Our Week in Meals #364

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week we celebrated Halloween, welcomed November with frost on the ground, and kicked-off “birthday month” in this family. 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 had a rare soccer-free Sunday, so we spent the day at the house taking care of chores and preparing for the week ahead. I also did some baking! I made a loaf of cranberry walnut no-knead bread to have with supper — one of the first things I love to do when the weather cools off and our days slow down.

Last week my parents made rosemary oven-roasted chicken and really enjoyed it. That served as a great reminder to add it to our own meal plan, too! We had the roasted chicken that night, along with a side of roasted broccoli and cauliflower, the bread that I baked earlier in the day…

…and Gibbs’ favorite Duke’s homemade mac and cheese (a recipe that my friend Sallie shared with me years ago).

I also want to mention a book that I really enjoyed this week! My mom loaned me her copy of The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry, and I just cruised through it. Set during WW2 and the early 1960s, it’s the story of a woman who discovers a rare book that has connections to her past. This sets off the unraveling of long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during the war. It’s a love story, a story about the bond between sisters, and a tale about the enduring magic of storytelling.

Monday started off foggy and spooky — perfectly appropriate for the end of October.

Ready for harvest…

It quickly turned into a warm, sunny day, which I largely spent working at the computer.

Keith took Casey and Spencer to their soccer practices that evening, and we had one-skillet “egg roll in a bowl” for supper once they returned. I used ground pork in the stir-fry that night (which we love), and paired it with rice and frozen egg rolls.

Tuesday was Halloween! While the boys decided that they were too old for the trick-or-treating event in town, Casey did go to school dressed as a banana…

The day included errands in Culpeper, a trip to the groomer for Teddy, and soccer practice that evening for Casey.

Broccoli cheddar soup and a baguette for lunch at Panera while out and about…

Even though it was late by the time everyone was home from practice, we still managed to have a festive evening with a “spooky” movie and a fun dinner. I served crescent roll mummy hot dogs, as well as a baked potato bar. I set out leftover turkey chili from the freezer to top our baked potatoes, as well as cheese, sour cream, and green onions.

For dessert (in addition to plenty of Halloween candy), I made this easy pumpkin cake with yellow cake mix. The cake would be great for Thanksgiving, too!

And here’s the cake decorated with Halloween sprinkles. Hah!

November blew in blustery and cold on Wednesday!

The leaves might be past their peak, but there are still some green trees to be found…

It was a routine day of work while the kids were in school, and then I took Spencer to soccer practice that evening and left Keith in charge of pulling together dinner.

He warmed some leftover 3-ingredient Crock Pot pulled chicken from the freezer, drizzled it with a homemade maple bbq sauce that I had leftover from another recipe, and served it on sandwich buns. Plus waffle fries and a house salad on the side!

As Mollie said when we were walking in the woods on Thursday morning, “everything looks golden!”

I took Casey to soccer that evening, and picked up pizzas for a late dinner on the way home. It was one of those nights when cooking just wasn’t in the cards…

After walking with Ashley early on Friday morning, I had a productive work day at the house.

It was a nice evening off from sports practices, so we had million dollar baked spaghetti at a reasonable hour, along with a Caesar salad and store-bought garlic breadsticks. Another perfectly cozy meal for a chilly evening!

We got haircuts on Saturday morning, Keith and Gibbs played golf, I walked with my friends Barbara and Adria after lunch, and we celebrated my birthday (a day early) with a fun dinner.

The Quaker Run forest fire has been burning in the mountains here in Madison for weeks, and the air was particularly smoky that day. We originally had reservations for supper at Graves Mountain Lodge that evening, but the lodge is located right near the burning fire — so we changed our plans.

The mountains are right there, but it’s so smoky that we can hardly see them!

Instead, my second choice was The BBQ Exchange in Gordonsville! We ordered everything from chicken wings and pulled pork to Brunswick stew and fried chicken. The sides are always my favorite — hush puppies, cornbread, pumpkin muffins, mac and cheese, collard greens, baked beans — I think we covered the bases. Always delicious, and followed by an evening of college football!

So there you go, friends — another week of easy dinner ideas! I hope that you’ve found something new to add to your own table in the days ahead. Thank you for being here, and have a wonderful Sunday!