Our Week in Meals #499

Good morning, and happy Sunday! We kicked off June with lots of soccer, lots of golf, and a weekend away. 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 started with early church, followed by yard work and cooking.

Gibbs played 18 holes of golf with a friend that afternoon, while Keith took Casey up to Fredericksburg for soccer.

We kept dinner simple with a kid-favorite: dump-and-bake meatball casserole,

garlic bread,

and a green salad with the best red wine vinegar dressing.

Shall we chat about books? This week I read Into the Blue by Emma Brodie, a romance novel that’s been getting a lot of buzz lately! While I thought it was a little bit longer than necessary, I really enjoyed the unique plot and the well developed characters. It kind of reminded me of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, if you’re familiar with that one.

In this novel, AJ Graves is a small-town dreamer who forms an intense connection with Noah Drew, the heir to a famous acting family, only to have him disappear from her life without explanation. Years later, the two are reunited on the set of a sci-fi television show, where old feelings resurface and long-buried secrets threaten to pull them apart again. Spanning decades and filled with romance, heartbreak, and Hollywood drama, it’s a sweeping story about fate, second chances, and finding the courage to write your own ending.

Monday marked the start of the boys’ first week of summer break!

They requested baked pancakes with pancake mix for breakfast,

and then we headed out for some errands. We stopped in a couple of local antique shops, went to the vet, and grabbed some groceries at Yoder’s.

Keith played in a golf tournament in Richmond, Gibbs went to work at the golf course, and Casey had high school soccer practice that afternoon.

When we were all finally back home, I served our favorite marinated chicken thighs for supper,

plus pasta tossed with this store-bought pesto, Jiffy corn muffins with sour cream,

and a peach salad.

I was out the door early for a walk on Tuesday morning before a full day of appointments.

Casey and Spencer had annual check-ups at the doctor, while I had an appointment after lunch.

I initially planned to serve baked shrimp po’ boys for supper, but then realized that we would be gone all evening. Instead, I made the po’ boys for lunch…

…and paired them with coleslaw and potato chips.

The high school boys were playing in the semi-finals of the regional tournament out in Strasburg that night, so we left mid-afternoon for a little road trip to cheer them on.

Dinner was a quick one with my in-laws at the Strasburg Subway before heading back home.

I took Teddy to the groomer on Wednesday morning, and then made my way over to Mollie’s farm for a visit and a walk.

We were treated to some gorgeous early-June weather over the past week (the summer heat has since arrived in full force)!

Casey had soccer practice that evening and Gibbs went to work, so we ate a late meal once everyone was back at the house.

On the menu: oven-fried pork chops,

dill roasted potatoes,

roasted yellow squash, and parker house rolls.

Ashley and I walked our dogs together on Thursday morning, and then the boys and I headed down to Charlottesville for my aunt’s birthday lunch.

We met at the Sedona Taphouse, where we sat outside and I had a delicious chicken Caesar salad on a very warm afternoon…

Baked a loaf of banana nut bread to bring with us for our weekend away, too!

Casey’s high school team played in the regional final about 2 hours away in Clarke County that night, so Keith went to watch the game while I stayed home with the other two boys to pack for our trip the next morning.

We had a Doritos taco bake for supper, plus a side of guacamole for scooping with extra chips. For something green, I just added a Mexican street corn chopped salad kit on the side.

We hit the road early on Friday to make the drive up to Pennsylvania for yet another soccer tournament. One of Casey’s other teams was playing in Lancaster, so we rented an Airbnb in nearby Mt. Gretna.

What a sweet little vacation spot! Our cottage was perfect, and in walking distance of ice cream, mini golf, pizza, coffee shops, etc.

We were all tired and hungry by the time we got back to the house after Casey’s evening game, so we picked up pizzas from the Mt. Gretna Pizzeria and called it a night.

And that brings us to Saturday!

Casey’s team didn’t have a game until the afternoon, so we took advantage of a free morning in Mt. Gretna. Keith and Gibbs played a round of golf at a nearby course, while the rest of us walked down to the coffee shop for a latte and sticky buns.

We did some exploring…

…and got lunch at The Jigger Shop before making our way back to the soccer fields for the afternoon.

Finally, dinner with Casey’s teammate and his family at Mt. Gretna Hideaway. This was my shrimp salad with fried Brussels, cranberries, pretzel croutons, and more.

And ice cream for dessert!

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!