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Good morning, and happy Sunday! It was a fun week of vacation around here, as we cleaned up from Christmas and rang in the New Year. All of the highlights from the past few days, along with our easy dinners, are included in today’s roundup of Our Week in Meals.
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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…
After an early dog walk up the road, I spent Sunday morning in the kitchen photographing a couple of recipes while Keith and the boys took care of chores.
We dragged the boys out for some fresh air that afternoon…
…where they found ice to “skate” (and fall) on.
Keith grilled scallops for dinner,
which we paired with Parmesan risotto and steamed, buttered green beans.
Teddy, always up to mischief, was caught red-handed while trying to swipe Gibbs’s Legos from the coffee table that evening. The dog gets frustrated when the boys don’t want to play with him, and instantly resorts to taking their toys. As Gibbs said, “it’s a good thing he’s so cute!”
We took advantage of a beautiful Monday while Keith was off of work this week, and spent some time walking the trails at the nearby Cedar Mountain Civil War battlefield.
I made Chicken Parmesan and spaghetti for dinner that night,
along with garlic bread and salad.
I also finished a new book! More than one of you recommended The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister when I pulled together my list of our Favorite Books from this past year, so I was excited to pick up a used copy right away. I really enjoyed The Scent Keeper by the same author, and I’d say this one was almost as good. It’s the story of a chef, her students, and the evocative lessons that food teaches about life — a quick read that makes you feel cozy inside (and will probably leave you hungry)!
Tuesday included a walk with my friend in the morning,
and hair cuts for all of us that afternoon.
I made Crock Pot Beef Barbacoa for dinner, which we stuffed into soft tacos and served with tortilla chips and homemade guacamole. This is one of Keith’s absolute favorite recipes on my entire website! Quick note: I only used one chipotle pepper from the can, along with the adobo sauce, to flavor the meat. This made it a bit more mild for the kids, since using the entire can of peppers in adobo sauce yields a very spicy barbacoa!
Wednesday was our last day of sunshine before the rain arrived later in the week, so we spent as much time as possible outdoors.
First, I walked along the river that morning with my friend Becca, while Gibbs and her son rode their bikes.
After lunch, we all went “adventuring” at the pond on Rebekah’s farm.
Rebekah is our neighbor who babysat the boys for years while they were all babies, and they still love seeing her when our schedules allow.
I won’t tell you how many of my kids “fell” into that muddy, cold pond (all 3)!🙄 Let’s just say that I did another load of laundry as soon as we got back to the house…
We had roasted Sweet Tea Chicken for dinner, which is just so easy and so darn good!
Plus buttermilk biscuits and steamed broccoli on the side.
I woke up to a beautiful sunrise on the last morning of 2020!
Keith’s parents stopped by for an outdoor visit around lunchtime, and then we headed out for a walk before dinner.
The boys said “hi” to some muddy friends along the way…
Our rockin’ New Year’s Eve included an early dinner of chili with corn chips and salad…
…followed by Old-Fashioned Rum Cake and my regular bedtime well before midnight!
New Year’s Day was basically a complete washout. It rained all day and all evening, so our Friday consisted of indoor tasks and lots of college football on TV.
Thank goodness for Christmas Lego sets that are still keeping these boys entertained!
We enjoyed a lucky New Year’s dinner that evening, just like my mom taught me! She actually sent me and my brother a text on New Year’s Eve to remind us to soak our black-eyed peas. Hah! I suppose we could all use a prosperous, lucky 2021! On the menu: Grilled Pork Tenderloin,
and Sauteed Spinach.
The sun returned on Saturday!
I made Split Pea Soup in a Dutch oven on the stovetop that morning, using up the ham bone that I had saved from our Christmas Eve dinner. You don’t have to pre-soak the peas, the soup comes together in a little over an hour, and it keeps really well in the fridge and freezer for quick meals throughout the week.
After lunch, we took advantage of the 60-degree day and met Keith’s parents for a hike at Ragged Mountain.
And since I was ready for a break from the kitchen, we wrapped up our Saturday with take-out Chinese for dinner: sesame chicken, moo shu pork, and spring rolls!
There you go, friends — another week of easy dinner ideas! I hope you’ve found some new inspiration for your own meals in the days ahead. Happy 2021!🌟✨🎉
Lovely pictures, as always! Such a treat to see them every week! Also love the new recipes, reminders of older ones, and a new book recommendation!
Will you be doing a “favorite recipe” wrap up for 2020?
We are getting ready to start a major DIY project: installing a fossilized bamboo floor ourselves! (ugh!) I was browsing your site and looking for new to me dump and bake recipes that I can throw together with minimal mess and prep as the kitchen will be torn up during part of this project and I’ll not be in a mood to do a lot of cooking. Thought you’d probably have a “few” I didn’t know about…Lol…I think there must be somewhere around 200?! Definitely have a long list of “dump and bakes” on my menu plan for the coming many weeks!
All the best to you and your family for the New Year!
Thanks, Norma! Yikes — a big DIY project is always a scary thing to tackle, but so worth it when it’s done! Yes, I have SO many dump-and-bake recipes on the blog…it’s almost overwhelming. 🙂 I will try to include a list of the most popular recipes from 2020 in next Sunday’s blog post. Happy New Year!
Meant to mention that as I was browsing your older dump and bake recipes, I also got a real kick out of seeing pics of your kids when they were really little. Even saw a few from before Spencer was born! So cute! 🙂
Oh my gosh, that’s crazy. I can’t believe you went back that far! Some of those older posts are embarrassing, but I do love the online journal that I have from most of my boys’ childhood. 🙂
There is a sequel to your latest book titled The Lost Art of Mixing and it’s a good read also.
Yes! I noticed that on Amazon. Definitely need to read that next!
I love your pictures of the scenery and your family! Always makes me wish I had live close to my family! I also like your recipes!
Thank you, Virginia! 🙂
I just love seeing Teddy on your posts!! He is SO cute and enjoy hearing about his “antics”. I lost my sweet pup close to 2 years ago-miss him terribly-so thanks for a little doggie fun!!
Want to tell you I made the corn “pudding” with the cornbread mix for Christmas and had Great feedback-lots of “this is yummy, can I get the recipe” (and it was SO easy)!!! Now I will be trying the split pea soup recipe next! Thanks❣️
That’s wonderful to hear, Sherrie! I’m so glad that your Christmas guests enjoyed the corn pudding. It’s such a simple recipe, which makes it ideal for busy holidays! Hope you enjoy that split pea soup, too. I just had some for lunch today. 🙂
I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for your posts. I always enjoy your Week in Meals. Now that my kids are grown and I’m on my own I only cook a few times a week with lots of repeats, but when we get together your website is always a place I look for meal ideas. I hope you and your family continue to be blessed in 2021.
Hi, Sharon! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me such a kind note. It makes me happy to know that some of my recipes find their way onto your family’s table!