• About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Recipe Box
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Recipe Box
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • Recipe Box
×
Home » Meal Plans

Meal Plan 42: October 8-14

Updated: Oct 5, 2025 by Marye

Collage of images from meal plan 42 for pinning to Pinterest.

This week's meal plan is full of easy, slow cooker comfort foods from country style ribs and meatballs sandwiches to smothered chicken. As always there are tips for saving time and money.

Collage of images from the meal plan for October 8-14.
Table of Contents
  • 📅 Food Holidays
  • 🍹This week's cocktail
  • October 8
  • October 9
  • October 10
  • October 11
  • October 12
  • October 13
  • October 14
  • 💬 Comments

📅 Food Holidays

We celebrate a couple of fun food holidays this week. They're silly little holidays but it gives us an opportunity to make some memories and have some fun!

  • October 8 is National Fluffer Nutter Day, the perfect time to give these fluffer nutter whoopie pies a try!
  • October 9 is National Pizza and Beer Day - put them together with this beer pizza dough. SO good.
  • October 12 is National Pumpkin Pie Day, aren't you happy you don't have to wait until Thanksgiving for pumpkin pie?

Here are some tips for this week -

  • Double some of the recipes and freeze half. Find out how to meal prep for freezing.
  • Make a simple garlic butter by stirring together 1 cup softened butter, 1 tablespoon garlic salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste), and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Let stand for 15 minutes for the flavors to blend.
  • Grab different types of the bagged salads for quick side dishes. They usually come with a unique mixture of ingredients that take salads up a notch.
  • Save some of the biscuits and make biscuits and southern cream gravy for breakfast one day.
  • Remember to prep as many of your ingredients at once as you can. Chop all the onions for the week, chop the celery for the week, etc.
  • Move the days around as you need to. Don't forget there are more meal plans here.

🍹This week's cocktail

Closeup of the grapefruit tequila sour cocktail in a glass.

Grapefruit Tequila Sour

Y'all, this grapefruit tequila sour is one of my favorites. It's tangy and refreshing - not really a fall flavor but just delicious!

October 8

closeup image of meatballs in marinara with parmesan sprinkled on top

Spaghetti & Meatballs

These slow cooker meatballs are SO easy & tender! Just shape them and put them right into the crock pot raw. They simmer all day in marinara - and you have meatballs for dinner! Make double or triple. They freeze well and you'll need some for later in the week.

Slices of French bread on a linen cloth.

Garlic Bread

I love this quick & easy 30 minute baguette. Make garlic butter and spread on the slices and broil for a minute or two. Make extra loaves - you'll need them later in the week.

biscotti

Pumpkin Biscotti

Pumpkin Biscotti are easy to make and they last for weeks at room temperature. Perfect for lingering at the table with a cup of coffee!

October 9

Overhead view of chicken and noodles for feature image.

Chicken & Noodles

Chicken & Noodles is a quick bowl of country comfort. When you are poaching the chicken breast make extra to save time later in the week. Serve with a side salad.

Close up of biscuits piled on a plate.

Angel Biscuits

These southern yeast biscuits are quick to make, like regular biscuits but rise high and light like a roll. Mix up some softened butter with a few teaspoons of honey and a pinch of cinnamon to serve with them. YUM!

Close up of a slice of apple pie made with red hots candy.

Candy Apple Pie

Candy apple pie tastes like old fashioned candied apples! Apples are simmered in Red Hots syrup before being added to a buttery, flaky crust. Use a purchased crust to save time if you wish.

October 10

Chicken bake being served from a white casserole dish.

Swiss Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

ChatGPT said:

Creamy, cheesy, and unapologetically cozy-this Swiss chicken and stuffing casserole is pure comfort in a 9x13. It's the kind of dinner that makes you forget the laundry's still in the washer.

Close up overhead view of a bowl of gree

Southern Green Beans and Bacon

Tender green beans are simmered with bacon and onions. Delicious!

Closeup view of the whole top of the pie for the feature image.

Pumpkin Pie

The original Libby's Pumpkin Pie recipe is still my favorite! It's so easy - no need to wait for Thanksgiving.

October 11

Meatball sandwich covered in melted Mozzarella cheese.

Meatball Sandwich

Remember the meatballs and baguettes we saved from Friday? Enjoy an almost instant dinner by using them for meatball sandwiches. Add Mozzarella to the tops and broil a few minutes just to melt.

Closeup of macaroni salad in a bowl.

Macaroni Salad

I love a classic macaroni salad! It's easy to make ahead of time (will be fine for a day or two in the fridge before serving) and it is the perfect side to all kinds of sandwiches.

Chocolate upside down cake makes its own fudge frosting. So easy and fast! RestlessChipotle.com

Chocolate Upside Down Cake

Chocolate Upside Down Cake is an old, old recipe that saves time because the frosting is baked right on the cake!

October 12

A fork lifting a scoop of the casserole. Square image for feature image.

King Ranch Chicken

Today you'll use the leftover chicken you saved from Saturday to make this simple King Ranch Chicken casserole. It's crazy that so much flavor can be SO easy. A salad with tortilla chips broken up into it is a delicious side.

Hatch chile cheese bread is tender and light with lots of smoky, cheesy flavor and a Hatch chile kick. From Restlesschipotle.com

Hatch Chile Cheese Bread

Hatch Chile Cheese Bread makes great sandwiches, too! Save some to serve with dinner tomorrow.

Closeup of a serving of peach dump cake with melting ice cream on top.

Peach Cobbler Dump Cake

Easiest peach cobbler ever! Just dump the ingredients in a pan, bake, and serve! No fuss at all! Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

October 13

Overhead view of the finished meat in a slow cooker.

Almost NO prep time! The whole family is going to love these country ribs in crock pot! Leftovers make great sandwiches or stuffing for tacos!

creamy potatoes au gratin

Potatoes au Gratin

Potatoes au gratin the way it used to be done! Thinly sliced potatoes, onions, cheese, and a homemade cream sauce. It takes 1 ½ hours to bake so either make this on your day off and warm it up or substitute fried potatoes.

one praline cheesecake brownie. a rich brownie is covered with cheesecake then topped with pecan praline. Recipe image

Cheesecake Brownies

Today is National Cream Cheese Brownie Day and what better way to celebrate than these Pecan Praline Cheesecake Brownies?

October 14

smothered chicken feature image - chicken with gravy on plate.

Smothered Chicken

Smothered chicken is a delicious southern dish that you can make right in the skillet! Creamy gravy, tender chicken... It's the best!

dinner rolls on a plate

Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

These are homemade brown n serve rolls. I'll show you how to make a batch and freeze to brown and serve as needed. Plus the are super light and delish!

Closeup of cake and frosting.

Lemon Cream Cake

This easy lemon sheet cake has an amazing, lighter-than-air whipped lemon frosting.

More Meal Plans: What to Cook This Week

  • A hand writing filling out a meal plan.
    Real Life Meal Planning
  • A collage of the main dishes from this meal plan.
    Meal Plan 53
  • Collage of main dishes from this meal plan.
    Meal Plan 52: December 17 - 23
  • Collage of main dish images with a title text overlay, "Dec 10 - 16 Meal Plan".
    Meal Plan 51: December 10 - 16

Love it? Share it!

143 shares
  • Facebook
  • Flipboard

About Marye

Meet Marye Audet, a wizard in the kitchen and a storyteller at heart. Marye is like your eccentric but fun aunt who knows all the secret recipes and isn't afraid to spill them.

Comments

No Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Love it? Give it 5 stars!




Marye Audet-White, founder of Restless Chipotle Media

Hey Y'all, I'm Marye

Welcome to my kitchen! ☕

NY Times bestselling author. 10 cookbooks. Mom of 8 kids. Homeschooling mom for 22 years. Addicted to Hallmark Christmas Movies. Collector of old cookbooks.

Find out more

🎃 Halloween Treats

  • Closeup of purple and green swirled Beetlejuice Halloween cookies with eyes.
    Beetlejuice Halloween Cookie Recipe
  • Closeup of the Oreo Pops for feature image.
    Jack Skellington Oreo Pops
  • Close up of a cheeseball that looks like a Jack-o-lantern.
    Pumpkin Cheese Ball Recipe
  • Feature image showing a closeup of one of the finished cookies.
    Nutter Butter Ghost Cookies

🫖 Picklefork Stories

Picklefork town crest.
Cozy short audio stories about small town life. Click here to visit Picklefork

👑 Reader Favorites

  • Square overhead of chicken for feature image.
    Crockpot Angel Chicken
  • Close up of the sauce showing the creamy texture.
    Copycat Red Robin Campfire Sauce Recipe
  • Wooden spatula removing fried potatoes out of iron skillet.
    Crispy Fried Potatoes in a Cast Iron Skillet (Southern Style)
  • Closeup of chicken and rice for feature image.
    Crockpot Smothered Chicken
  • A sliced loaf of english muffin bread.
    Easy English Muffin Bread – No Knead, Perfect for Toasting!
  • Two finished loaves of Amish white bread cooling on a table.
    No-Fail Amish White Bread

📚 Romantasy Reader?

Promotional image of a raven with the text: Restless Raven Press. Fantasy. Fire. Feral Romance.

Recipes aren’t my only obsession. I write fiction, too. Join the Restless Raven email list and get a spicy deleted scene from Book 1.

Footer

^ back to top

About

  • About Marye Audet-White
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Contact
MaryeAudet Whiteandherchildren Dec

Featured In:

Places Restless Chipotle has been featured

We improve our products and advertising by using Microsoft Clarity to see how you use our website. By using our site, you agree that we and Microsoft can collect and use this data. Our privacy statement has more details.

Copyright ©2006 - 2025 Restless Chipotle Media, LLC

Picklefork Tales Copyright ©2025 Marye Audet, Restless Chipotle Media