What a month! Two of my children have roles in the community theatre production of Sleepy Hollow so that means 26 of the 31 days in October are filled with late rehearsals, days when we’re gone from 11am to 9pm, and 12 performances!
We typically cook at home 3 meals a day but with this schedule it’s going to be tough. I want to keep my commitment to saving money and eating better by not eating fast food, but man it’s so convenient (at the moment!) Due to our crazy schedule you’ll notice that the vast majority of these dishes are make ahead meals for the slow cooker. These dishes allow me to make a meal & freeze it, which means all I have to do is throw one in the fridge to thaw the day ahead of time and toss it in the slow cooker before we leave for rehearsals. When we come home we’ll have a meal ready to go!
By the way, if you’re looking for a slow cooker that doesn’t overcook your food let me show you what I use. I use two that I absolutely adore.
| This 7 quart Rival Slow Cooker is my go-to for soups, stews, as well as whole poultry and large cuts of meat. It’s large enough to make a meal to feed my big family and the low is actually low, so there isn’t much worry of overcooking. | |
| While oval slow cookers are great for large meals and big cuts of meat, sometimes you just need a smaller one, and sometimes you need a round one. I LOVE the flexibility of this Hamilton Beech 3-in-1 Slow Cooker AND it is, hands down, the BEST slow cooker I have ever used. I was worried that it wouldn’t heat up or cook right but everything comes out perfectly each and every time. I also love that there are three sizes of crocks to choose from. The 2 quart crock is great for things like melting chocolate, cooking a few baked potatoes, or softening dried beans. The middle crock, which is 4 quarts, is great for doing soups & appetizers. The large crock is a full 6 quarts and is great for family-size soups, but also homemade yogurt and bread (yes! BREAD!) |
ANYHOW, back to the menu! I’m planning on taking a Saturday to prep the majority of the meals and get them in the freezer. Anything I don’t get done I can do on the mornings I am home. I also have a lot of quick fresh dinners on the list to balance things out. Side dishes are always some kind of vegetable or a green salad, whatever is cheap when we do our in-between shopping trips for the fresh stuff. Also, you may notice a cocktail weenie night, don’t judge! LOL! It’s my son’s 9th birthday and he has requested cocktail weenies, “not frozen” corn on the cob (in October??), cantaloupe, and ice cream cake.
October Meal Plan for 2015
CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY October Meal Plan on Pinterest.
