Our Week in Meals #413

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included beautiful autumn weather, an entertaining mystery, and Homecoming at the high school. 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…

Sunday was a picture-perfect October day!

I took a short walk up the road, Keith and Casey hit golf balls at the range, and I prepped dinner in the Crock Pot before taking Spencer to soccer in Charlottesville.

It’s tough to beat a fall Sunday evening with football on TV and a pot of slow cooker chili!

On the side, I made Keith’s absolute favorite: jalapeño cheddar bread.

Shall we chat books? This week I’m excited to tell you about Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto. I loved this quirky, funny murder-mystery!

Monday morning!

The boys returned to school, I took a walk, and then I spent most of the morning running errands in town.

The grocery store, the library, and Yoder’s!

While at Yoder’s, I picked up a container of their chicken salad from the refrigerated case, which I used for sandwiches for lunch on the leftover jalapeno cheese bread. Such a great combo! Here’s my “copycat” Yoder’s chicken salad recipe, if you’re interested. I’ve had multiple local friends taste it and confirm that it’s just as good — if not better!

My parents, aunt, and uncle stopped by for a short visit that afternoon, and Gibbs got home late from a school field trip, so I was happy to have an easy dinner waiting for us in the slow cooker. On the menu: Crock Pot whole chicken, along with Stove Top stuffing, gravy, store-bought cranberry sauce, leftover pumpkin bread, and steamed green beans. Felt like a shortcut Thanksgiving, and the kids absolutely loved this meal.

Another beautiful morning for a walk with Ashley on Tuesday…

Keith took Spencer to soccer that night, while Casey and I went to the driving range and picked Gibbs up from golf practice.

For a late supper when everyone was back home, I made Bisquick waffles (with a secret ingredient), the boys’ favorite maple sausage, and yogurt with fresh fruit.

A crisp walk in the woods with Mollie on Wednesday morning, followed by a day of work at the computer.

I was on soccer duty with Spencer that night, so I left Keith in charge of supper. I cooked the meat in advance and made the guacamole ahead of time, so he could just assemble a tray of ground beef nachos and pop them in the oven! We also had some corn on the side.

A walk with Teddy at Yowell Meadow in Culpeper on Thursday morning, followed by errands in town and an orthodontist appointment for Gibbs.

Patiently waiting with me at the car wash, hah!

We had dump-and-bake healthy General Tso’s chicken for supper, along with steamed broccoli, white rice, and frozen egg rolls on the side.

Friday!

I have a feeling these green leaves won’t be around much longer. We’re finally starting to see the hints of changing colors!

I got an early start at a Pilates class with Adria that morning, and had a golf lesson later in the afternoon before picking the boys up from school. Taking advantage of this gorgeous fall weather!

That night was the homecoming parade and football game at the high school.

After Spencer’s soccer practice in Charlottesville, the two of us picked up dinner on the way home and met Keith and the older boys at the game. Another meal-on-the-go looked like Subway subs in the car and a Dairy Queen pumpkin pie Blizzard for dessert!

And that brings us to Saturday.

Spencer had a soccer game that afternoon, and Keith grilled marinated chicken thighs for dinner.

I paired the chicken with Aunt Bee’s 3-ingredient biscuits, sauteed zucchini, and a house salad with candied pecans (using store-bought pecans).

And then it was off to the Homecoming dance for Gibbs and his friends, while the rest of us watched college football on TV.

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!