Our Week in Meals #376

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included warm spring-like days, a full slate of kids’ activities, and plenty of easy suppers. 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…

I spent Sunday morning catching up with three of my friends at Mollie’s farm, while Keith took the boys to get fried chicken for lunch.

We watched football that afternoon, the kids played in what remained of the snow from last week, and we simmered a pot of turkey chili for supper.

Served with a pan of cake mix cornbread for a cozy night in!

I also wanted to mention an entertaining book that I finished this week: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I’ve read quite a few of her more recent novels, and while this one wasn’t quite as good as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or Carrie Soto is Back, I still enjoyed it.

The novel is about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice that she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with very different results. It leaves you questioning individual choices, and the ways in which small moments can change the trajectories of our lives.

The snow and ice were still hanging around on Monday morning (thanks to freezing temps); however, the kids finally returned to school after a full week off.

My friend Ashley and I took our dogs for a walk together, I restocked my kitchen with groceries, and I got some work done at the computer.

Gibbs had a golf lesson that afternoon,

and I made Italian sausage and peppers for supper. We served the sausage, peppers, and sauce over pasta and added garlic bread on the side.

It warmed up nicely on Tuesday, so most of the snow finally melted.

I met Ashley for another walk, tested some new recipes, and prepped hamburger patties to stash in the fridge for later.

Casey had soccer practice that evening, so while I took him to Charlottesville, Keith was in charge of grilling the burgers for dinner. We paired them with potato chips and a salad for an easy meal once everyone was back home.

Wednesday was a day to get stuff done: a morning walk in the misty rain at a park near the school, followed by errands in Culpeper, and then eventually work at the house.

Before I took Spencer to a late soccer practice that evening, I made Goldfish chicken nuggets for supper (a constant request from the kids), along with waffle fries, cut-up raw veggies, and Ranch dip.

Keith and I snuck in a walk before the rain really started on Thursday, and then spent the rest of the day working at home.

Casey had an early soccer practice that evening, so we all sat down to a later supper once he was back home: one-pot creamy beef and shells…

…along with 3-ingredient buttermilk biscuits, greens dressed in Dijon vinaigrette, and a tray of roasted veggies that included this Mediterranean blend from my freezer, as well as a butternut squash that Adria gave me from her garden.

A sunny, 75-degree Friday made last week’s snow feel like a distant memory! I took advantage of the beautiful morning and met Mollie and Adria for a walk before buckling down for the work day.

We had an evening free from kids’ activities (for the first time all week), which I greatly appreciated. On the dinner menu: skillet shrimp fajitas paired with seasoned corn and beans, rice, tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole. This is one of those great 30-minute meals that everyone loves.

And that brings us to Saturday!

After a morning walk with Adria and Barbara, I baked a pound cake to have for dessert later that evening, and eventually took Spencer to his indoor soccer game in the afternoon.

I had a night off from the kitchen, as Keith picked up takeout German food from The Bavarian Chef for dinner: fried shrimp, red cabbage, green beans, schnitzel, Bavarian pretzels, and more!

Plus my 7UP pound cake for dessert!

So there you have it, 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 joining me, and have a wonderful Sunday!