Simplifying Your Meal Planning: 20+ ideas for October

I have a love/hate relationship with meal planning. I love searching for new ideas & I love cooking. But doing both of those every night for the last 25 years of adulthood?!!

And this point of the homeschool year makes it all feel harder. The new year adrenaline is waning, we’re ready for a break, and my mind is full of the things we’re in danger of falling behind on.

When I struggle with planning meals, planning for more than a week at a time can help. My key advice, though, is to leave some empty nights in case you need to run through the drive-thru, find a new recipe you can’t wait to try, need a night to eat up leftovers, etc.

That’s why I love a round-up of meal ideas. And why I’m sharing some of our upcoming dinner ideas with you.

1. Someone else has found recipe ideas.
2. I’m reminded of familiar favorites & ways to put a spin on them — like the pretzel bun sandwiches below.
3. I get recommendations for shortcuts, like Amy’s meatballs.

Dinners

• Teriyaki chicken (Seattle-style)
• Grilled pork chops (a longtime, go-to recipe for us)
• Grilled chicken sandwiches on pretzel buns
• Ground beef tacos (I always keep a jar of this seasoning blend on hand.)

• Smoked pork tacos (new-to-us recipe)
• Chicken meatballs & tomato herb orzo (using Amy’s chicken meatballs from Costco)
• Cast-iron deep-dish pizza (like Pizza Hut from your youth, a new favorite recipe for us)
• Black Pepper chicken stir fry

• Chicken Caesar salad (We love the Caesar salad kits from Costco. For the chicken, I marinate it in olive oil, lemon juice, fresh garlic, plus salt & pepper.)
• Spicy Thai chicken stir fry (new-to-us recipe)
• Chicken legs using this all-purpose rub
• Chipotle crusted pork tenderloin (I reduce the chipotle chili powder to 1 tablespoon.)

Lunches/Breakfast/Sides

• Orange & cardamom muffins
• Birdseye frozen garlic green beans
• Buttered noodles (I use half the amount of butter.)
• Walking tacos

• Scallion pancakes
• Air fryer butternut squash
• Asian zucchini noodles

• Honey wheat muffins
• Pizza puffs
• To Die For Blueberry Muffins