Our Week in Meals #457

Good morning, and happy Sunday! We jumped right back into the school and sports routine this week. 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 included a morning walk, followed by church.

Keith grilled a couple of whole chickens for supper that night,

which we served with garlic parmesan zucchini casserole, store-bought baked beans,

and crispy seasoned roasted potatoes.

Let’s chat books! This week I finished These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean, a juicy mix of family drama and slow-burn romance, set on a private Rhode Island island. Alice Storm returns after five years away and finds herself simultaneously caught in her late father’s wild inheritance game and in the orbit of a very handsome man. It was an entertaining, quick read!

Monday was the kids’ last day of summer break (they were not happy about this)!

Keith, Gibbs, and Casey went to Charlottesville to buy golf gear, while Spence and I went over to Yoder’s for our weekly restock of lunch meat and giant local peaches.

We also grabbed lunch from the deli and sat outside for a picnic in the shade while watching the goats!

Gibbs had golf practice with the school team that afternoon, and Keith and Casey played a round on their own. Once everyone was back home, we had a crescent roll taco bake, tortilla chips, and guac for an easy dinner (plus a little bit of leftover zucchini casserole from the night before!).

Tuesday was the first day of school! We now have a 6th grader, a 9th grader, and a 10th grader.

Adria came over for a walk, I got work done at the computer, and I prepped dinner in advance, knowing it would be a busy evening.

Gibbs had golf and Spencer had soccer, so it was another night of eating in shifts at various times. Spencer has been requesting my mom’s easy chicken pot pie for weeks, so that’s what I made (even though it’s not typically something I think to serve on a 90-degree day in August!).

Plus a loaf of one-bowl pumpkin bread on the side. We were really leaning into the cozy comfort food! I also sliced some fresh cucumbers from Adria’s garden and offered them with Ranch dip to add a bit of crisp green to our plates.

Ashley and I walked our dogs together on Wednesday morning once the kids were off to school, and then I spent most of the day in the kitchen working on new photos for some old recipes.

The kids had soccer practice, golf practice, and youth group on the agenda that night, but we managed to sneak in a late supper complete with feta tomato pasta,

garlic bread,

and a salad with balsamic vinaigrette (one of my very favorite homemade dressings!).

I kicked off Thursday with a steamy morning walk at Mollie’s farm.

Gibbs had a golf match in the valley that afternoon, so Keith grilled a big batch of marinated chicken thighs earlier in the day, and we enjoyed them for supper at various points throughout the evening.

We paired the chicken with rice, sliced tomatoes with olive oil and fresh basil, and some yeast rolls.

Friday included a Pilates class with Adria, followed by a coffee date at our favorite shop in Culpeper, Raven’s Nest. This was an iced maple brown sugar cinnamon latte. Channeling fall flavors…even in the August heat!

Dahlias from Adria! They’re like art…

It was another full evening, since Casey and Spencer had soccer practices in Charlottesville and Gibbs played 18 holes of golf with his teammates. That meant dinner packed in a cooler and enjoyed on the road! I used leftover chicken from the night before to make chicken salad sandwiches. Easy and portable! We also brought some fruit and chips to round out the meal.

And that brings us to the weekend! Spence and I went to a friend’s house that morning, and then he had a soccer game in Charlottesville that afternoon.

Keith grilled salmon for supper, which we paired with couscous, a loaf of Ashley’s sourdough bread, a green salad dressed in the leftover balsamic vinaigrette, and green beans that I canned last summer. Hit the spot on a very hot evening.

So there you have it, friends — another week of easy dinner ideas. 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!