Fall Inspired Dinner Ideas

 Hey friends! Not sure what the weather is like where you live, but it has definitely turned to Fall temps here in the NorthEast. While it wasn't quite 90, I feel like we went from 75 to 38 overnight. And yes, there is a chance some areas may see their first snowflakes fly these next few days!

So naturally, this weekend was the perfect time to make a roasted chicken. I made it on Sunday afternoon and it was the perfect Fall dinner. 

I have used Ina Garten’s roasted chicken recipe for years. I omit the bacon part, but I’m sure it would be amazing with the bacon, because what isn't??  Something about the fresh lemon, garlic and thyme just brings so much flavor to the chicken. 

Look at all that goodness ready to make a gravy!!

Not the most colorful plate, but so delicious! You can get all recipe details here.

Last week and I went with a roasting dinner option too. Tis the season, I guess!

This braised beef was just what I was looking for!  It cooked all day long, with an amazing red wine sauce. The meat was so tender, it just fell apart. This will be a Sunday staple for us in the Fall & Winter. Also, this dutch oven is so good & a much better pricepoint than LeCreuset! 

And something about these types of meals seem to call for crescent rolls. Probably something reminiscent of Thanksgiving dinners as a kid. I have been using these lately...clean ingredients than some other options. 

Any Fall meals you are loving? I am always on the hunt for new inspo!  My crew is not a huge fan of slow cooker meals. They say it all tastes mushy. Honestly I don't disagree with them on most dishes!

Hope you are having a great week. 

See you back here soon, there is always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

Friday Favorites October 12th

 Happy Friday friends! This was one of those longest, yet fastest weeks ever! I am off of work for the next week after today and I am ready for it. The fam is working or at school, so I am spending the week catching up around the house and just relaxing. It has been a long time since I did a "stay-cation" and it feels likes it's coming at just the right time!

As usual, I am linking up with Andrea & Erika for a little Friday Favorites. A peek into a few of my favorite things from the week. 

one 

I guess we could say I’m in my cardigan era. Or my sweater era. I have been loving all of the new sweaters at  Target. And they are 30% off this week through tomorrow!

This one caught my eye in store. It is so cozy and thick and a great length to wear with leggings. 

Unfortunately, this cardigan is old, but they have one very similar that I have in cream and black.

See, here is this cardigan in the cream.  It's a great length and soft cotton. I thought it was cute with a little front tuck. It comes in several colors, but I am always a sucker for cream. And  my loafers are a go to. I wear them at least once a week to work. 

My friend Missy at House of Color Southtowns shared these shoes and I knew I needed them! I love the block heel & the price. Give her a follow over on Insta- she shares some great finds!

This grey cardigan is a perfect early Fall sweater!

I am here for the leopard trend this season. Some people may not be all in, so a good way to start is with a little pop of leopard, like this belt. This three belt pack is a go to for me. There's a black, camel and leopard. 

two

My Monday night self was so very thankful that I prepped these enchiladas on Sunday. This week we have four volleyball games, a cross country meet, and all the other stuff that goes along with life, so I was so happy Ella could pop this in the oven and dinner was done! 

You can grab the recipe here. 

With these colder temperatures, I was craving something a little heartier for dinner. This braised beef was just what I was looking for! This dutch oven is so good & a much better pricepoint than LeCreuset!

three

The last few years I have gotten into some different fun colors for Fall and Winter. While I always love OPI Lincoln Park After Dark, this blue color is unexpected and fun. 

four

I think I’ve shared these on here twice already, but I bought two more of this throw blanket They are under $17 this week. I think they come in four or five colors. Everyone in my family wants one when we are together in the family room, so I just bought us each one! LOL

five

Last weekend Paul & I found ourselves with a very rare free day. We took full advantage with a little day date. You can see all the details here. 

No such free weekend coming up.... volleyball game tonight, tournament tomorrow and a cross country meet too!  

Wishing you all a great weekend!

See you back here next week. There is always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

p.s. I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post. Thank you for supporting my blog.

A Little Weekend Wrap Up & What We Have Been Eating Lately

Happy Monday, friends! 

After a wild end of September, this weekend was a little bit slower pace. You can catch up on our September fun here. The kids had plans with friends on Saturday and no sports, so Paul and I had a rare Saturday free. We got out and enjoyed a midday snack and cocktail at Britesmith Brewing. It was a perfect Fall day, 

 My love language is spicy margs & nachos!

We also split this Korean Cheesesteak. 

 We walked a around the town of  Williamsville and grabbed some ice cream. Pumpkin ice cream in a waffle cone.... so good!

 A fun day with my guy. The next few weekends are full of sports & we each have some work travel coming up, so we were happy to spend some time together while we had it.

So life has been a little bit crazy through September, and I did a poor job of taking pics or videos as I was cooking. But I made some great meals and wanted to share a few of those recipes we loved this month. 

This sweet-and-sour pork is so good. So good in fact, I made it twice this month. While, you make sauce from scratch, it's pretty simple to make. If you want to plan to make it twice within a couple of weeks, you could definitely double up the recipe and make it even easier the second time around. You can grab all the details here. 

We had a beautiful September, so grilling was still an option for dinner. This was just a simple grilled shrimp. This is my favorite marinade to use.

We grilled some asparagus to go with it and then I made a little bit lighter scampi sauce. I just sauteed about 3 tablespoons of Butter with lots of garlic, the juice of a lemon, and tossed it with some fresh pasta. A little Parmesan cheese and this was a pretty simple & delicious dinner. 

I did share the recipe for this one on the blog, but it's so good I am mentioning it again! BBQ salmon bowls got two thumbs up at our house!

This one has been in our rotation for a while, but I don’t know if I’ve shared it here before. These Korean Beef Bowls are full of some unexpected flavor and come together really quickly. It’s also a pretty simple recipe to double if you’re feeding a larger family or have teen athletes!  It’s a perfect weeknight meal. You can get the details here. 

This Spicy Vodka Chicken Parmesan was so, so good. You can either air fry or bake it. I baked it, as I was cooking six cutlets and could not fit them all in my air fryer. I didn’t want to do two batches so I just popped them in the oven. I did half of them with hot peppers and half without. My kids can be hit and miss when it comes to the spice factor, so I did a few without. This one actually looked so good that I forgot to take a picture before I dove in! This recipe will be a winner at your house too!

And last, but not least this Sesame chicken was a winner. Again, anything Asian inspired or comes in a bowl with rice my kids are devouring!

Hope this helps give a little dinner inspo! Have you made anything new lately???

Wishing you a great week! I’ll see you back here later in the week. There’s always room for one more in our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve 

Friday Favorites October 4th

 Happy Friday friends! And welcome to a jam-packed first Friday Favorites of October.   When I tell you this last week was wild, it was crazy busy & crazy fun! We had a birthday, Homecoming dance, Powderpuff game, pep rally, cross country race and volleyball tryouts. We really closed out September with a bang!

As usual, I am linking up with Andrea & Erika for a little Friday Favorites. A peek into a few of my favorite things from the week. 

one

Last Friday we started out the weekend with Ella's birthday. Hard to believe she is 17!  I still see here as this little girl playing Doc McStuffins!

But I was reminded she is no longer little when I ran into her at Starbucks! I had the day off from work and was grabbing a coffee, when I looked up and saw my girl coming through the door to get her free birthday drink! 

She got a car this year, so her birthday gifts were car inspired. A new snow brush, winter mats and I got her a little case filled with some car essentials. I think I need to grab one for myself. It's a great little case and comes in several colors. I added a hair brush & hair ties, hand sanitizer, the best phone charger, hand wipes & a Starbucks gift card. A perfect little gift for a new driver.

Our Friday continued on with the Homecoming Pep Rally & Powder Puff game. The Senior girls played against the Juniors. The theme was Batman vs Joker and was really cute!

Seniors won!!  

Saturday morning she had a race in Rochester. This race draws schools from all over the East Coast, with almost 7000 runners. It’s been one of our favorites throughout the years. And hard to believe it was her last one.

This was her first year running it in 7th grade!

two

I grabbed a couple new pillows at Target last weekend, along with this throw. I love a cozy blanket, but this one is probably one of the best we have ever gotten. I have a basket of throws in our family room, and this one I couldn’t find the other morning because Luke had it up in his bedroom. Everyone loves this blanket and I highly recommend you get it. It's a little longer and sooooo soft! It comes in several colors. 

Speaking of Target, I got this adorable knit skirt. It is so soft and comes in several colors, but I liked this kind of eggplant color for something different. I paired it two different ways one with black boots and a jean jacket.

And then again with sneakers and a white tee. I thought it looked cute both ways, and you’ll be seeing me wear this again this Fall!

I do love this Adidas Gazelle sneaker trend!

three

So Senior year.... it's like a really long goodbye. A year of "lasts". This week we had Senior Night for the cross country team. 

Of course, all of her regular fans were there to watch her run. While we still have some time left in the season, this was their last meet at their home course. The coach shared a few words about each Senior. It was really sweet. He spoke a lot about Ella's positivity, and her constant smile. I know I say this because she’s my own daughter, but her smile does really light up a room, and it’s definitely a contagious smile!

She found running as her sport in seventh grade, and it’s been amazing to watch her continue to get better year-over-year. This year she is team captain and we are just so proud of her!

four

This week, the nights have been much colder, so long pajamas have been in order. These are old and one of my all-time favorites. But you can grab them here in a different pattern.

five

My dad and his brothers took a road trip to Baltimore to watch the Buffalo Bills game last weekend. While the outcome of the game was not what we had hoped, I love that he and his brothers got to go on this little adventure.

six

We celebrated at our girl turning 17 all weekend! While her birthday fell during all the festivities of homecoming, we sprinkled in some birthday fun each day.  We had dinner and cake at home Sunday night to wrap up the full weekend. Grilled salmon and Caesar salad with the birthday girl's request.

I love using cute wrapping paper as a table spread! And this banner was adorable.

seven

My last favorite of the week was homecoming! After getting home from the race, we made a quick change and got ready to host the girls before homecoming. Put out a little spread of some treats and snacks before the dance. 

And caught a little photo shoot in the backyard.

Luke joined the boys over at another friends house.

Love these two!

I loved all the hustle of the weekend, and know that this season of life is going to end way faster than I could have ever imagined!  Soaking it all in!

Wishing you a great first weekend of October. See you back here next week. There is always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

p.s. I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post. Thank you for supporting my blog.