I look forward to your e mails each week. Didn’t realize that I hit the spam button. Thanks again
Ann
No problem, Ann. Glad to help!
Hi Blair,
Wanted you know your email newsletter w/ recipes stopped arriving about 6 months ago. Then 2 weeks ago it started again!
Thank you!!! So glad to hear from you again.
Marina Megale, Seattle, WA
So strange. We’re sorry about that but are so happy you’re receiving them again! If you start noticing they’re missing again, try checking your spam folder!
This looks like a very insightful blog. Sign me up! Thank you.
Thank you, Jody!