Our Week in Meals #508

Good morning, and happy Sunday! We wrapped up the kids’ last full week of summer break with back-to-school visits, fall sports, and a fun book. 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…

Keith and the older two boys went to church on a rainy Sunday morning, while I took Spencer to soccer.

Home for the afternoon, I spent time prepping for the week ahead and pulling together a delicious supper. Keith was in charge of the grill, including grilled steak tips,

and grilled corn on the cob (plus other grilled veggies like eggplant, peppers, zucchini, and onion — all tossed with olive oil and seasoned with our all-purpose house seasoning).

I took care of the baked potato wedges,

and a pan of cornbread with corn.

Let’s talk about books! This week I read The Parisian Heist by Jo Piazza, which was the perfect blend of historical fiction, thriller, and exciting art heist. Having just spent time in Paris this summer, I found the European setting especially entertaining!

In this novel, a struggling American artist in Paris is drawn into the glamorous but dangerous world of an influential art-dealing family, where hidden secrets and a high-stakes heist threaten to change everything. At the same time, the story follows Jo van Gogh as she fights to preserve Vincent van Gogh’s legacy and prove the value of his overlooked paintings in the late 1800s. It’s a fascinating blend of historical fiction and modern suspense, with memorable characters, art world intrigue, and plenty of twists that kept me hooked!

The sun returned on Monday, I got back to testing new recipes in the kitchen, and the kids kicked off the official start of fall sports season.

Gibbs had a golf match with the high school team that afternoon, and both of the younger boys had soccer training in Charlottesville.

Since I knew that we’d be out of the house all evening (and eating in shifts or eating in the car!), I planned a meal that was easy to assemble and easy to transport: the best chicken salad sandwiches on croissants,

plus marinated cucumbers and a side of potato chips.

Plus apple crisp for dessert — taking advantage of the Rambo apples that we bought at the farm stand last weekend!

Tuesday was a lot like the day before: I met Ashley for an early walk with our dogs before spending many more hours in the kitchen again.

By the afternoon, Keith and I were on kids’ sports duty.

I assembled a pan of 4-ingredient baked tortellini for supper, which Keith could put in the oven while I was gone. On the side, a simple green salad and frozen garlic breadsticks.

Mollie came over for a walk on Wednesday morning, I took some recipe photos mid-day, and we juggled all 3 sports schedules again that evening.

Golf, soccer, and youth group necessitated another meal that I could prepare ahead of time and reheat as needed.

As a result, I made the easiest burritos in the morning, wrapped them individually in foil, and kept them in the fridge to reheat in shifts as we were coming and going.

Plus a side of chips, salsa, and homemade guac (add enough lime juice and it won’t turn brown in the fridge)!

Thursday morning included a sunrise walk,

the orthodontist, haircuts, and a quick stop at Yoder’s for a few groceries.

I took the older boys to “back to school” night at the high school, Casey and Spencer went to soccer, and we had fried chicken tenders for supper.

Plus my easy potato salad, cut-up veggies, and coleslaw and pasta salad that I picked up at Yoder’s.

Friday was a somewhat quieter day around here (thank goodness!). I met Adria for Pilates in the morning, and then took Spencer to the middle school to drop off supplies and meet his new teachers.

There were no soccer practices on the schedule that evening, so we were actually able to sit down together for supper at the same time! After Gibbs returned from golf, we had grilled pork tenderloin with a bbq dry rub,

plus toasted and buttered slices of Ashley’s jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread, couscous, and my favorite summer salad.

And that brings us to the weekend! We had a free Saturday, so we spent time on yard work (Keith), photography (me), and golf (Gibbs).

The boys were so excited to go to the first UVA men’s soccer game of the season that evening…

…followed by takeout pizza for a late supper on the way home.

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!