Our Week in Meals #506

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included soccer, easy weeknight suppers, and a final summer getaway. 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 an early walk and house chores before we all sat down that afternoon to watch the World Cup final.

For supper, Keith was in charge of the grilled hamburgers as well as a couple racks of baby back ribs (here’s my slow cooker recipe),

while I prepped the sides: braised red cabbage with apples and bacon,

crispy seasoned roasted potatoes,

and the boys’ favorite homemade mac and cheese.

Shall we chat about books? I recently finished Pretty Dead Things by Kelsey Cox, my July Book of the Month pick. It was a fun page-turner!

In this novel, a Texas beauty pageant becomes the backdrop for a deadly mystery when women connected by old rivalries and buried secrets are forced back together, including one whose sister disappeared decades earlier. As a powerful storm traps everyone at the ranch where that unsolved case began, long-hidden truths finally start to surface and the body count rises. It’s an addictive Southern suspense novel with memorable characters and a surprising twist at the end!

More wildfire smoky air on Monday…

Gibbs went to work, Spencer and I went to Yoder’s for a few groceries (and to visit the goats), and Casey had PT in Orange.

We ate an early supper before Casey went to play pick-up soccer at the high school and I took Spencer to his soccer training at UVA.

This meal was a request from the kids: Goldfish chicken nuggets, plus potato chips and fruit salad.

I kicked off my Tuesday with an early walk at Mollie’s farm.

Back home, I photographed a recipe, got some computer work done, and later that afternoon took Spencer, Casey, and a friend down to Charlottesville for another evening of soccer.

Dinner was an easy meal that Keith could pull together while we were gone: ground beef nachos and all of the toppings, including guacamole and pico de gallo.

Ashley and I walked our dogs together on Wednesday morning before I took Casey to a PT appointment and Gibbs went to work.

We had a free evening, so I made some pizza dough and we had homemade pizzas for supper. I made a couple margherita pizzas with fresh mozzarella and basil, plus one with pepperoni and Italian sausage.

On the side, an easy cucumber tomato onion salad. Perfect combo!

Spencer and I were out at the fields early on Thursday morning for his conditioning workout.

We were blessed with a beautiful, less-humid day and it was such a relief!

Gibbs had to work, but the younger two boys and I ran errands in Culpeper and grabbed lunch at Chipotle.

I prepped dinner that afternoon before heading to Charlottesville for Spencer’s soccer training. It was an easy-to-reheat meal that I could pull together quickly when we got home late: chicken and broccoli lo mein,

plus ramen noodle coleslaw, and frozen egg rolls.

On Friday, we drove a couple of hours east to Virginia’s Northern Neck for a long weekend on the Chesapeake Bay. What a treat!

First stop: ice cream at Chitterchat’s in Kilmarnock…

…before checking into our rental house that afternoon.

For dinner, we went to the Fish Hawk Oyster Bar at The Tides Inn…

…where we feasted on local oysters, softshell crabs, crab cake sandwiches, fish and chips, and this crab salad (it was all so fresh and delicious)!

I was one of the first customers at Chesapeake Doughnuts to pick up breakfast on Saturday!

Keith and the boys had an early tee time at a nearby golf course, while Spencer, Teddy, and I spent a chilly morning on the beach.

We all reunited for lunch at The Local (my tuna melt was top notch!),

and soft-serve ice cream from Stevie’s (recommended by our server at The Tides Inn the night before).

Casey was on a mission to plant some exotic cacti, so we made a couple stops at local greenhouses to source the goods…

…and I picked up peaches and fresh tomato bisque from the Old Farm Truck market.

Takeout crabs and steamed shrimp at the house, plus fried chicken (for those who don’t pick crabs) made for the perfect Bay dinner!

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!