When you put 100% in both work and family, slow weekends at home are a simple luxury. In my case, like many other working mothers, the weekend is key to pressing the reset button at home. I like to say that my work in education is my purpose, and home and family is my passion. How do I share that passion? Mostly through the food I cook and serve! It’s the easiest way to say “I love you,” and it’s my favorite way to just slow down and check in my soul & spirit. 

This post will take you through a typical weekend at home – one filled with easy and slow routines and several meals that satisfied each belly in the house.

Friday Evening – Wind Down

After I leave work and the kids are picked up, I always announce “It’s Friday!” My family knows exactly what that means. For us, it’s more than just the start of the weekend. Friday’s are –  in and of themselves –  an opportunity to tuck in at home, to rest and reflect, like a sunset of the week.

Even on these slower weekends, I try to get all the main laundry started as soon as I get home, a job that I’m happy to say I’ve successfully trained my oldest kids to start doing without supervision. (YES!)  It’s also a time to get all the remaining dishes and lunch boxes in the dishwasher, which I don’t use that often. A dishwasher stock-up is like a little treat I give myself. 

We eat lighter on Fridays. These meals are usually a mix of leftover vegetables from the week and a serving of fish. It’s a Catholic tradition to engage in some sort of fasting on Fridays. Most Catholics focus on that practice during Lent, which is actually coming up pretty soon!

In our family, we aim to stick to vegetables and fish on Fridays. It’s not fasting in a way to limit what we eat, but rather a way to be more intentional with our food and our time together. It’s a practice you’ll find in many old-world families like the one I grew up in. If there was any reason to commemorate any moment, food was at the center of it!

Friday Night – Fish Supper

For this particular Friday, I’m preparing a dish that you’ll find not just in Catholic tradition but in Jewish and Israeli traditions, as well. This makes total sense because so much of these traditions are intertwined and have also developed from the same cultural areas. You’ll find many versions of Moroccan Fish, and mine almost always features whole red snapper. I buy them frozen in bulk, since I enjoy cooking whole fish much more than fillets. 

I prefer serving crusty bread with Moroccan fish, only because it can soak up a lot of the sauce. Bread and fish go hand in hand for me, especially if it’s a chunk of a sourdough I made.

TIP: You really must try to eat this with your hands, not just because it’s more fun but with those tiny fish bones…..it’s just better to use your hands!

Saturday Early Morning – Quiet Time

7:00 AM is around three hours later than when I usually rise during the workweek. The quiet of the early morning can be so precious, even on a Saturday. There’s no kids running around, games or music playing, no errands to run…it’s when I take my time to make coffee and sip away while I do my morning readings. 

I’ve been experimenting with different coffee preparations, and I’m almost sad to say that Nescafe instant coffee is what is working for me right now. My grandparents probably just rolled over in their graves! I’m not grinding my own beans and putting the Moka pot on, though I admit its is so, so good. I just need quick and easy coffee most mornings, so here I am. I froth some milk to make it a bit more special, and that’s it. My regular, every day morning coffee is best enjoyed in my favorite seat in the house – the corner couch. 

Saturday Mid-Morning – Clean-Up

A bit later in the morning, I take some time to do the essential wipe downs of the bathrooms, you just can’t ignore that when you have a family of five. The same with the bed sheets and anything else that attracts sweat and drool. We had just all recovered from a round of stomach flu at this point, so I was itching to get all bed items and cuddlies in a hot wash cycle. I don’t do this every week, just as needed, but it will essentially take the whole day. 

It’s interesting how once you start to strip things down to clean, you just can’t help yourself. You end up taking a rag and cleaning everything else – desks, tables, counters, cabinets, you name it. When the mood hits, why not get it all done? 

The mood seemed to match the weather on this particular day, too. It was incredibly mild for a winter day – perfect for hanging up the laundry to dry in the wind. My grandmothers always believed that air-dried laundry is naturally disinfected. There may be some truth to this! According to them, the air cleans it through and through. True or not, I choose to believe it. The fresh scent has to be a testament to it. It’s one of the best aromas in the world!

Saturday Afternoon – Homemaking

Lunches on these slow weekends at home are easy to make because I always follow a simple rule: “use up what needs to be cooked before the weekly grocery shop the following day.” For this afternoon, it was a whole basket of tomatoes, with which I made a quick marinara sauce to toss some ravioli in. It’s the best kind of lunch. 

Once the day gets going, I don’t really have a lot of quiet time, but I do try to organize what is left to be done. I’m a planner girl at heart, so every few hours, I have to check something off the to-do list, even if it’s just a moment to find some more motivation to finish whatever else needs to be done – like setting all the beds. Right now, I’m loving the Silk & Sonder planner subscription. It satisfies my desire to finish something in its entirety without having to commit to a whole 300 page book at a time!

Making up beds always requires a bit of a pep talk in my head. I could decide to be annoyed about it or accept the fact that – at least in this season of life – I’m the one to do it. It won’t be forever, though. My girls are growing up and they will one day be able to make their beds themselves (correctly), just like they can do the laundry right now. It’s all part of the bigger picture that we can’t lose sight of.

Saturday Night – Dinner

The goal for Saturday night dinner is similar to Friday night – cozy, simple, and easy. I put a few chicken cutlets in the oven with some sweet potatoes. It’s better than frying them up and I might as well just use one appliance instead of two. We call this Cottoletta. It’s a basic recipe that you can pair with anything in season. The main recipe is below – just follow the same breading instructions and you can either dry it in a non-stick pan or pop in the oven. It’s hardly a recipe, it’s so simple!

Sweet potatoes are a staple in the kitchen, they are so versatile. Tonight, I toss them with some brown sugar and nutmeg. Instead of olive oil, which I always use, I’m coating them in some melted butter. It’s my version of candied yams! To finish off the meal, I prepare a bowl of couscous, which is our favorite! It takes no time to cook. It just has to sit in hot water to fluff up. This entire meal on a Saturday night is definitely the easiest path towards contentment. 

Sunday Supper

Even on these slow weekends, Sundays are a different kind of busy. We take the morning very slow, head to church, and get some groceries on the way back. To close out this full weekend, all that needs to be done is cook Sunday dinner and prepare for the week.

We have settled into a routine of Jamaican suppers on Sunday, with either myself or my father in law cooking it up. I’ve been learning to cook a few Jamaican dishes, and if you watched a recent video of mine, you know that my first attempt at oxtails turned into more of an osso bucco stew. I have since redeemed myself, though! I owe it all to the spice blends and seasonings from our Jamaican spot. Why try to replicate it when it’s already there for you, right? 

I’ve come to learn that the basic process for Jamaican stews and curries are to season the meat well beforehand, with lots of fresh ingredients. Then, cook it long and slow ideally in an old pot or caldero. That’s exactly what I did with the oxtails I tossed with spices, onions, garlic and tomatoes.

After an hour or two in this marinade, the oxtails are browned in the pot and then simmered down. Browning (the bottle) is like a molasses that gives the oxtails that rich, deep, brown color. It has a bit of sweetness, which is offset by the smooth butter beans that I add at the end. A scoop of oxtails with a mound of rice is a beautiful way to celebrate a Sunday and the end of a restorative and slow weekend at home. 

What does a slow weekend at home look like at your house?

By now, you must know that a slow weekend at my house is a cherished retreat from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Time gently unfolds, allowing for meaningful connections and moments of reflection. It’s a time when I can savor the simple pleasures, from preparing delicious meals to embracing the quiet of the early morning hours. I’ve shared glimpses of my slow weekend, but now I’m eager to hear about yours. What does a slow weekend look like at your house? How do you intentionally create moments of peace and connection? Share your stories, traditions, and favorite slow weekend activities in the comments below!