Our Week in Meals #404

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included back-to-school prep and one last getaway before the summer ends. 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…

Keith’s brother and our nephews were still in town for a visit on Sunday morning, so I set out a breakfast spread that included a baked omelet (using sausage instead of ham this time), 3-ingredient buttermilk biscuits, fresh fruit, and a tray of store-bought mini muffins and mini donuts.

The boys played outside and I went for a walk before it got too hot.

Late morning, Keith took Casey to soccer in Charlottesville, while I drove Kevin and the boys to the train station for their trip back home.

Dinner that evening was classic seasonal fare: grilled marinated chicken thighs,

along with a zucchini pie,

and a summer corn salad.

Let’s chat books! This week I read another Dorothea Benton Frank novel, By Invitation Only. Set in the Lowcountry, her books are perfect “beach reads.” There’s always a bit of drama, a bit of romance, and a never-fail heartwarming ending.

I got out early for some fresh air on Monday…

…and made a batch of one-bowl zucchini bread muffins to kick-off the last week of summer vacation.

The younger two boys have now started their preseason soccer training in Charlottesville each night, and Gibbs has high school golf every afternoon. As a result, our dinners this week were all over the place (and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future)! I planned simple options and just fed everyone in shifts when it worked with the various schedules. That night we had these easy 20-minute salmon sandwiches, along with pretzels, fresh peaches, and watermelon on the side.

Ashley and I walked our dogs together on Tuesday, and I otherwise spent the morning at home getting work done.

Gibbs had his first high school golf match that afternoon, while I took the younger two boys to Charlottesville for another late night of soccer practices. Go, Mountaineers!

For an easy supper, I made a batch of Crock Pot bbq chicken and served it on sandwich rolls with potato chips and sliced garden veggies on the side.

Wednesday included an early walk…

…followed by a number of errands before lunch.

Stopped at my favorite farm stand for local peaches and tomatoes, but also stopped to admire the flowers!

It was another afternoon and evening of kids’ sports practices, so Keith and I shared the driving duties. On the easy (and “reheatable”) dinner menu as we were coming and going: 5-ingredient taco casserole, fresh guacamole, tortilla chips, and salsa.

Cheerful blossoms on an otherwise dreary Thursday…

Someone escaped from the pasture and was munching on the good grass along this driveway!

It rained off and on all day. Thanks to Hurricane Debby, our area of the Blue Ridge saw 6-8 inches of rain in about 24 hours. Yikes! Needless to say, Gibbs’ golf tournament and the boys’ soccer practices were all canceled. Instead, we spent our afternoon and evening at Open House and orientation for all three schools. Gibbs will be a freshman at the high school, Casey will start 8th grade at the middle school, and Spencer will finish elementary school as a 5th grader.

I served roasted vegetable pasta for supper,

along with frozen garlic breadsticks and a green salad dressed in red wine vinegar dressing.

On Friday morning, we headed a few hours north to the Eastern Shore of Maryland for one last quick vacation before the start of the school year.

We stopped for lunch at Doc’s Downtown Grille in Easton, where we had fried fish, crab, chicken wraps, and this peach and arugula salad with shrimp. I need to recreate the salad at home with my grilled shrimp, fresh peaches, peppery arugula, balsamic vinaigrette, pickled red onions, crumbled feta (or goat) cheese, and candied pecans. Simple and tasty!

This little book store was wonderful!

We all found something to bring home with us, including this beautiful cookbook from a local waterfowl hunting lodge on the Eastern Shore.

Our Airbnb was in Cambridge, and had its own little backyard beach and dock on the Choptank River, a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. It was a fun change from our usual mountain views!

Of course, Casey figured out how to touch the jellyfish in the water without getting stung…

We went into town for dinner at Snappers Waterfront Cafe, where we all ordered crab cakes (SO good!) and fish n’ chips.

Sunset back at the house, and the Olympics on TV!

Up with the sunrise on Saturday…

We went for a short walk up the road after breakfast.

Didn’t expect to find these fields of sorghum!

The boys spent most of the day out on the water — digging, swimming, and trying to avoid the jellyfish.

We wandered around historic St. Michael’s mid-day, which was charming (and crowded).

Had a tuna melt at The Galley for lunch,

and apple pie ice cream from Jo Jo’s for dessert.

Keith picked up fresh crabs in Cambridge for dinner that night, and also a couple of pizzas and a side salad to round out the meal.

The end of a beautiful day…

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. Thank you for being here, and have a wonderful Sunday!