Our Week in Meals #455

Good morning, and happy Sunday! We welcomed August with warm days, fresh summer produce, and colorful blooms. 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…

Our Sunday was off to an early start, since Casey had soccer in Charlottesville and Gibbs played golf with a friend. The heat and humidity was so intense earlier in the week that we had to get outside first thing in the morning…or it was unbearable. Can’t you just see how thick the air was?!

Plenty of big, red slicing tomatoes from my neighbor and abundant basil in my garden meant a perfect tomato sandwich for lunch (for multiple days in a row)!

We had dump-and-bake chicken tzatziki with rice for supper…

…along with warm flatbread, hummus, and my mom’s marinated cucumbers.

Plus this peach crisp recipe for dessert with vanilla ice cream on top. So, so good!

Book time! This week I read Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall. This is one of those “books of the summer” that I’ve heard so much buzz about, so I was excited to finally dive in. In this story, her buried past collides with the present when Beth’s former lover returns to her village, igniting old passions and unearthing deadly secrets. As tensions rise and a mysterious death rocks the community, Beth must choose between the life she built and the one she left behind. This novel is a beautifully written, page-turning emotional rollercoaster!

It was back to work for me on Monday morning…

I got out for an early walk with the sunrise, Gibbs had his first practice with the high school golf team for the season, and I photographed a couple of recipes.

We ate an early supper that night before the younger two boys were off in different directions: basketball for Casey and soccer for Spencer.

On the menu: million dollar baked spaghetti, along with garlic breadsticks and a side salad.

Adria came over for a walk on Tuesday morning, Gibbs went to golf, and we spent most of the rest of the day inside staying cool.

I made meatball subs for lunch because I had half of a package of meatballs in the freezer. The boys always love these…

And for dinner, a quick chicken and bell pepper stir-fry…

…served with rice, egg rolls, and ramen noodle coleslaw on the side.

I met Ashley for an early walk with our dogs on Wednesday, and had a meeting mid-day. It’s definitely hay-making season around here. There are tractors going at all hours and round bales in almost every field!

The grass, crops, and flowers are loving the sun and frequent evening showers.

Fishing with the youth group was on the boys’ agenda that evening, so we ate an early supper beforehand: Frito pie…

…paired with corn and all of the toppings — guacamole, sour cream, salsa, etc. — and extra Fritos on the side.

How pretty is this tree in my neighbor’s yard?!

I ran errands with the younger two boys up in Culpeper on Thursday morning, while Gibbs went to golf.

Spence had an appointment in Charlottesville that afternoon, so we grabbed lunch at Raising Cane’s beforehand (his favorite!)…

And I got the night off from cooking, since I had a girls’ dinner date with two of my friends at Jack’s Shop Kitchen! We shared the fried green tomatoes to start…

…and I had the shrimp and grits for dinner. Always delish!

It was such a relief to wake up to cooler, less-humid weather on Friday morning.

Gibbs played golf with his team, I went to an early Pilates class with Adria, and the rest of the day was largely devoted to work. Before Casey and Spencer had soccer that evening, I served bbq beef sandwiches for supper, along with store-bought coleslaw and easy potato salad. This meal reminds me of my mom’s kitchen!

And that brings us to the weekend! We had an unusually clear calendar on Saturday, so Adria came over for a morning walk, I restocked the kitchen with groceries, and we otherwise got chores done around the house. It was a beautiful 75-degree day — what a blessing during August in Central Virginia!

Keith and I had dinner reservations that night at one of our favorite Charlottesville restaurants, the Ivy Inn.

I ordered the chop house salad (romaine, buttermilk vinaigrette, cherry tomatoes, Hook’s blue cheese, crispy onion rings, and smoked bacon); the Grilled Double H Farm Pork Ribeye with pickled peaches, collard greens, cornbread pudding, and bacon-bourbon jus; and the blueberry peach crisp for dessert. Needless to say, I left very full and very happy!

So there you have it, friends — another week of summer meals! I hope that you found something new to add to your own table in the days ahead. Thank you for being here, and have a wonderful Sunday!