Our Week in Meals #389

Good morning, and happy Sunday! We wrapped up the last week of April with a fun thriller, spring blooms, and a busy sports calendar. 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…

We went from almost 90 degrees the week before to a very chilly, gray Sunday. Such is spring in Central Virginia!

Keith was in Virginia Beach for Spencer’s soccer game, while I spent the day a couple of hours north in Northern Virginia to watch Casey’s team.

We all made it back home in time for dinner — dump-and-bake sweet and sour chicken served with rice and a blend of steamed Asian veggies.

This week’s book is a fun one: None of this is True by Lisa Jewell. This gripping psychological thriller kept me guessing until the end! In case you missed it, I shared a more detailed list of some of my favorite books from the past year in last week’s post. Just in time for summer reading!

After a busy weekend of sports travel, it was tough to get going and out the door on Monday morning. The sunshine helped, though!

I went for a walk, worked at the computer, picked up a grocery order, and prepped dinner so that we could eat early before I took Spencer to his soccer practice.

Dinner included baked meatballs with spaghetti, a salad with creamy Caesar dressing, and garlic breadsticks from the freezer.

Another beautiful day on Tuesday…

Ashley and I took our dogs for a walk after our kids were off to school, and then I got busy in the kitchen testing a few new recipes.

Keith took Casey to soccer that evening, while I stayed home to get a late dinner organized. I had some leftover grilled pork tenderloin in the freezer, so I made these quesadillas with corn and black beans, but swapped the chicken for the pork. Plus chips, salsa, and guacamole on the side.

Wednesday included a morning walk with Mollie, a stop at Yoder’s on my way home, and a Zoom meeting that afternoon.

We had Crock Pot ranch chicken sandwiches for dinner before soccer practice, which we paired with potato chips (the kids love these Route 11 Chesapeake Crab chips at the moment) and cut-up veggies like carrots, celery, and cucumber.

After a walk with Ashley on Thursday morning, I spent the rest of the morning running errands in Culpeper. The car wash was at the top of my list. It had many, many coats of pollen crusted on it!

Casey and I went to Charlottesville for his soccer practice on Thursday evening and left Keith in charge of the bourbon glazed salmon for supper. For quick and easy sides, we added a baguette from Panera, a Caesar salad kit, and some white rice (in the microwave).

Casey was excited for school on Friday because the 7th graders went on a field trip to hike at Big Meadows on Skyline Drive. Meanwhile, I met Barbara and Adria for a “hike” up our road (where we did more talking than walking). Hah!

Keith was gone that night at a Caps hockey game with friends up in DC, so after Gibbs’ golf lesson the boys and I picked up pizzas for an easy dinner.

And that brings us to the weekend! Spencer and I headed north to Fredericksburg bright and early for not one, but two soccer games in the rain that day. Meanwhile, Keith, Casey, and Gibbs were in Charlottesville for Casey’s game.

Spencer and I arrived home right around dinnertime, so Keith had the baby back ribs ready to come off the grill shortly after we walked in the door. I prepped a few quick sides, including sauteed zucchini (and I added sliced mushrooms and leftover roasted broccoli to the pan), as well as a tray of Sister Schubert’s rolls.

And that’s where I will leave it for today, friends. Thank you so much for being here, for reading along with us each week, and for trying some of my recipes in your own kitchen. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!