Our Week in Meals #374

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included the return to school and work, a lot of rain, and an anniversary celebration. You’ll find all of the highlights from the past few days, along with each of our dinners, 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 included a morning walk, groceries, Casey’s indoor soccer game in Charlottesville, and plenty of football on TV.

I served classic comfort food for dinner that night: Aunt Bee’s Swedish meatballs with buttered noodles, leftover cranberry orange sauce from the week before, and a side salad dressed in Dijon vinaigrette.

Let’s chat about this week’s book! I recently finished Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough — a creepy psychological thriller with a very surprising ending. This is a great one if you love a good plot twist!

Another beautiful winter Monday!

The kids reluctantly returned to school after a two-week Christmas break, and I was glad to have a quiet work day at the house. I felt productive for the first time in ages!

Supper was another cozy option that’s perfect for the season: a French onion chicken bake paired with sauteed asparagus.

Followed by chocolate Bundt cake (with cake mix) for dessert and the college football championship on TV. Every Monday in January deserves chocolate cake!

So much for getting back into the routine! School was cancelled on Tuesday due to heavy rain and potential flooding in the forecast. Needless to say, we stayed tucked inside and dry all day — stepping outdoors only to grab a package that was delivered at the front gate and to take the dog out.

I made a tuna melt for lunch for the first time in ages, which is one of my favorites. I just omitted the tomato since it’s not exactly tomato season around here.

Casey’s soccer practice was cancelled, so we had a low-key evening at home. I thawed leftover slow cooker beef chili from the freezer, and served it stuffed inside baked potatoes topped with cheese, sour cream, and sliced green onions.

Wednesday was a day of running around taking care of various errands — groceries, dog groomer, Target pick-up, orthodontist appointments for two of the boys, and a walk with my friend Ashley. It was a lot of time in the car!

We had shrimp and grits with tomato gravy for an early supper, along with a creamy cucumber dill salad (a cool contrast to the zesty tomato-based entree). I also served some microwaved white rice for those boys who don’t care for the grits with their shrimp. Then back out the door to Charlottesville for Spencer’s late indoor soccer practice…

Thursday’s sunrise was very frosty and cold! I spent most of the day in the kitchen testing a few new recipes, picked the kids up from school, and took Casey to an outdoor soccer practice that night (brrrr).

Keith was out of town for the evening, so I kept dinner as simple as possible: takeout pizza on our way home from soccer. The kids were happy, and I was happy that I didn’t have to cook at 8:00 p.m.

Friday included a morning walk with Mollie and Adria, a few errands, and work at the computer.

Spencer’s friend came over that afternoon, Keith took Gibbs to golf, and I served breakfast for dinner once everyone was back home. We had secret-ingredient Bisquick waffles, maple breakfast sausage, and a fruit salad. Always a hit with the kids!

And that brings us to the weekend! I walked with Adria and Barbara on Saturday morning, and watched Spencer’s indoor soccer game after lunch.

Keith and I are celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary on Monday, so we took ourselves out for an early dinner date on Saturday evening. My request: Graves Mountain Lodge — the coziest local spot featuring a farm-to-table restaurant.

The buffet was so good! That first picture is the salads, which included black eyed peas and a broccoli-cauliflower salad that were both exceptionally tasty, followed by a plate of spicy collard greens, squash casserole, yeast rolls with apple butter, and the fried shrimp, which Keith and I decided were the stars of the show. There was also a baked potato bar, steak, ribs, and a slice of pumpkin pie for dessert! We left stuffed and happy, and can’t wait to go back.

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