Our Week in Meals #365

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week we celebrated a birthday, had some very late nights on the soccer fields, and made a quick trip to Raleigh. 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 my birthday! I baked myself a gingerbread loaf to have for breakfast that morning, Keith took Casey to a soccer game up in Northern Virginia for most of the day, and I went over to Mollie’s farm for a visit with my friends.

I drove to Ruckersville to claim my free birthday drink from Starbucks, too! This was the gingerbread chai latte, and it was tasty (but very sweet). I guess gingerbread was inadvertently the theme of this year’s celebration…

A slice of the chocolate-chocolate chip-zucchini bread that Sallie gave me!

I remembered that I had a spiral-sliced ham in the freezer last week, so I made one of my favorite meals for a birthday dinner: brown sugar bourbon-glazed ham (looks fancy, but it’s super easy!),

as well as a Southern Caesar salad,

and a pan of Jiffy cornbread with creamed corn.

Shall we chat about this week’s book? I recently finished An American Beauty by Shana Abé (the same author who wrote The Second Mrs. Astor, which I also enjoyed). This historical fiction is inspired by the true rags-to-riches story of Arabella Huntington — a woman whose great beauty was surpassed only by her exceptional business acumen, grit, and artistic eye, and who defied the constraints of her era to become the wealthiest self-made woman in America.

The boys were definitely not happy about returning to school on Monday, but I appreciated the quiet work day at home.

With daylight savings ending, the boys’ soccer schedules have completely changed to accommodate field availability indoors and under the lights. Some nights their practices are very late in the evening, which means early dinners beforehand.

That night I thawed leftover taco meat from the freezer (I always cook extra so that I can save some for a second meal) and used it to make taco quesadillas. We paired the quesadillas with this corn and bean mixture, store-bought pico de gallo, guacamole, tortilla chips, and salsa. Then Keith spent the evening driving Casey and Spencer around Charlottesville to their practices.

Tuesday!

It was Election Day, so I voted on my way to a belated birthday lunch with my parents at Jack’s Shop Kitchen. This was the seafood chowder (with shrimp, smoked salmon, potatoes, corn, and more) and baguette — so good!

Casey had an earlier soccer practice that evening, so I made dinner in advance and left Keith in charge of baking it while we were gone. On the menu: chicken, broccoli, and stuffing casserole…

…with one-bowl pumpkin muffins and store-bought cranberry sauce on the side.

After a walk with Ashley on Wednesday morning, my day was largely spent testing new recipes in the kitchen.

Spencer had a late soccer practice that night, so we ate an early supper beforehand: sheet pan herb roasted chicken and vegetables served with a side of white rice.

Thursday included a morning walk with Mollie, errands in Culpeper, and packing for our weekend away.

We were pulled in multiple directions that evening — golf for Gibbs and soccer for Casey — so I prepared dinner in advance and we just reheated individual servings as needed. I made a pot of lasagna soup, which we paired with garlic breadsticks…

…and also a quick batch of chicken and stars soup for the kids. They love this meal, and constantly request it.

We finally got some much-needed rain on Friday morning, so I took the opportunity to stay indoors and get chores and computer work done before leaving town.

That afternoon, I picked up Casey and Spencer early from school to get a head start on our weekend road trip. We drove south to Raleigh, North Carolina for Casey’s soccer games. Keith and Gibbs had their own golf weekend in the mountains, which they were equally excited about!

Dinner en route was a not-so-glamorous (but easy and tasty!) cheeseburger and fries at a McDonald’s along the interstate in Oxford, North Carolina. It got the job done!

And that brings us to Saturday, which we largely spent on the soccer fields…

…while they had a beautiful morning on the course.

Back at the hotel, Casey’s team ordered pizzas for dinner — the most efficient way to fill up a group of 12-year-old boys!

And that’s a wrap! We’re headed back to the fields for another game this morning, and will eventually make our way home this afternoon. Thank you for joining us here, and have a wonderful Sunday!