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Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week we finished up soccer season, saw lots of spring showers and flowers, and kicked off our Mother’s Day weekend. 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.
This Week’s Meals
Now, let’s back up to last weekend…
Sunday was cloudy and cool, but the rain held off so that I could meet my friends at Mollie’s farm for a morning walk.
Spencer had his last soccer game of the season that afternoon, followed by a team party that evening.
It was a potluck, so we enjoyed grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, plus all of the delicious sides and desserts that the families contributed. I brought this classic pasta salad,
as well as a pan of one-bowl brownies for dessert. Always easy crowd-pleasers!
Let’s chat books! This week I read Survive the Night by Riley Sager — a page-turning thriller with twists and turns that will have you guessing the entire way. I have to say, I did anticipate the ending, so this particular novel wasn’t one of my absolute favorites.
Once the boys were off to school on Monday, Ashley and I walked our dogs together, I picked up groceries, and I edited photos at the computer.
The peonies started to *pop* this week!
The boys had orthodontist appointments after school, but at least we enjoyed a week free of soccer practices for the first time in months. It was so nice to be able to sit down for a meal at a normal hour and all eat at the same time. On the menu: pretzel crusted chicken strips (Spencer’s request), sauteed zucchini, and a tropical fruit salad that I picked up at the grocery store knowing Casey would especially love it.
Highlights from Tuesday included a morning walk with Mollie, and Yoder’s sandwiches that Keith picked up for lunch! Simple pleasures…
We had grilled pork chops for supper, along with a skillet of Southern cornbread and iceberg wedge salads.
Wednesday was entirely devoted to work in the kitchen. I tested a new cookie recipe (trying to recreate those Park Ranger cookies that I bought last weekend), and photographed other recipes.
The “cookie testing crew” approved!
Gibbs and Keith had a tee time to play golf that night, so I fed everyone an early supper before they left. The boys always want pasta, and spinach and lemon seemed appropriate for spring, so I made this pasta with sausage and spinach, as well as a Caesar salad and garlic breadsticks from the freezer.
Ashley and I met for a dog walk on Thursday morning, I stopped at Yoder’s for some weekly staples, and otherwise worked at the computer for most of the afternoon.
The weather was crazy this week — rain one minute, sun the next. Summer-like temps one day, and 60 degrees the next. Needless to say, everything is looking very green and lush at the moment!
We had Mexican shrimp tacos for supper, along with tortilla chips, guacamole, store-bought pico de gallo, rice, fresh spinach, and corn.
Friday included Pilates with my friend Barbara, a lunch date with Keith at The Market, and a stop at the garden center afterwards. This weekend’s projects include planting plenty of herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers (kids’ requests), and the dahlias that Adria gave me.
This sandwich was a daily special: grilled chicken, bacon, cheese, and Ranch on ciabatta. It was great!
I took Gibbs to his golf lesson that afternoon,
while Keith and the younger two boys built a couple of new raised beds.
We picked up pizzas for dinner on our way home — a welcome night off from the kitchen!
And that brings us to the weekend! We all got haircuts on Saturday morning, and then met my parents for an early Mother’s Day lunch at The Bavarian Chef here in Madison.
I forgot to snap pictures of our food until we were halfway done, but Mom and I both had the creamy roasted red pepper soup with crab, the house salad, and some of a shared Bavarian pretzel.
Dinner that evening included one of Casey’s favorite meals: marinated grilled chicken thighs…
…paired with Southern potato salad, vinegar coleslaw, and a baguette from Panera.
So there you go — another week of easy meals! I hope that you’ve found something new to add to your own table in the days ahead. Thank you for being here, and have a wonderful Sunday!
Delicious food and beautiful flowers. Happy Mother’s Day!
Thank you, Jill! Happy Mother’s Day to you, too. 🙂
Happy Mother’s Day Blair! Hope you are enjoying a relaxing day with your family! Pasta salad is one of my favorite things this time of year. Looking forward to making yours this week! Also, going to make the pretzel crusted chicken strips looks delicious! I hope you are able to recreate the Park Ranger Cookies, I am always looking for new cookie recipes. Thank you for another great week of easy meals! The flowers are beautiful too! Have a good week!
Thank you, Annette! I hope that you enjoy the recipes. Have a wonderful week!
Wow, a lot of good ones to try out, can’t wait. TY so much Blair for all your hard work and I hope you have a relaxing Mothers Day.
Thanks, Ed! Have a great week!
Happy Mother’s Day, Blair! I really enjoy reading your blog every Sunday, hearing about the adventures you and your family are experiencing. The recipes always look good, but I’ve yet to try to make one.
Thanks for following along with us, Leslie! I hope you’ll get to try one of the recipes soon. 🙂
My daughter and I just got back from a trip through PA. I planned our return trip to come through Madison so we could stop at Yoder’s. It was so much fun and we bought lots of treats. I wish we lived closer so we could pop in weekly.
Love catching up with your family every week and seeing what you’ve been cooking. I am going to try your grilled pork chops this week.
That’s amazing, Barbara! I’m glad that you were able to visit! Thanks for letting me know, and have a wonderful Mother’s Day!
Happiest of Mother’s Days to you, Blair!
Thanks, Tim! Have a great week ahead!
Good morning, I really enjoyed reading today’s recipes as I read them weekly. Helps me plan our weekly meals and grocery list. Our weather in Texas is the same here. Rainy then sunny warm then very cool. Have another great week and God Bless You and Family!
Thank you, Melody! I hope that you enjoy your week. Thanks for reading each Sunday!
Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you have a wonderful day, and thank you again for your email every Sunday!
Thank you, Tylene!
Happy Mother’s Day!!! from Canada…as always my Sunday wouldn’t be complete without your wonderful blog and ‘catching up’ on your life in Virginia…enjoy the recipes and love watching your boys growing up to be young men…I know that along with Keith they will have a special day for you…
Thank you, Wendy! It’s been a wonderful Mother’s Day. Hoping you have a great week ahead. Thanks for joining us here every Sunday!
Hi Blair!!! I have subscribed to your blog sometime time ago and have enjoyed your recipes and your family’s stories so much!! Sorry I haven’t sent this to you sooner!
I grew up cooking and collecting recipes under the teaching of my sweet mom…she was a two time winner in the Pillsbury Bake-off (not first place) and I inherited her love of cooking at home. I have made many of your recipes and enjoy them, your stories, book recommendations, and photos!!
Thank you for sharing them all!!
Hope you are having a wonderful Mother’s Day! God Bless!!
Eileen
That’s so great to hear, Eileen! Your mom sounds like an amazing cook! I’m honored that you’ve tried and enjoyed my recipes as well. Thanks for your kind note and for reading along with us. 🙂
I love the photo of Casey and Spencer and the raised bed. The engineers have to make sure it’s level and passes inspection! Reminds me of years ago when my father was beginning to work on the addition to our house. He had a plumb line hanging and it fascinated me. I was the age of your sons.
I have the impression that Keith is an architect or otherwise involved in construction work. Maybe your sons will follow in his footsteps. Unless they become soccer or golf stars instead, of course!
Thanks, Marion! Keith is in the tech world — not an architect or construction, although he would probably be good at either of those. Gibbs wants to be an aerospace engineer! 🙂