SEPTEMBER MENU – A MEAL PLAN

Ok, guys. Summer might be over (our kids go back to school Tuesday) but I fully plan on keeping the fun going while we soak up any remaining sunshine over the next couple months and that means I need to have my act together when it comes to feeding my people. Because my weekly plans were a little inconsistent and the meals were running together in my mind (making it hard to make the plans each week) I thought I’d try doing a full month along with loose day of the week themes.

Here’s the breakdown:

• M | soup, salad, sandwich
• T | mexican
• W | eat out or takeout (but can be switched with any day)
• TH | something easy or leftovers (also can be moved around or subbed for boxed mac + cheese :)
• F | Italian
• SA | slow cooker (for game days!)
• SU | either fish or red meat

Hoping this keeps me from getting into a rut/repeating too many recipes and makes it easier to be flexible and move things around. Let me know what you think!

WEEK 1

M | my almost famous arugula salad with bbq wings, ribs + a few other apps (because it’s yoder’s fantasy draft night! Tilly + her friends will also be making the dads this special dessert)

TU | easy beef and bean burritos (truly easy and we usually have leftovers for more burritos, nachos or dip the next day)

W | eat out or takeout, please!

TH | leftovers or mediterranean orzo salad (add salami or rotisserie chicken!) or other super simple dinner — sandwiches, cereal, pancakes, smoothie, trader joe’s fried rice, toast, etc.

F |make your own pizza party night (because we made it through the first week of school, woot!)

• sauce ideas: pesto, alfredo, garlic with olive oil, bbq or red sauce
• topping ideas: grated cheese, sliced cheese, parm, basil, arugula, sausage, pepperoni, chicken, ground meat, pancetta, peppers, olives, mushrooms, onions, pineapple, artichokes, tomatoes,

SA | slow cooker or insta pot honey mustard chicken (with broccoli + rice — make extra rice for sunday’s dinner)

SU | fish taco bowls

WEEK 2

M | coconut sweet potato lentil soup with rice

TU | huevos rancheros (try this or this recipe)

W | eat out or takeout, please!

TH | leftovers or stuffed peppers from costco :)

F |pasta pomodoro or tomato basil pasta

SA | the best french dips, with insta-pot option (or go the store-bought route and use deli sliced roast beef instead of making a roast)

SU | easy (slow cooker/oven/instapot) mexican chicken for tacos, bowls, nachos, quesadillas, burritos, enchiladas (save some for tuesday night!), etc.

WEEK 3

M | chop salad (love this one) + homemade chicken strips (all of these recipes are goooood so pick your poison here, here + here)

TU | enchiladas (use the chicken from sunday if you can!)

W | eat out or takeout, please!

TH | 30 minute coconut curry chicken meatballs (or leftovers or easy meatball sandwiches — frozen meatballs, jar red sauce, hoagies + cheese!)

F |calzones

SA | healthier instant pot (or slow cooker) coq au vin

SU | ravioli + wild salmon

WEEK 4

M | loaded baked potato soup (or a baked potato bar!)

TU | surprise night off! find a yummy mexican restaurant or grab stuff for a spread (we like the flautas or street taco kit from costco)

W | eat out or takeout, please!

TH | leftovers or tuna melts with crudités + fries

F |pizza for the kids, date night in for the parents! try making one of these yummy pizzas together while sipping on grownup juice.

SA | white bean and chicken chili (just 5 ingredients) or your favorite chili recipe!

SU | Chinese beef + broccoli noodles

BREAKKIE | steel cut oatmeal + a scoop of ice cream, breakfast burritos, cereal, banana or pumpkin (too soon?) bread, smoothies (while it’s still warm)

LUNCH | chicken salad sandwiches, ravioli, cracker stackers (turkey, salami, cheese, crackers), bagel sandwiches, cucumbers/carrots + ranch, any and all summer fruit before we switch over to apples (lol), bunny crackers/gold fish/TJ rockets, popcorn, peanut butter pretzels, almonds/trailmix, yogurt + sprinkles,

SNACK | soft pretzel bites + dip, lots of fruit + veggies, roasted broccoli, edamame, homemade cookies, chocolate milk, popcorn, chocolate croissants, avocado slices, chips + dip

This post is dedicated to my mama who’s inspired so much in my life but especially my love of cooking for family (trust me, it did not come naturally!) and how to be resourceful with what God’s given me. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!

xo, Rae

P.S. – I’ll still be sharing my weekly meal plan slides (based on these posts!) over on stories too, for easy screen shotting or saving!

P.P.S — I’ve also been working on a “cooking with kids” post so stay tuned!