Weekly Meal Plan #14: Cozy September Dinners

This week’s meal plan is for those September nights when the weather starts to shift, and dinner needs to feel a little cozier.

You’ll find a one-pot pasta, an old-fashioned baked chicken dinner, a creamy chowder, a slow cooker beef stew, and a cheesy chicken spaghetti casserole to finish the week. It is a good mix of comfort food, easy prep, and family-friendly dinners for busy nights.

As always, move the meals around to fit your schedule. If one night is extra busy, use the slow cooker dinner. If you need something fast, make the one-pot pasta. If Friday feels like a comfort food night, save the chicken spaghetti for then.

Don’t forget to check out my Week #13 meal plan if you missed it.

Meal Prep & Money-Saving Tips

• Ground beef bundle: Monday’s One-Pot Unstuffed Pepper Pasta and Wednesday’s Cheeseburger Chowder both use ground beef. Buy a larger pack if it is cheaper, then brown what you need for both meals at once. Store the cooked beef for Wednesday in the fridge so chowder night comes together faster.
• Chicken plan: Tuesday’s Hurry Chicken uses chicken legs, while Friday’s Creamy Chicken Spaghetti uses cooked shredded chicken. Watch for chicken on sale and choose the cuts that fit your budget. A rotisserie chicken also works well for Friday if you want a shortcut.
• Onion prep: This week uses onion in several dinners. Chop the onions ahead of time and store them in the fridge so you are not starting from scratch every night.
• Pepper plan: Monday and Friday both use green peppers. Slice or chop them when you bring them home so they are ready to add to dinner.
• Slow cooker prep: Cut the potatoes, carrots, and onion for Thursday’s beef stew the night before. In the morning, you can add everything to the slow cooker and get on with your day.
• Cheese stretch: Monday’s pasta and Friday’s chicken spaghetti both use cheddar cheese, and Wednesday’s chowder uses Velveeta. Check your fridge before buying more cheese, especially if you have partial bags to use up.
• Pantry check: Before shopping, look for pasta sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, onion soup mix, chicken noodle soup mix, ranch seasoning, brown gravy mix, cream of chicken soup, Rotel, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and basic seasonings. You may already have several of these on hand.
• Leftover plan: Use leftover unstuffed pepper pasta or chicken spaghetti for easy lunches. Leftover beef stew reheats well and can be served over noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes the next day.

Easy Swap Ideas

• Pasta shape swap: Use ditali, small shells, elbows, or another small pasta in the One-Pot Unstuffed Pepper Pasta.
• Ground beef swap: Use ground turkey or ground chicken instead of ground beef in the unstuffed pepper pasta or cheeseburger chowder.
• Pepper swap: Use red, yellow, orange, or a mix of bell peppers if you do not have green peppers.
• Chicken cut swap: Use chicken legs, thighs, drumsticks, or bone-in chicken breasts for Hurry Chicken, but adjust the cooking time as needed.
• Sauce sweetness: If you want the Hurry Chicken sauce a little less sweet, reduce the brown sugar slightly.
• Chowder cheese swap: Use shredded cheddar, Colby Jack, or marble cheese instead of Velveeta in the Cheeseburger Chowder.
• Chowder veggie swap: Add corn, mushrooms, or bell peppers to the cheeseburger chowder if you want to use up extra vegetables.
• Stew potato swap: Use baby potatoes, red potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes, or regular potatoes cut into chunks for the Mississippi Beef Stew.
• Pepperoncini swap: Use fewer pepperoncini peppers if your family prefers a milder stew.
• Stew serving options: Serve the Mississippi Beef Stew on its own or over egg noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.
• Rotel swap: Use plain diced tomatoes instead of Rotel if you want the chicken spaghetti milder.
• Soup swap: Use cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken soup in the chicken spaghetti if that is what you have.

Master Grocery List: Week 14 Dinners

Note: This shopping list covers all 5 main dinners. If you plan to make the weekly bonus recipes, check those recipe links and add those ingredients to your list.

Meat

• 2 lb lean ground beef (1 lb for Monday and 1 lb for Wednesday)
• 4 to 5 chicken legs (for Tuesday)
• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken or 1 rotisserie chicken (for Friday)
• 1 ½ lb stew beef (for Thursday)

Produce

• 3 green peppers (2 for Monday and 1 for Friday)
• 2 sweet onions (1 for Monday and 1 for Wednesday)
• 2 yellow onions (1 for Thursday and 1 for Friday)
• 1 bulb of garlic (for Friday)
• 2 to 3 potatoes (for Wednesday)
• 1 ½ lb baby potatoes (for Thursday)
• 3 lb bag of carrots (for Wednesday and Thursday)
• 1 bunch of celery (for Friday)
• 1 bunch of green onions, optional (for Monday)
• 1 bunch of fresh parsley, optional (for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)

Dairy and Refrigerated

• 1 package of salted butter (for Wednesday and Thursday)
• 1 package of unsalted butter (for Friday)
• 1 carton of milk (for Wednesday)
• 1 package of Velveeta cheese (for Wednesday)
• 1 container of sour cream (for Wednesday and Friday)
• 1 package of cheddar cheese (for Monday and Friday)

Pantry

• 1 jar of pasta sauce (for Monday)
• 1 box of Ditali pasta or another small pasta (for Monday)
• 1 carton of beef broth (for Monday)
• 1 bottle of Worcestershire sauce (for Monday)
• 1 bottle of ketchup (for Tuesday)
• 1 package of brown sugar (for Tuesday)
• 1 envelope of onion soup mix (for Tuesday)
• 1 envelope of chicken noodle soup mix (for Wednesday)
• 1 package of chicken bouillon (for Wednesday)
• 1 jar of pepperoncini peppers (for Thursday)
• 1 envelope of ranch seasoning (for Thursday)
• 2 envelopes of brown gravy mix (for Thursday)
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup (for Friday)
• 1 can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies (for Friday)
• 1 package of spaghetti (for Friday)

Spices and Seasonings

• Garlic powder (for Monday and Wednesday)
• Italian seasoning (for Monday and Friday)
• Salt
• Black pepper

Grab Your Free Printable Shopping List & Meal Plan

To make your week even easier, I’ve put together a printable PDF pack of this exact meal plan and the complete grocery list.

A little planning at the start of the week makes dinner feel so much easier when everyone is hungry and you need something simple.