Our Week in Meals #355

Good morning, and happy Sunday! I hope that you’re enjoying a relaxing Labor Day weekend if you’re in the U.S., and that September greeted you with cooler, fall-like temps. 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…

Sunday was another day of soccer games, so we left the house before the sunrise (again). Keith was in Richmond for Spencer’s two games…

…while I took Casey up to Northern Virginia. Not sure what makes him happier — playing soccer or eating a cheeseburger from Five Guys afterwards!?

Our basil is thriving this summer, so I made a big batch of homemade pesto that evening, which I tossed with pasta. We paired the pesto pasta with this 20-minute baked Italian shrimp and a Caesar salad made with this easy creamy Caesar dressing. Definitely my favorite meal of the week!

I’ve got a great book to share with you, too! I recently finished The Alice Network by Kate Quinn, which I loved. She writes the most beautiful historical fiction! I’ve enjoyed her other novels (The Huntress, The Rose Code, and The Diamond Eye), but this one had somehow slipped through the cracks. Glad that I finally came across it again!

In this story, “two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.” Highly recommend!

We jumped right back into the work and school routine on a cloudy, rainy Monday. I met my friend Barbara for a walk, took Gibbs to a mid-day orthodontist appointment, and fed everyone an early supper before Spencer’s soccer practice.

On the menu that night: sheet pan chicken fajitas, plus tortilla chips, store-bought pico de gallo, homemade guacamole, corn, and rice.

Tuesday morning was cloudy and cooler again, and I even saw some leaves starting to fall…

I spent the bulk of my day in the kitchen photographing a couple of new fall recipes.

Sneak peek: these one-bowl baked pumpkin donuts just might be my favorite recipe of autumn (stayed tuned)! In the meantime, you might want to make these baked apple cider donuts — another top pick around here…

I also prepped dinner in advance, so that Keith just had to stick it in the oven while I was at Casey’s soccer practice that night. We had “hanky panky” sliders, which we paired with potato chips, cut-up raw veggies, and Ranch dip. These are also a great option to file away for football tailgates in the weeks ahead!

Another steamy, rainy Wednesday morning (the sun did eventually come out, and it got hot).

I had a quiet work day at the house while the kids were at school…

…and then fed everyone an early supper before Keith took Spencer to soccer practice and I took Casey to do a track workout. We had a “baked potato bar” with leftover Crock Pot brisket (which I had stashed in the freezer and just reheated),

baked potatoes, and toppings like cheese, sour cream, and chives. Plus a simple green salad with buttermilk dressing on the side!

We were treated to a gorgeous day on Thursday — blue skies, no humidity, and a nice breeze. I met Mollie for a walk in the woods that morning, and then spent the rest of the day getting work done.

Gibbs had a golf lesson after school, and then we quickly ate dinner at home before heading to Charlottesville.

I assembled a dump-and-bake egg roll casserole (rice, chicken, and so many fresh veggies in one pan) before I left to take Gibbs, which Keith could bake in the oven while we were gone. Dinner was waiting for us by the time we got back!

We attended the University of Virginia men’s soccer game that night, where Casey’s team participated in the pre-game national anthem and played on the field at halftime. He loved it!

Another picture-perfect day on Friday! We opened up the house and let the cool breezes blow through. Unfortunately, we’re looking at a very hot week ahead, so Virginia hasn’t fully embraced autumn yet…

Teddy and I ran errands in Culpeper, including a trip to the car wash, bagels at Panera, and teacher gift cards at Starbucks. Of course, I had to treat myself to the iced apple crisp shaken espresso (it was great)!

I took Spencer to soccer that evening, and picked up pizzas for dinner on the way home. By the end of the week, I’m tired, and my motivation to cook (or even think about supper) is lacking!

Then it was the weekend! We left the house very early on Saturday morning to drive east to Richmond for Casey’s soccer tournament.

Casey and Keith stayed in a hotel room in Richmond that night (since he has an early game this morning), so there were only three of us home for supper. Since we walked in the door right at mealtime, I took the easy route (again): leftover pizza from the night before (I’ll spare you another photo), plus a salad to clean out the veggie drawer.

After a long day in the sun, it’s always so nice to come back home to the mountains!

So there you go, friends — another week of easy dinners! I hope that you’ve found something new to add to your own table in the days ahead. Thank you for being here, and enjoy the long weekend!