Our Week in Meals #507

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included some time on Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay, fresh cut flowers, and plenty of kids’ sports. 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 were still on Virginia’s Northern Neck on Sunday for one last summer getaway at the Chesapeake Bay before the kids return to school and fall sports. Such a gorgeous sunrise!

Keith and the older boys played another round of golf that morning, while Spencer and I got out for a run to complete his soccer conditioning workout for the day.

Teddy loved his waterfront view (but didn’t actually want to get in the water!).

Lunch from the Small Town Burger food truck,

an afternoon walk and swim at the house,

and more crabs plus takeout pizza for a low-key final evening on the Bay.

Shall we chat books? I have to recommend The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett — an entertaining story that everyone seems to be talking about right now. It’s worth the hype!

In this novel, three unforgettable women from very different walks of life find their paths crossing in Depression-era Mississippi, where they’re each fighting to survive and build a better future. As they join forces to challenge the expectations placed on them, they discover that friendship, courage, and a little rebellion can change lives in unexpected ways. It’s a heartfelt historical novel filled with humor, memorable characters, and an inspiring story about the strength of women supporting one another.

We were up and out of the rental house early on Monday morning, Keith headed straight to work, and the rest of us were home before lunchtime.

I restocked the kitchen with groceries, did a load of laundry, and got out for a walk with Spencer.

For supper, I thawed some leftover Crock Pot beer pulled pork from the freezer and made pork bbq sandwiches.

On the side: potato chips, a tomato basil salad,

and a peach salad to take advantage of the peaches that we brought home from the shore.

Tuesday turned out to be a busier-than-usual morning around here — and it all happened before 10 a.m.!

I got out for an early walk, Ashley stopped by to drop off some bread, the chimney sweep came to do his annual cleaning, I helped Spencer with a weight lifting workout, and a few lovely ladies stopped by to visit our house.

These women were in town from Richmond for the day, but grew up in our home (with 9 children total!) back in the 50’s. They were curious to see our renovations and additions over the past 20 years, and were so fun to chat with.

I brought back oysters from the Northern Neck, so we had fried oysters for lunch. Not the norm, but definitely a treat!

Spencer took Teddy for a “walk,”

and I snipped some flowers from our yard to brighten up the kitchen and my office. That cute little pitcher is a new Target find!

For supper, we had rice bowls using the Sheet Pan Asian Chicken Meatballs and cucumber salad from page 78 in my cookbook. Love these!

On Wednesday morning, Spencer and I got out for his running workout and then Ashley and I walked our dogs together.

Casey had PT training in Orange and Gibbs started high school golf season that afternoon.

At Spencer’s request, I made my mom’s easy chicken pot pie for supper — which we ate at about 4:00 p.m. since I had to get Spencer to a late soccer training at UVA that evening. Plus another peach salad on the side for something light, fresh, and green!

Thursday included a walk, a quick stop at Yoder’s for deli meat and produce, and a long Zoom meeting mid-day.

Spencer had soccer again that evening, so I left Keith in charge of supper. He used some leftover slow cooker carnitas (thawed from the freezer) to make quesadillas, plus a side of chips and guac.

Such a beautiful, cool Friday morning!

It was another full day around here, complete with a doctor’s appointment for me, PT for Casey, golf for Gibbs, and more soccer for Spencer.

Before we headed out the door, I served an early supper: my mom’s Maryland crab cakes,

cheddar bay biscuits,

coleslaw, and store-bought mac and cheese from Yoder’s.

And that brings us to the weekend, and the first day of August!

We were very happy to have a quiet Saturday with no plans on the agenda. I took some recipe photos and got work done at the computer, Keith and the boys did yard work, and my in-laws stopped by for a visit.

That afternoon, we drove over to Sperryville to pick up some fresh produce at Jenkins Orchards…

…and had dinner at Rappahannock Pizza Kitchen afterwards. We love this restaurant so much — I had the best Caesar salad and pepperoni, mushroom, and caramelized onion pizza.

So there you have it, friends — another week of easy summer meals! 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!