Our Week in Meals #474

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included more snow, lunch dates, and the Nutracker ballet. 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, the boys did yard work and watched a lot of football, and I made a pot of cowboy chili…

…with a batch of cornbread muffins for supper.

Now let’s chat books! This week I read The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. In this novel, a group of old college friends gathers at a remote lodge in the Scottish Highlands for New Year’s, but a blizzard traps them together and long buried tensions bubble up. When one of them ends up dead, the cozy getaway turns into a twisty whodunit that keeps you guessing the whole way. It’s perfect for this time of year!

We got another dusting of snow on Monday morning, but not enough to cancel school. The kids reluctantly headed out, while I spent the day cooking and photographing recipes in the kitchen.

Basketball and soccer practices were canceled due to the weather, so we all sat down for supper at a normal hour! On the menu: herb roasted chicken thighs…

…along with hash brown casserole,

baked apple slices, and griddled toast. Cozy!

Our Tuesday got off to a slower start since the schools were on a 2-hour delay. We had secret ingredient Bisquick waffles for breakfast,

and I made a few batches of homemade granola. I filled 12 of these jars to gift to my neighbors!

Casey had soccer practice that evening, so I threw together the world’s easiest meatball subs once we got home. Plus potato chips and cut-up veggies with dip on the side, this meal is always a hit!

Teddy and I braved the cold for a walk in the woods with Mollie on Wednesday morning.

The rest of my day looked like computer work and a Zoom meeting before it was time to get the kids, send Casey off to another soccer practice, and eventually feed everyone a late dinner. We had slow cooker chicken tortilla soup…

…as well as ground beef nachos to use up some leftover taco meat that I had in the freezer. Plus homemade guacamole on the side!

Ashley and I walked our dogs together on Thursday morning, I dropped Teddy off at the groomer, and Keith and I had a lunch date at Panera in Culpeper.

No sports on the schedule that evening, so we enjoyed shrimp pesto pasta for supper…

…with a loaf of no-knead Dutch oven bread and a green salad on the side. This meal is always a favorite with the kids (that whole loaf of bread was gone in one sitting)!

Ashley, Adria, and I met for a walk on Friday morning once the kids were off to school, and then I headed to Charlottesville for a shopping and lunch date with my mom and my aunt.

We picked up a lot of great gifts for our family members, made a quick run through Costco, and had a delicious Mediterranean meal at Mezeh.

Back home in time for school pick-up, Gibbs’ golf lesson, and Spencer’s basketball practice. Amidst the comings and goings that night, we had an easy take-out pizza dinner. Some days I cook a lot, and others…not at all!

And that brings us to the weekend…

Keith took Casey up to Fredericksburg for soccer on Saturday, while I headed to Charlottesville with Spencer for his indoor soccer tournament.

Spencer played three games over the course of the afternoon and evening, so I was lucky enough to sneak out between his first and second game to see the Charlottesville Ballet’s performance of The Nutracker with a couple of friends. What a fun way to spend a December afternoon!

Then it was back to the soccer field house, and a very mediocre Italian sub for dinner in between games 2 and 3!

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!