Our Week in Meals #379

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included the Super Bowl, a short school week, so many doctor’s appointments, and a lot of kids’ activities. 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…

Our Super Bowl Sunday included a misty walk with my friends Barbara and Adria once the rain subsided…

For supper, the boys requested chicken wings, grilled hamburgers, and baked potato wedges for the Big Game. I also set out some carrots and celery with Ranch dip on the side (not requested by anyone). Hah!

This week I read The Senator’s Wife by Liv Constantine — a very twisty psychological thriller with an ending that I didn’t see coming. Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy the genre!

Monday was another gray, rainy day. We’ve had painters in our house for the past couple of weeks putting a fresh coat on all of the rooms in the original part of the house (so that they look just as good as the new addition!). On this particular day, they were in the kitchen and in my office, so I spent the bulk of my hours with my laptop on the couch to stay out of their way.

Keith picked up steak bowls for lunch at Chipotle in Culpeper, since we couldn’t get to our fridge or cabinets while the guys were working. A welcome treat!

I served sheet pan bbq chicken and veggies for supper, along with rice and a baguette from Panera. This is one of those great meals that everyone at the table can agree on (even if the boys prefer to avoid the veggie part of the tray)…

The kids and I left the house early on Tuesday morning to head into Orange for their annual well-check appointments at the doctor’s office.

Once they were dropped off at school, the rain stopped, the sun started to peek through the clouds, and I got outside for a quick walk.

The rest of the afternoon flew by in a blur of Zoom meetings, school pick-ups, and feeding everyone before Casey’s soccer practice.

We had a regular favorite: breakfast-for-dinner in the form of baked pancake squares, maple breakfast sausage, and fresh fruit.

I was on-the-go on Wednesday!

My day started with a morning walk with my friend Ashley, followed by a check-up at the dermatologist, lunch with my parents at the Tip Top Diner in Charlottesville, and an orthodontist appointment for Spencer in the afternoon.

We went out for an early Valentine’s Day dinner last weekend, so we kept it simple on the actual holiday. Keith and I both had to take the younger boys to two different soccer practices, which made for a very busy night. Before heading out, we had heart-shaped flatbread pizzas with heart-shaped pepperoni for supper, along with side salads. That’s about as festive as I could muster (along with heart-shaped boxes of Russel Stover chocolates for dessert)!

Thursday included a walk in the woods with my friend Mollie, and an afternoon at the dentist for the boys’ regular cleanings. It was definitely the week of preventative doctor’s appointments. Not fun, but always a relief when they’re done!

Before Casey’s soccer practice that night, we had a Jiffy cornbread taco bake for supper along with tortilla chips, guacamole, and salsa.

The boys had Friday off from school, so after a morning pilates class in Culpeper with Adria, I took Gibbs to a golf lesson before lunch. Meanwhile, Keith and Casey hit the road to Charlotte, North Carolina for Casey’s soccer.

I had a meeting that afternoon, baked a pound cake to photograph the following day, and made one of Gibbs’ favorite easy dinners: 5-ingredient chicken parm sandwiches, along with potato chips and salads. That growing teenager can put back two of these sandwiches in one sitting!

And that brings us to the weekend!

We woke up to a dusting of snow on Saturday morning, which quickly melted, but was enough to cancel Spencer’s indoor soccer for the day.

As I mentioned, Keith and Casey were in Charlotte for Casey’s soccer game, so I had a relatively quiet day at the house with the other two boys.

Adria joined me for a walk, I photographed a couple of recipes, and I took Spencer to skate at the school in the afternoon.

I let the boys choose our dinner spot that night, and they opted for takeout from the The BBQ Exchange — pulled pork sandwiches and hush puppies for them, and a pulled chicken platter with collard greens, green beans with stewed tomatoes, coleslaw, pickles, and cornbread for me.

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