Our Week in Meals #412

Good morning, and happy Sunday! We welcomed October with lots of rain, cozy fall meals, and plenty of golf. 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…

The rain held off on Sunday morning, so I joined three of my friends for a walk at Mollie’s farm, while Keith and the boys played pickleball.

I spent time cooking and testing a couple of new recipes, and took the kids to the driving range to hit golf balls that afternoon. Soccer games were canceled all weekend due to flooding from the week before, so we had an unexpectedly clear schedule.

Three ducks in a row…

For supper, Keith grilled honey lime shrimp (a family fav),

while I was in charge of the sides: a loaf of no-knead Dutch oven bread, rice, roasted broccoli, and a simple green salad.

Shall we chat books? This week I read Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, a page-turning thriller about a woman accused of murdering her best friend. Lucy has amnesia and can’t remember the events of that night, until 5 years later when she starts working with a true crime podcast host to solve the mystery. This was a fun one!

Adria’s dahlias brightened up my kitchen on a very rainy Monday…

While Central Virginia was very fortunate and didn’t have anywhere near the destruction that the Western North Carolina mountains experienced from Hurricane Helene, Madison still had significant flooding in the hollers and on many of the mountain roads. Schools were canceled on both Monday and Tuesday, since it was impossible or unsafe for some of our students to get to town.

We were feeling a bit stir-crazy by mid-day, so we went over to Yoder’s around lunchtime to pick up our weekly staples, and to grab some sandwiches as well.

I was excited to order their “sandwich of the week” — the Autumn Melt. I get this at least once each fall, as I love the sweet-and-savory combination of turkey, havarti, pumpkin butter, and pecans on a grilled sourdough panini.

The boys and I went back to the driving range that afternoon. It’s one of the few ways to get some fresh air on a rainy day!

I also baked yet another loaf of Dutch oven bread to have with supper that night (it doesn’t last long around here!), which we paired with a chicken noodle casserole. Comfort food!

The rain didn’t stop all night, so the boys had yet another day off from school on Tuesday.

Desperate to get out of the house, I took a walk in the rain that morning…

…and spent the rest of the afternoon cooking and working at the computer.

Keith took Spencer to an indoor soccer practice that night, while I prepped a late dinner. We had Frito pie with guacamole, extra chips, and a side of corn.

The kids returned to school on Wednesday morning for the first time in a week!

I had a golf lesson, made a few stops in town, edited photos, and took care of house chores.

Soccer was canceled that evening (thanks to flooded fields), so we had a quiet evening at home. I made Dutch oven lasagna for supper, which we paired with garlic breadsticks from the freezer and a side salad dressed in balsamic vinaigrette.

A walk with Mollie on Thursday morning,

and a lunch date at Jersey Mike’s in Culpeper while running errands.

It was so nice to see the sun again!

The younger boys had golf lessons that afternoon, while Gibbs played 9 holes at the country club before supper. Once we were all back home, we sat down to dump-and-bake chicken taco casserole served with a side of rice.

I met Ashley for a walk on Friday morning,

and then treated myself to the pecan crunch latte at Starbucks. This was my first time trying the seasonal drink, and I loved it! This pecan version and the apple crisp beverages are quickly surpassing the pumpkin spice latte in my unofficial ranking of fall drinks!

Keith and Spencer met up with friends at the UVA soccer game that night, while I took Gibbs to his golf lesson and picked up pizzas for dinner.

A sunny Saturday morning walk with Casey, followed by some cooking, work, and homework help.

I made a pot of this easy ham and bean soup for lunch (which will make great leftovers for the week ahead),

and we had a tee time to play golf that afternoon.

It was a beautiful day to be outside!

Keith grilled halibut for supper, which I paired with white rice, this kale apple salad with maple bacon (I used romaine instead of kale to appease my boys, and added roasted pumpkin seeds since we had them),

and a batch of 2-ingredient pumpkin muffins with cake mix.

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!