Our Week in Meals #433

Good morning, and happy Sunday! We welcomed March with warm weather, outdoor sports, and quick weeknight suppers. 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 to church on Sunday morning, Keith washed cars, I took the dog for a walk, and Gibbs spent the afternoon playing 18 holes of golf.

Casey and I took the dog for a walk up the street, and of course he had to get down in the creek to explore (can you spot him?!)…

Friends came by for a visit and some basketball…

Since we had beef tenderloin in the freezer that Keith bought on sale a couple of months ago, we decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and throw it on the grill. Supper included the grilled beef tenderloin, along with grilled sausages to bulk up the meal…

…plus roasted seasoned potatoes, a spinach casserole,

and these flaky biscuits on the side. Tasted like we were dining in a steakhouse!

Plus an easy chocolate Bundt cake (with cake mix) for dessert…because I always love to have treats on the counter in case friends stop by (which they did that afternoon!), and my teenage boys are constantly hungry!

Shall we chat books? My friend Adria loaned me Fiona Davis’ new historical fiction, The Stolen Queen. Adria raved about it, so I was excited to dive in. In this captivating dual-timeline novel, an ambitious archaeology student in 1936 Egypt and a young woman working on the 1978 Met Gala become entangled in a mystery when a priceless artifact goes missing. As they join forces to uncover the truth, their search takes them back to Egypt, where buried secrets and an ancient curse threaten to change their lives forever. I really enjoyed this one!

The kids returned to school on Monday, Keith and I took the dog for a walk, and I spent most of the rest of the day at the computer.

Casey had soccer after school, so we had a late supper once everyone was back home.

On the menu: dump-and-bake maple Dijon chicken, classic Southern collard greens, and store-bought yeast rolls.

Tuesday was sunny and warm, so I tried to take full advantage. Ashley and I walked our dogs together after school drop-off, and I had a golf lesson before lunch.

Spring sports are officially back in full-swing, so we’re coming and going at various times most nights. That evening, I served a Southwestern-inspired ground beef and rice skillet for half of us when Casey’s practice was over, which I could reheat for Keith and Spencer later that night.

On the side, we paired it with tortilla chips, salsa, and this easy guacamole recipe.

Wednesday was off to an even earlier than usual start, since Gibbs had to be at the high school by 7:15 for a field trip to DC and Teddy had an 8:00 a.m. check-up at the vet (all is well)!

I got out for a short walk to enjoy the sunshine before lunch, and served another dinner in stages as we had multiple soccer practices on the schedule again that night.

We paired this dump-and-bake Kung Pao chicken recipe with rice, frozen egg rolls, and a cucumber salad for something light and tangy on the side. I gave the cucumber salad a bit of an Asian spin with seasoned rice vinegar, a touch of sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds.

Thursday included a walk with Mollie, a stop at Yoder’s to pick up a few staples, and quite a bit of work at my desk.

I made this basic spaghetti carbonara recipe for dinner,

plus garlic bread and this green salad dressed in red wine vinegar salad dressing.

Friday morning Pilates with Ashley…

…and a lunch date at Yoder’s. This was a “Rachel” — turkey and Swiss on rye with sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing, then toasted for crunch. One of my favorites!

I took Spencer to Charlottesville for soccer that night, while Keith handled the golf and soccer evening activities for the older two. Dinner needed to be a quick and easy heat-and-eat when we all got home late: pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw, potato chips, veggies, and Ranch dip! I used pulled pork and coleslaw that I bought at Yoder’s, but here’s my homemade slow cooker pulled pork if you have the time.

And that brings us to the weekend! I headed over to Mollie’s farm for a visit and walk on Saturday while Keith and the boys worked outside.

It was nice and warm!

For dinner that night, we opted for takeout pizza. Keeps the kids happy, and gives me a night off from washing dishes!

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!