Tuesday, October 1, 2013

A veritable smorgasbord...



October is here!  My favorite month of the year.  Such a favorite that I chose it for my own wedding (FIVE years on Friday! Where does the time go?)  This past weekend we were out of town for my husband's sister's wedding, so I had no time for grocery shopping or meal planning.  And when I went to my "On Deck" list it only had one item on it.  Whoops.  So, needless to say, I had to spend several hours both on the drive back and once we got home building a list for this month's meals.  I was feeling quite uninspired, to tell the truth.  Maybe because I feel like every October meal must consist of some combination of pumpkin/apple/cinnamon with a side of chili?

You'll notice a few repeats from last month which is simply because we definitely did some switching around with the meal plan for September.  That's okay.  Flexibility is an important part of meal planning and I feel as though we did do a nice job of shifting when it became necessary.  (There's also repeats because some of the recipes are just THAT good.)

So, here you go!  And please, whether you do it here in the comment section, on Facebook, or on your own blog, PLEASE share recipes and meal plans with me!  I am ALWAYS looking for suggestions and inspiration.  And, remember to keep checking back as I will be reviewing new recipes we try throughout the month (the ones you see with a "*") and sharing some of our own NMOTB family favorites!  You should also follow my boards on Pinterest.  Just because.

{October 2013}

Tuesday, October 1 - Hamburger Casserole; (A simple family recipe that involves cream of celery soup, pasta, ground beef, and cheese - I'll share the recipe here later this month.  It's really no big thing, but it is definitely go-to comfort food mostly because it reminds me of home); Bagged Salad

Wednesday, October 2 - Salsa Chicken; Cilantro Lime Brown Rice; Corn (I know there are a lot of similar recipes for this crock pot recipe floating around on Pinterest, but I promise, this is the good one!  Our entire family loves this.  We usually serve it in whole wheat tortillas.)

Chicken Parmigiana
Thursday, October 3 - Chicken Parmigiana; Pesto Penne; Peas (Okay, this is actually the best recipe on. the. planet.  I do a few things differently and I'll be sharing them later on, so definitely check back.  You will not believe how good this is.)

Friday, October 4 - Our FIFTH Anniversary.  I don't know what the hubs has planned, but mama's not cooking!

Saturday, October 5 - World's Best Chicken; Smashed Potatoes*; Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Sunday, October 6 - Italian Roast; (This recipe will die with me.  Seriously.  I've had monetary offers for it.  Nope.  My mom shared it with one person one time and it practically went viral.  The good news is, we are always happy to have guests over to enjoy it!) Fettucini Alfredo

Monday, October 7 - Orzo Salad with Rotisserie Chicken* {Click here for recipe review.}

Tuesday, October 8 - Breaded Pork Chops; Roasted Acorn Squash; Spaghetti with Spinach, Garlic, and Lemon

Wednesday, October 9 - Crock Pot Chicken Stroganoff; (Trust me when I say that this recipe is delish even though it looks like it is gross and basically goes against every warning I've ever given about processed foods); Whole Wheat Noodles; Roasted Broccoli

Thursday, October 10 - Stuffed Peppers; Bread (I will be sharing my take on this popular recipe later on in the month.  Definitely a favorite around here.)

Friday, October 11 - Order Pizza!

Quinoa with Corn & Scallions
Saturday, October 12 - Grilled Chicken with Avocado Lime Sauce; (I could drink this stuff) Quinoa with Corn and Scallions

Sunday, October 13 - Beef Vegetable Soup; (I think we are going to try out my husband's mom's recipe!  It's one of his favorites and sounds perfect for a delicious fall meal.) Bread

Monday, October 14 - Lemon Chicken Cous Cous; (My own recipe.  I'm so proud of it!  Check back because I will definitely share it here!) Steamed Asparagus; Bagged Salad

Tuesday, October 15 - Chicken Crescents; Brown Rice; Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday, October 16 - Tilapia; Roasted Zucchini; Parmesan Garlic Quinoa* {Click here for recipe review.}

Thursday, October 17 - Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce* {Click here for recipe review.}

Friday, October 18 - Beef Tacos; Rice  (Some day I plan to try making my own taco seasoning, so if I do that this month, I will try it out here.  If I don't, no judgment please.  I kind of sort of love that sodium-filled goodness.)

Saturday, October 19 - Pork Tenderloin with Carrots & Potatoes (A long time ago we used to make something like this in the crock pot and it was perfect for taking to someone who had just had a baby or who needed a warm meal following a surgery/illness.  Unfortunately, neither of us can remember exactly what we did.  So, we're going to try to figure it out and if we do, I will definitely share it here!)

Sunday, October 20 - Braised Short Ribs; (We did not have these last month and it's one of my favorite things we have, so of course it went back on the menu!); Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Monday, October 21 - Cilantro Lime Chicken Pasta (A repeat because we loved it so much.)


Tuesday, October 22 - Pumpkin Butternut Squash Soup*; Bread (Could this BE anymore fall?) {Click here for recipe review.}

Wednesday, October 23 - Chicken Caesar Salad; Bread

Thursday, October 24 - Shrimp Scampi with Linguine; Salad (Still scouting recipes for this one.  Any ideas?)

Friday, October 25 - Homemade Pizza; Salad

Saturday, October 26 - Panko Parmesan Chicken*; Carrots (I got the recipe on the back of a box of Italian Panko, so I'll share how it goes on the blog later this month!  I'll probably will do some cous cous, rice, or pasta of sorts with this, but I haven't really figured it out yet.) {Click here for recipe review.}

Sunday, October 27 - Spaghetti; Salad (This is my husband's grandmother's recipe and she passed it down to his mother, so he grew up having it about once a week.  The way this sauce smells when you walk into a house is basically the reason I married my husband.  When he finally taught me how to make it, I knew he wanted to marry me!  But, obviously - we don't hand this recipe out.  That's a big no no.)

Monday, October 28 - Easy Lemon Chicken* (Still trying to figure out some sides.)


Tuesday, October 29 - Spicy Thai Noodles* with Mongolian Beef* {Click here for recipe review.}

Wednesday, October 30 - Pizzadillas (Didn't get to this one last month, so we stuck it back on there!)

Thursday, October 31 - Chili (This is a long standing tradition for our Halloween night meal.  It's so easy to grab a bowl in between trick or treaters and taking out The Incredible Hulk to do his rounds.  Finish it off with a pumpkin beer and you have yourself a Happy Halloween!)


2 comments:

  1. I love your monthly menu planning and want to try to do this for my family. It's awesome that you aren't afraid to use the processed foods. Sometimes the "perfect" moms out there make us feel less than adequate when we feed our family sodium filled, non-gluten free processed foods. It's nice to see someone who is real and honest about it all. Also, I tried the Spicy Sausage Pasta last night and it was delicious. Definitely something I will make again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spicy Sausage Pasta sounds so good right now...OMG...

      Michael Pollan has a book with his "food rules" and one of the rules is basically that you have to be willing to break the rules. We avoid processed food in several instances, but there are some recipes that still require their use. Especially so that I can be sane and provide a meal to my family every night! Otherwise, it would be really hard to get it done.

      Let me know how your meal plan turns out!

      Delete

Pin me!