Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included lots of soccer, a good book, and plenty of easy summer suppers. 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…
We were still in Pennsylvania on Sunday morning for Casey’s soccer tournament. We loved the little town of Mt. Gretna where our Airbnb was located (it’s close to Hershey and Lancaster).
We made it back to Virginia in time for a quick and easy dinner: taco quesadillas (using up some leftover taco meat from a previous meal)…
…with a side of tortilla chips and guacamole.
Let’s chat books! This week I read a really interesting novel that my mom loaned me: Culpability by Bruce Holsinger.
In this novel, a family’s world is turned upside down after their self-driving minivan is involved in a devastating crash, and each family member may be hiding something that contributed to what happened. As they retreat to the Chesapeake Bay to recover, long-buried secrets, strained relationships, and questions about responsibility begin to surface, especially as the investigation intensifies. It’s a thought-provoking family drama that blends suspense with timely questions about artificial intelligence, ethics, and who should be held accountable when technology and human choices collide.
We spent Monday settling back into our summer routine.
I got out for an early walk before it became unbearably hot, and then Casey and I headed south to Nelson County to pick up Teddy from my parents’ house.
Keith played golf that evening, Casey had soccer practice at the high school, and we eventually sat down for chicken parm sandwiches,
waffle fries, and a peach salad (Casey’s request!).
I met Mollie for a walk on Tuesday morning, and then snuck in some work before taking Gibbs to his annual physical.
Baked a batch of one-bowl brownies, too!
Casey and Keith were in Williamsburg that evening for Casey’s last game of the high school season, so I planned a really quick and easy meal for the rest of us: Crock Pot pulled bbq chicken (leftovers thawed from the freezer and reheated), with fruit salad and potato chips on the side.
We had a much-needed rainy start to our Wednesday.
After a walk, I spent most of the day at the computer.
Knowing that I had to take Spencer to Charlottesville for soccer training that evening, I prepped our whole dinner in advance. That way it was ready and waiting for us when we got home!
Keith had a later work event, so I made one of the boys’ favorite meals: dump-and-bake sesame chicken noodles…
…plus ramen noodle coleslaw. This one always disappears fast!
Ashley and I met for a very hot, sweaty walk with our dogs on Thursday morning.
After that, my day was go-go-go. First, errands and lunch in Culpeper with the boys, followed by a World Cup watch party with Spencer’s soccer team, and eventually soccer training down in Charlottesville that evening. It was about 110 degrees on that turf!
Knowing that I would be gone all afternoon, I prepped dinner in advance again. We had baked rigatoni with sausage,
plus homemade garlic bread and a bagged Caesar salad.
Friday morning started with an early Pilates class with Adria and Ashley.
Other than a quick trip to the high school to return Casey’s soccer uniform, it was a quiet day of work at the house.
Keith grilled marinated shrimp for supper,
which I paired with a spaghetti salad (the perfect way to use up leftover veggies lingering in the fridge),
and a creamy cucumber salad. My boys have MAJOR World Cup fever, so of course our evening was spent in front of the tv watching the US men’s first game (what a match!).
An early walk to beat the heat on Saturday morning,
sour cream blueberry muffins for breakfast,
and a grocery restock for the week ahead.
The boys wanted to go to the Charlottesville Blues game that evening, so we stopped in Dick’s Sporting Goods and grabbed dinner at Dave’s Hot Chicken beforehand.
A very fun summer outing (and they won)!
And 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!
Good morning, Blair!
Now I have blue on the brain, between the yummy blueberry cobbler and muffin recipes, and a picture of your sons posing with the Charlottesville Blues mascot!
The highlights even made our local news here in RVA.
Have a wonderful week!
Haha, you’re right — it was a week of BLUE! Hope you have a wonderful week, Ann!