What's For Dinner {Oct. 2019}

I'm finding myself super distracted today.  I just want to run outside and hear the leaves crunching at my feet before the yard people come and get rid of them tomorrow.  The neighborhood ginkgo trees are finally starting to turn from green to golden yellow.  I am in fall heaven (minus the fact that Ethan's soccer game was a balmy 81 degrees yesterday afternoon! No thank you!).  I am also distracted by all this Frozen 2 propaganda. . . and the music.  Apple Music just added Panic! At the Disco's "Into the Unknown" and it's playing non stop over here!   And then, Disney +. . . I just don't know where to start.  It's amazing!

But, before we go any farther into this post, stop what you are doing and go watch this.  Yes, join me on the ultimate get distracted train.  No judgement here . . I promise! 

Okay, so now that that's done.  Let me try to focus.  If you are new here, one of my favorite things to do is share inspiration for family friendly dinners.  These are meals that we cooked during the previous month that were big hits.  Some come from recipes found in cookbooks, but most often, they are from that wonderful internet resource we like to call Pinterest.  Dinners are incredibly important to our family because it's where we connect at the end of the day.  As the kids are getting older, it's one of the only times we are all in one place at one time. . . most of the time.  Plus, eating out all the time is not cost effective and not healthy.  Some night's we eat on the soccer field while Ethan practices, some night's we all need a few minutes so we move to the living room and watch some tv together.  As much as we can, we are spending time together, and eating a delicious meal is something that we all enjoy.

So, here are a few of our favorite meals from October:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

  Link here or this cookbook

It's fall.  Kind of.  I am pretty sure when I made this recipe last month, if actually felt like fall for a week.  This is my go-to recipe for Chicken tortilla soup.  It's super easy especially since I skip the chicken part and throw in some Costco rotisserie chicken to save time.  Also, sauteed the veggies and dumped them in the crockpot and poured the ingredients in and said, "See Ya later!".  Easy Peazy!  I love recipes that are super adaptable! This recipe also makes quite a bit so you might even have a 2 ngihter or even a 3 nighter on your hands.  Raise your hands if you want a night or two off!!! Also, I have frozen leftovers of this soup and it tastes just as good a month or two later. . . just toss in your crockpot and dinner is cooked.  So really, this recipe is amazing and keeps on giving! 

Carne Asada Street Tacos

Link Here

Carne assada street tacos are pretty much my favorite.  There's a great place in town that make amazing tacos that my BFF and I claim non other can compare to.  But, this recipe, is so flavorful that it comes pretty close!  The carne asada steaks marinade in a super simple marinade for a couple of hours and then they grill super quick since they are so thinly sliced.  The ingredients are super simple, just some onion, and cilantro, (we skip the cheese) and maybe a dollup of homemade guac.   This one was another two-nighter and maybe an extra lunch for me. Weston hasn't quite gotten on board with tacos (I am sure he will at some point, as his taste buds continue to mature), but it's easy to just whip up a few quesadilla's and everyone is happy! 

Pumpkin Chili

Link here

Can you tell I was in the soup kind of mood?  I follow Bri McCoy on Insta and she is just a doll!  Even though I am not a Kambucha fan, I watched her show how to make it because she is a blast!  She's one of those writers/instagrammers I would love to just sit down and chat with.  So, when she was talking about her Pumpkin Chili I decided that's what we needed!  I had most of the ingredients, and it was October, so yes, please on the pumpkin!  I didn't have a pumpkin beer, but we used a Barrel House Sunny Days and it was amazing!  This recipe lasted two nights and I am seriously loving the fact that all the recipes I shared provide you with nights where you don't have to cook (win win!). 

Sweet Potato Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
 I don't  have a picture for this one because this one is sort of a mash up of recipes.  There are a ton of paleo/whole 30 recipes out there for sloppy joes, but I really love the Pioneer Woman's recipe.  It's super simple and quick to make.  It's in the same cook book I linked up with the chicken tortilla soup, if you need anymore reason to buy that cookbook.  Or you can find the online version here. And since, we aren't eating as much bread, we are finding we really love stuffing baked sweet potatoes (or as my husband reminds me YAMS) with pretty much everything.  And the baking of the sweet potatoes is my favorite, but in a pinch you can microwave them super quick and they are just as good!

So, that's a wrap up of some of the worthy to note recipes of October.  I hope I didn't make you super hungry as you read this. . . I would love to hear back from you about if you've tried any of these or even if you have a recipe that you think should make it onto our November edition of this post.  Either way, I love your feedback! 

Feel free to check out more inspiration over on my instagram feed here and on my Pinterest food board here. 

Happy Cooking!