Good morning, and happy Sunday! We welcomed November with a birthday, lots of sweet treats, and a seasonal book. 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.
This Week’s Meals
Now, let’s back up to last weekend…
Keith took Spencer up to Northern Virginia for his soccer game on Sunday, while I stayed home with the older boys.
So many fall colors in the yard!
I made Dr. Pepper pulled pork in the Crock Pot all day, which we served on sandwiches with (store-bought) coleslaw…
…and a side of Duke’s homemade mac and cheese (one of the boys’ favorites).
Plus oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert, and football on TV.
Shall we chat about books? I’ve enjoyed some fall-themed novels recently, and If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia is one that stands out! Here, a newly divorced woman moves to small-town Vermont to run her mom’s old inn and finds herself drawn to her charming single-dad neighbor, Cliff. It’s a cozy, fall-themed, slow-burn romance about second chances, self-discovery, and the sweet surprises that come when you least expect them.
I met Mollie for a walk in the woods on Monday morning…
We didn’t have kids’ sports on the schedule that evening, so we ate dinner together at a normal hour! Casey requested dump-and-bake sesame chicken noodles,
and I added ramen noodle coleslaw on the side.
Ashley and I walked our dogs together on Tuesday, Keith and I went to vote, and I plugged away at computer work until the kids got home.
Casey and Spencer both had soccer practices in Charlottesville that night (at different times, of course), so I made dinner earlier in the day and reheated it as we were coming and going: baked meatballs (but used a store-bought marinara) with pasta,
plus garlic bread and a green side salad.
Wednesday was a beautiful day for my birthday!
Keith and I got out for a morning walk, and I met my mom, aunt, and mother-in-law for a birthday lunch at Blue Ridge Cafe that afternoon. Fried chicken tenders on a Southwest salad…
…and Carole’s white Texas sheet cake with chocolate icing for dessert!
We needed an easy meal that we could prep in advance that evening, thanks to a full slate of soccer practices again. Keith grilled salmon (taking advantage of the 70-degree weather!), which we used to assemble salmon sandwiches throughout the night. On the side, chips and cut-up veggies with Ranch dip.
A morning walk with Ashley on Thursday,
followed by errands and my first gingerbread latte of the year!
One more night of double soccer practices meant another easy slow cooker dinner. Gibbs requested this Crock Pot creamy salsa chicken, which we served in tacos with plenty of toppings, plus guacamole and tortilla chips on the side.
Adria and I went to Pilates on Friday morning, and then it was a work day in the kitchen for me. I tested a new cake recipe and shot updated photos for an older dish.
Gibbs had golf after school, and Keith picked up pizzas for supper on the way home. Love a night off from cooking!
And that brings us to the weekend. We had a quiet Saturday with no soccer on the schedule, so Gibbs played 18 holes of golf with a couple of friends.
Meanwhile, I took a walk, did a bunch of cooking, and plowed through the usual house chores.
We had tomato bisque for supper, plus grilled cheese sandwiches for dipping!
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!
Happy birthday, Blair!
I shared your easy Mashed Sweet Potato recipe with my friend who loves all things Sweet Potato!
Take care!
Thanks for sharing, Ann! I hope she approves! 🙂
I probably need to add them to my list, also!
Yesssss! 🙂
Happy Birthday Blair!
Thanks, Jane! It was a great day!
Happy Birthday Blair! You are one amazing, and busy Mom! You really do keep me on my toes just by reading your blog and watching you day, by day get through each and every week.Wow! I’m tired! The sports, the activities, the making time time for those special walks with friends. The countless meals you loving make for your family, daily, with only a much needed pizza break now and then! The sweet date nights you make time for with Keith! I never hear you complain, you keep on being you because of the love for your family! It shows! Blair, I truly hope you have your most special and much deserved Amazing and Relaxing birthday, ever!
Thank you so much, Deb. I really appreciate your kind note and support. You totally made my day! ❤️
Happy belated birthday, Blair!!!!
Thank you, Wendy!
Hi Blair – Happy birthday to you! My birthday was on Monday! It sounds like you had a nice lunch with family. My older son was down from San Francisco to see his nieces (my granddaughters) on Halloween and then family celebrations for my birthday!
The fall colors in your photos are beautiful. I love this time of the year!
Take care!
Happy belated birthday to you, Tylene! Sounds like you had a great celebration with family. Enjoy the week ahead!
Happy Birthday Thank you for your wonderful recipes and weekly adventures
Thank you, Mayris!
Happy Birthday! Those trees are so beautiful. I was wondering. I want to make the Apple Butter barbecue sauce and I also want to try to make one of your slow cooker BBQ pulled meat recipes but I haven’t decided which one yet. Any suggestions? I didn’t know if the sauce is meant as a table sauce or if it can hold up to slow cooking? Thanks!
Hi, Marion! You can’t go wrong with my classic slow cooker pulled pork.
The apple butter bbq sauce is great as a table sauce. I think it would work well in the Crock Pot too, but I haven’t tried it that way yet. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Happy Birthday! Hope you enjoyed your day! I am supposed to take sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving this year. If I use your recipe, is this one I can top with marshmallows for a few minutes at the end or wouldn’t you suggest that? Just curious, but when you show photos of take out pizza I’m guessing that one pizza doesn’t feed your whole family?? I always enjoy reading your blog. My daughter saw your cookbook on my counter and has asked for it for Christmas:)
Hi, Donna! I would use this recipe for sweet potato casserole with marshmallows: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/sweet-potato-casserole-marshmallows/
When we order pizza, we always get A LOT of pizza — definitely not just 1! My teenagers can each eat a pizza on their own in 1 or 2 sittings, so we get many different pizzas and keep the leftovers for easy lunches (or even breakfasts) for the kids to eat for a few more days. They also love a giant box of those Parmesan bread bites whenever we get pizza from Dominos. They can finish SO many of those things in addition to a lot of pizza!