Weekly Meal Plan #18: Easy Comfort Food for October Nights
By this point in October, I’m ready for dinners that warm up the kitchen. Soup, casseroles, slow-cooker meals, and something cheesy all sound pretty good as the evenings get colder.
This week starts with one of my favorite cozy soups, followed by an easy chicken dinner, slow cooker pork, a meatless Impossible Pie, and a hearty old-fashioned casserole for Friday.
As always, move the dinners around to fit your schedule. Use the slow-cooker meal on your busiest day, prep a few ingredients ahead, and check the swaps below before buying something you may already have.
If you missed it, don’t forget to check out my Week #17 meal plan.
The Daily Dinner Line-Up
1
Monday: Hamburger Soup
Monday feels like a good night for a big pot of soup.Hamburger Soup is made with ground beef, onion, tomatoes, carrots, celery, small pasta shells, and a savory tomato-beef broth. Everything cooks together in one pot, and it makes eight servings, so lunch is probably taken care of for tomorrow, too.Serve it with crackers, bread, or a simple salad.
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2
Tuesday: Baked Chicken Parmesan
This isn’t the heavy breaded version of Chicken Parmesan. Chicken breasts are topped with sautéed zucchini and onion, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan, then baked until everything is hot and bubbly.You can serve it over pasta or rice, but it is filling enough to eat on its own with a salad or vegetables too.
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3
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Asian Pork Tenderloin
Let the slow cooker handle Wednesday.This pork tenderloin gets a flavorful rub with brown sugar, ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper, and Chinese five-spice. After it cooks, you spoon a sweet and savory soy-ginger glaze over the top.Serve it with rice and vegetables for an easy dinner that feels a little different from the usual slow cooker meal.
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4
Thursday: Spinach and Feta Impossible Pie
Tonight is meatless, but definitely not boring.Spinach and Feta Impossible Pie is packed with spinach, feta, Parmesan, onion, garlic, and oregano. The Bisquick gets mixed right into the egg batter, so you don’t have to make or roll out a separate crust.Add a simple salad on the side and dinner is done.
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5
Friday: Bean Casserole
Finish the week with an old-fashioned, hearty casserole.Bean Casserole has ground beef, bacon, three kinds of beans, onion, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar. It has that sweet and savory baked bean flavor, but there’s enough meat and beans to make it a meal all on its own.It also makes eight servings, so this is another good one for leftovers.
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6
Bonus Recipe: Maple Glazed Carrots
Tender carrots are coated in a buttery maple glaze with brown sugar and a little cinnamon. They’re easy enough for a weeknight but also feel a little special for fall.
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7
Bonus Recipe: Sour Cream Biscuits
These biscuits only need three ingredients: butter, sour cream, and self-rising flour. They’d be especially good alongside Monday’s Hamburger Soup.
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8
Bonus Recipe: Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
A lighter, fluffier take on pumpkin pie with a creamy pumpkin filling and graham cracker crust. It needs time to chill, so this is a good dessert to make ahead for the weekend.
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Meal Prep & Money-Saving Tips
- Ground beef bundle: Monday’s Hamburger Soup uses 1 ½ pounds of ground beef, and Friday’s Bean Casserole uses another pound. Buy a larger family pack if the per-pound price is better, then divide it when you get home.
- Rice once: Wednesday’s pork is great with rice, and you can also serve Tuesday’s chicken over rice. Make one larger batch if you plan to serve rice with both.
- Spinach plan: Thursday needs four cups of baby spinach. Compare the larger packages with the smaller ones, since the price per ounce is often better, then use any extra in salads, eggs, or sandwiches.
- Pantry check: Before you shop, look for diced tomatoes, tomato soup, beef consommé, small pasta shells, tomato sauce, Bisquick, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and seasonings.
Easy Swap Ideas
- Ground beef swap: Use ground turkey or chicken in the Hamburger Soup.
- Broth swap: Can’t find beef consommé? Use beef broth instead in Monday’s soup.
- Pasta swap: Macaroni or another small pasta can replace the shells in the Hamburger Soup.
- Chicken sides: Serve Tuesday’s Chicken Parmesan over pasta, rice, cauliflower rice, or zucchini noodles, or simply add a salad.
- Vegetable swap: Red or green peppers can replace the zucchini in the Chicken Parmesan if your family prefers them.
- Pork swap: Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of pork tenderloin for Wednesday’s dinner.
- Less heat: Reduce or leave out some of the crushed red pepper in the Asian Pork Tenderloin.
- Spinach swap: Frozen spinach works in Thursday’s Impossible Pie. Thaw it first and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Cheese swap: Replace the feta in the Impossible Pie with goat cheese, mozzarella, or shredded cheddar.
- Make it heartier: Add cooked bacon, ham, sausage, or shredded chicken to the Spinach and Feta Impossible Pie.
- Bean swap: Pinto, black, or great northern beans can replace one bean variety in Friday’s casserole.
Master Grocery List: Week 18 Dinners
This grocery list covers only the five Monday-to-Friday dinners. Add the bonus recipe ingredients separately if you plan to make them.
Meat
- 2 ½ lb lean ground beef (1 ½ lb for Monday and 1 lb for Friday)
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (for Tuesday)
- 2 lb pork tenderloin (for Wednesday)
- 1 package of bacon (for Friday)
Produce
- 1 sweet onion (for Monday)
- 2 yellow onions (1 for Tuesday and 1 for Friday)
- 1 white onion (for Thursday
- 1 zucchini (for Tuesday)
- 1 bunch of celery (for Monday)
- 4 carrots (for Monday)
- 1 bulb of garlic (for Thursday)
- 1 package of baby spinach (for Thursday)
- 1 knob of fresh ginger (for Wednesday)
Dairy and Refrigerated
- 1 block of mozzarella cheese (for Tuesday)
- 1 block of Parmesan cheese (for Tuesday)
- 1 container of feta cheese (for Thursday)
- 1 carton of whole milk (for Thursday)
- 4 large eggs (for Thursday)
Pantry
- 1 bottle of extra virgin olive oil (for Tuesday and Thursday)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes, 28 oz (for Monday)
- 3 cans of beef consommé, 10 oz/284 mL each (for Monday)
- 1 can of tomato soup, 10 oz/284 mL (for Monday)
- 1 box of small pasta shells (for Monday)
- 1 can of tomato sauce (for Tuesday)
- 1 box of Bisquick baking mix (for Thursday)
- 1 bottle of soy sauce (for Wednesday)
- 1 bottle of lime juice (for Wednesday)
- 1 container of cornstarch (for Wednesday)
- 1 bottle of ketchup (for Friday)
- 1 package of brown sugar (for Wednesday and Friday)
- 1 can of pork and beans (for Friday)
- 1 can of red kidney beans (for Friday)
- 1 can of white kidney beans (for Friday)
- 1 bottle of mustard (for Friday)
- 1 bottle of white vinegar (for Friday)
Spices and Seasonings
- Dried thyme (for Monday)
- Italian seasoning (for Tuesday)
- Dried oregano (for Thursday)
- Ground ginger (for Wednesday)
- Garlic powder (for Wednesday)
- Onion powder (for Wednesday)
- Crushed red pepper (for Wednesday)
- Chinese five-spice (for Wednesday)
- Salt
- Black pepper
Grab Your Free Printable Shopping List & Meal Plan
To make the week easier, I’ve put together a printable PDF pack with this exact meal plan and the complete grocery list.
This one feels like a good mid-October week to me. Use the whole plan or just grab the recipes that sound good to you.
free ebook!
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