Our Week in Meals #467

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included a short school week, lots of kids’ sports, and a birthday party. 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…

Spencer had a soccer game in Northern Virginia on Sunday, so we were gone almost all day. The backdrop at these fields in Arlington was not our normal experience in Central Virginia — the Potomac River and the Washington Monument behind the goal, the jets flying along the river to land next to the fields at Reagan airport, and the Pentagon on the other side of us! It was quite the setting…

While the kids were warming up, Keith picked up subs for lunch from his favorite spot in that neck of the woods: The Italian Store. My Milano had two Italian hams, provolone cheese, and genoa salami on an Italian roll with sweet and hot peppers, lettuce, onions, oregano, and special dressing.

Knowing that we’d need a quick meal when we got back home, I planned 4-ingredient roasted Dijon mustard salmon for supper, along with rice, steamed broccoli, and sautéed mushrooms.

Shall we chat books? This week I read The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins, a page-turning mystery set in a beautiful (fictional) old home in North Carolina, similar to The Biltmore.

In this novel, a young couple returns to the husband’s family estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains and becomes entangled in the dark legacy of his adoptive mother, a wealthy and infamous heiress whose past is full of secrets and scandal. As they dig deeper into her mysterious life and death, they uncover chilling truths. This one’s not too scary, but it’s full of fun twists and turns!

Monday was a teacher workday, so the kids had the day off from school.

Keith and Gibbs played golf in the valley at Massanutten,

while I got a haircut, took Casey to play soccer with friends, and then drove him to basketball later that night.

While I was taxiing around Madison, dinner cooked itself in the Crock Pot all afternoon! On the menu: white chicken chili…

…plus cast iron cornbread, tortilla chips, guacamole, and all the toppings.

A walk in the woods with Mollie on Tuesday morning…

…followed by a day of work at the computer.

Keith took Spence to soccer that evening, so dinner was another slow cooker option that I could serve at different times throughout the evening: Mississippi pot roast. My boys love the shredded beef on sandwich rolls rather than on top of mashed potatoes, so that’s what we did. Plus coleslaw, potato chips, apples, and apple dip on the side!

Ashley and I walked our dogs together on Wednesday morning, and then it was another quiet day at the house before the evening rush.

Keith took Spence to soccer again, while I took Gibbs and a friend to play a round of golf.

Dinner was quick and easy: shrimp and vegetable stir-fry served with rice and store-bought egg rolls.

Keith and I ran errands in Culpeper on Thursday morning, and took the dog for a walk at Yowell Meadow while we were there.

Such a gorgeous October day!

Casey had basketball after school, and Spencer had a late soccer practice, so we ate dinner in shifts again.

I made baked sesame chicken tenders with honey mustard sauce (page 70 in my cookbook), plus these potato smiles that Spence loves and a green salad on the side.

After school drop off on Friday, Ashley and I met for a walk before I returned home to get work done for the day.

I served an early supper that evening (oven-fried pork chops, fried apples, steamed green beans, and store-bought dinner rolls)…

…and then took Casey to the bowling alley in Charlottesville for Khloe and her twin sister Kenlee’s birthday party.

And that brings us to the weekend! Our Saturday was wide open, so I got outside in the morning, and then spent some time cooking and filming a video for an old soup recipe.

We went to the UVA vs. Clemson men’s soccer game that evening, stopping for dinner at Mezeh in Charlottesville on the way. Chicken shawarma rice bowls, wraps, and pita…

UVA scored a lot of goals, so that was fun for the kids and their teammates to watch!

So there you have it, friends — another week of 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!