Our Week in Meals #388

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included a handful of easy weeknight meals, plenty of kids’ sports, and a collection of some of my favorite recent novels. 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 at Mollie’s farm catching up and walking with three of my friends.

It was a perfectly warm, sunny day for some fresh air.

Spencer had a soccer game in Charlottesville that afternoon, so we didn’t get home until almost dinnertime.

At the boys’ request, Keith grilled hamburgers.

We paired the burgers with a classic pasta salad (which I could conveniently prep earlier in the day), corn on the cob in the oven (we love to add a little Old Bay, too), and canned baked beans. Felt like a summer picnic!

Let’s chat about books! This week I read The Women by Kristin Hannah, which I’ve seen all over the internet these days. Her historical fiction never disappoints! This is an un-putdownable, heart-wrenching story of the women who served as nurses during the Vietnam War. As with all of her novels, though, it’s so much more than that. Hannah has a beautiful way of developing characters and their relationships that really hits straight to the heart. Loved it.

And if you’re curious about other book recommendations, don’t miss the list that I’ve pulled together at the bottom of this post. I’ve had some requests recently for a roundup of novels that I’ve enjoyed, so I’m sharing a number of suggestions down below for those who are interested.

Back to work and school on Monday morning!

We had some beautiful, summer-like days earlier this week that reached into the mid-80s, so I was happy to take Teddy for a walk before settling down for a day of tasks at the computer.

Spencer had a late soccer practice on the schedule that evening, which meant a very early supper before I had to take him into Charlottesville.

On the menu: Crock Pot fiesta chicken, which we stuffed into burritos with rice, spinach, cheese, pico de gallo, and flour tortillas, along with tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole on the side.

Mollie and I went for a walk on Tuesday morning, and stopped by the farm store in town to pick up some gardening supplies.

After another afternoon of work at the computer, I scooped the boys up from school, got Casey and Keith off to soccer practice, and prepped for a late dinner once everyone was back home.

We had this sausage and spinach penne pasta bake, along with a simple green salad and garlic bread.

The neighbor horses came over to greet Teddy when we walked past on Wednesday morning…

I stopped at Yoder’s for buttermilk, fresh deli meat (Casey’s very into the Boar’s Head maple turkey at the moment), and sides to serve with supper that night.

Wednesdays are always busy because we have two different soccer practices at opposite times, so we’re never really around to sit down for a meal together. Instead, I made a batch of Crock Pot pulled pork with apricot preserves, stashed some sides in the fridge, and let everyone assemble sandwiches when it was convenient. We paired the bbq sandwiches with Yoder’s potato salad, Yoder’s coleslaw, and this quick three-bean salad (plus potato chips for those boys who didn’t want the offered sides!).

Ashley and I walked our dogs together on Thursday, and then I spent the rest of my morning getting a cleaning at the dentist (fun, fun).

You know what was fun that day? Seeing my friend Kaci’s Facebook post sharing pictures of the Orange County 4-H teens baking my 3-ingredient biscuits together. Kaci does amazing work with those kiddos, and it makes my heart so happy to see the next generation in the kitchen! If you want to learn to make easy biscuits with great success too, you can find the recipe here.

We had oven-fried chicken breast for supper, paired with Chick-Fil-A sauce for dipping, waffle fries, a green salad, and fruit salad.

The highlight of my rainy Friday was a Pilates session with Barbara and Adria in Culpeper.

Keith took Gibbs to a golf lesson that afternoon, while I stayed home to make breakfast-for-dinner.

Earlier in the week I prepared a fresh blackberry syrup (which I’ll share on the blog soon), so we paired that with 5-ingredient baked pancake squares…

…as well as sausage and banana blueberry smoothies.

And that brings us to the weekend! Saturday was another full day of soccer. Keith took Spencer to Virginia Beach for his game, while Casey and I spent the day in Richmond.

Ready for a break from cooking, I took the easy route for dinner and just picked up pizzas. Enjoyed on the porch on a beautiful evening!

Okay, now before I sign off for the week, I wanted to respond to a specific request that I’ve heard from a few blog readers recently: a list of some of my favorite books! I do keep a reading journal to track the books that I read each year, so I looked back through that notebook to jog my memory. These are 12 of the novels that I’ve read recently that really stand out:

• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver: definitely tops my list for the best book I’ve read in a long time. It’s a moving, heartbreaking, coming of age story of a child growing up in southern Appalachia. I know this part of Virginia well, much of it reminds me of Madison (where we live), and I just felt like I was a part of Demon’s world. Kingsolver has a true gift for the written word, too. A can’t-miss read that I’m still thinking about!
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt: my second-favorite book on this list, it’s a beautiful story of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus. Sounds odd, but just trust me on this one…
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen: this wasn’t a scary thriller, but it was a page-turning mystery that I couldn’t put down. Plus, I always love an unexpected twist at the end! I also enjoyed The Wife Between Us by the same author.
• A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny: really, any mystery in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny! This was book #18 in the series, but I’d recommend starting with the first (Still Life) if you’re new to her work. You’ll fall in love with the quirky characters of Three Pines and with Penny’s smart writing. I can’t wait to dive into her newest release (book #19 in the series), The Grey Wolf.
• Someone Else’s Shoes by JoJo Moyes: a witty, feel-good novel by the author of The Giver of Stars (also a wonderful pick!).
• These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant: a beautiful story of friendship, loss, and a father’s love for his child. I really enjoyed the Appalachian setting, too.
• Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld: a romantic comedy that’s light and fun to read, but also smart, well-written, and not all fluff!
• The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell: a twisty mystery-thriller where multiple plots all weave together in a very cool way. If you enjoy this type of novel, you can’t go wrong with any of Lisa Jewell’s work. I think I’ve read most of her books at this point!
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn: she’s a master of historical fiction! This one follows two different women — American college girl Charlie St. Clair in 1947, as she longs to find her beloved cousin Rose who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war; and Eve Gardiner in 1915, who was recruited to work as a spy in the Great War.
• Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune: if you need a fun, feel-good story to dive into on your summer vacation, then this is it. It reminded me of a Hallmark movie in the best way (i.e., predictable yet entertaining).
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese: it’s a 700-page giant, but you’ll fly through this saga of love, faith, and medicine set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answer to a strange secret. You won’t be able to put this one down!
• Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan: and to finish off the list, another well-done romance that will make a great beach read for the season of summer reading ahead!

That’s all for now, friends! Have a wonderful Sunday, and thank you for being here!