Our Week in Meals #358

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week we enjoyed cooler fall temps, another good book, and a quick trip to North Carolina. 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…

A loaf of one-bowl apple bread to start our Sunday morning! ‘Tis the season…

I joined my friends for a walk at Mollie’s farm, and then spent some time in the kitchen testing new recipes. We had a rare day off from kids’ sports, so everyone appreciated a quiet afternoon at the house. It was rainy and gray — perfect for cozying up in the living room and watching football.

I made the easiest chicken and dumplings for supper, along with a skillet of honey butter cornbread and apple butter.

Let’s chat about this week’s book: John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, The Boys from Biloxi. The story takes place in Mississippi, where the two sons of immigrant families grow up as friends, but ultimately find themselves on opposite sides of the law. With plenty of twists, turns, and courtroom drama, this tale about the “Dixie Mafia” will keep you on the edge of your seat. Very entertaining!

The boys returned to school on Monday, I had lunch with my parents at Grill 309 in Culpeper, and I spent the evening in Charlottesville for the younger boys’ soccer practices.

We didn’t get home until late that night, so dinner needed to be very quick and easy. I took inspiration from a blog friend named Erika, who recently shared one of her family’s favorite weeknight suppers: Ranch chicken wraps.

There’s not really a recipe necessary — just toss cooked, shredded chicken (such as rotisserie chicken) with Ranch dressing (I used this Chik-Fil-A avocado lime ranch), and roll it up in flour tortillas with cucumber spears and shredded cheese. You can also add other veggies (like lettuce and tomato) or strips of cooked bacon. Thank you for the suggestion, Erika!

We paired the wraps with carrot sticks and extra cucumber dipped in Ranch, along with potato chips.

Another beautiful, sunny fall morning on Tuesday!

Teddy and I met Mollie for a hike in the woods once the boys were off to school, while the rest of my day was largely spent at the computer.

Casey had another soccer practice that evening, so dinner was an easy Crock Pot meal that would be ready and waiting for us once we returned: honey lime slow cooker pulled pork tacos (we skipped the pineapple slaw that night), tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, and pinto beans on the side!

Ashley and I walked our dogs together on Wednesday morning, followed by another relatively quiet day of work at the house.

Early signs of fall: dried corn husks from the recent harvest lining the road…

Without any sports practices on the agenda, we were all home to eat together at a regular hour (seems like a rare occurrence these days)! Gibbs requested pesto pasta using homemade pesto made with the last of our fresh basil. I added these quick garlic shrimp to the pasta, and served a simple green salad and a baguette from Panera on the side.

Few things make me happier than fresh air on a fall morning!

After a short walk up the road on Thursday, I spent time running errands in Culpeper.

Casey had soccer and Gibbs had golf that evening, so we ate a later dinner once everyone was back home. Such a beautiful night to be outside…

On the menu: chicken nuggets, along with sweet potato fries (from the freezer), this bagged dill pickle chopped salad, and fresh fruit.

After a walk with Ashley on Friday, I stopped by Adria’s house for a visit on my way home.

Her flower gardens are thriving with this cooler weather, so the dahlias seem endless!

I came home with a beautiful bouquet for our kitchen, while she has been delivering so many others to a local nursing home all summer. What a gift! I just can’t get over the variety of vibrant colors and textures…

After Spencer’s soccer practice that evening, we had chili dogs for dinner. This would be a fun (and easy!) Game Day meal if you’re watching football this weekend! We paired the chili dogs with coleslaw and potato chips for crunch.

Plus salted butterscotch cookies with pecans for dessert (just thawed from the freezer). A blog reader recently told me that she won a blue ribbon at her county fair with this recipe. That makes me so happy!

Saturday was a complete wash-out. The tropical storm that moved up the east coast brought a lot of rain, so Casey’s soccer game in Raleigh, North Carolina was canceled. We drove down to Greensboro, North Carolina in the afternoon, since he plays an early game here this morning. We’re in a hotel with Casey’s team, while Keith and the other two boys remained at home for the weekend.

Hotel room antics with this kiddo…

He had his heart set on sushi for dinner (something that we can’t easily get at home), and fortunately there was a Japanese restaurant across the road from our hotel. Yes, he ate all 4 of those rolls…

…while I opted for cozy chicken ramen noodles on a chilly, rainy evening.

So there you go, friends! I’m off to an early soccer game this morning, and then back home to Virginia. Thank you for joining us here, as always. I hope that you’ve found some new ideas for your own table in the days ahead. Have a great Sunday!