31 Dinner Ideas For October

Frugal living isn’t eating beans and rice every day. Sometimes being more frugal minded is simply planning meals for the week before going grocery shopping. Oh, the hundreds that you could save when you have dinner ideas planned and a list in your hand!

YES, a frugal person could absolutely eat steak, shrimp, and salmon and STILL be considered frugal.

You will hear me say over and over the huge value to planning meals and grocery shopping less often. This saves in time ($), gas ($$), impulse spending ($$$), ect… and could prove to be an invaluable practice in the home.

The problem with meal planning for the week tends to be the lack of dinner ideas. Recently, in multiple different social media threads and conversations so many people have been saying they are always at a loss for what to make for dinner.  

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So, What’s For Dinner?

First, when getting dinner ideas for the week, check your freezer and cabinets. Is there at least one meal that could be made with what you have on hand? Write it on the calendar.

While some might have enough food stored for emergencies to last weeks, months, even years it’s no good to them if it’s all spoiled in the end.

Using, here and there, what you either stored intentionally or randomly happen to have will ensure that food is getting rotated out, not expiring on shelves or getting freezer burnt, and gives you more flexibility in your grocery budget.

Next, if time allows, look at your local store flyer and plan dinners based on sales.

No time or interest in combing over flyers? Then don’t! You could STILL save a ton just by planning ahead even if the items aren’t on sale, by reducing the amount of times you go to the store each week.

Jot down your family favorites. Make sure to add at least one each week. This gives you a sure bet win for dinner delight!

What about all the other days?!?

Some people are great about making a large piece of meat and eating it every day of the week in various forms which definitely saves especially with the prices of meat lately.

 However, that isn’t our family. Troy tends to get sick of meals if we have the same type of meat two days in a row, so I try to rotate our proteins regularly. But what about leftovers? If leftovers aren’t eaten for lunch the next day, then I try to freeze them and right away write it on the calendar for a future dinner to ensure it gets used and not wasted. 

Every household’s likes, dislikes, needs, and habits are so different. Find a system that works for you and YOUR family then run with it!

If you are stumped on what to make for dinner, here are 31 dinner ideas for the upcoming month. Jot down on your own calendar what might perk your taste buds and share your own ideas in the comments below. 

**Discriptions/links to recipes below image

31 Dinner Ideas

1. Baked Ham & Honey Roasted Brussel Sprouts – Turn a $17 ham into tasting like a $60 one with this Copycat Honey Baked Ham Glaze Recipe! I tend to lean on regular and NOT spiral cut when it comes to ham to give more versatility when it comes to using leftovers. Also, I dice up any leftovers and put into freezer ziplocks in 1 cup portion sizes to get the most out of the ham with future meals. Don’t forget to save the bone too! 
2. Stromboli – Make your own dough, or use premade, even Pillsbury type in a tube works. Flatten, in the center layer slices of lunch meat, ham, pepperoni, salami, add a bit of sauce, top with cheese and fold like a burrito or get fancy with a braid. Bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Ham & Potato Soup (GREAT FOR FREEZING!)- I make a double batch of this, separate it into serving sizes, freeze, and add it to future calendars. It’s a delicious, hearty, soul warming soup to have on hand.
4. Simple Baked Ziti and Side Salad– Cook 1lb. Pasta according to packaging. Heat Sauce. Drain Pasta and put into 13 x 9 casserole dish.Pour sauce over pasta and mix in dollops of Riccota Cheese. Top with mozzarella, Bake @ 400 for about 10 minutes or until cheese is  melted. 
5. Skillet Chicken Pot Pie    – This is the most flavorful pot pie that I have ever had and a staple recipe in our home!
6. Burgers on the Grill
7. Make Your Own Pizza Night! – Another must have recipe in our house is this Bread Machine Pizza Dough Recipe. I make double batches and either use it all or freeze half for next time.
8. Pan Seared Cod w/ Basil Sauce and Rice Pilaf
9. Chili (GREAT FOR FREEZING!)
10. Open Faced “Fancy” Tuna Melts- Jazz them up with some fancy bread like Roasted Garlic sliced thick,lightly toasted. Mix in some capers with your mayo, tuna, salt, pepper, garlic powder and spread over bread then top with munster cheese. SOOO good!
11. Lasagna (FREEZE LEFTOVERS!)
12. Apple & Sage Porkchops, Mashed Potatoes, & Green Beans
13. Marinated Meat & Veggie Shish Kabobs over Rice Pilaf
14. Breaded Chicken, Sweet Potato, Steamed Broccoli
15. Pierogies & Crockpot (or pan fried) Kielbasa- Whether or not you eat the addition is up to you, but cooking keilbasa in saurkraut is the only way to go in our house, due to how well it tenderizes the meat. Throw cut up keilbasa into a crockpot, pour over a package, can, or jar of saurkraut, then top with a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (ours is Sweet Baby Ray’s brand) and cook on low for 6-8 hours. You could also do this in a pan for a faster and using a smaller amount of saurkraut and BBQ but the keilbasa won’t turn out nearly as tender. Still delicious though, espescially served along side of pierogies! 
16. Meatball Grinders (FREEZE LEFTOVER MEATBALLS!)
17. Beef Stir Fry
18. Spinach Artichoke Chicken Penne – Turned a crowd pleasing, addicting party app  of Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip into a main dish by adding some chicken and pastsa …..YUUUUUMMMMM!
19. Versatile Sloppy Joe Medley- Have it as a classic sloppy joe sandwich, or serve it over rice, we also enjoy this concoction served over homestyle fried diced potatoes. Oh! And over tortilla chips for nachos! The recipe is simple- 1lb ground Beef, browned in a pan. Add 1 can tomato soup, 1 cup of your favorite salsa, and 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Mix it all up and heat thoroughly in the pan and done! We also make hunter packs out of this when camping.
20. Glazed Salmon and Side Salad
21. Taco Night
22. Pot Roast & Veggies in a Bag
23. Stuffed Peppers (FREEZE LEFTOVERS!)
24. Savory Shepherd’s Pie (FREEZE LEFTOVERS!)
25. Shrimp Scampi Pasta – We start with this Shrimp Scampi recipe as the base, but double all of the ingredients except for the shrimp and red pepper flakes. We add capers at the same time as the garlic and serve over Angel Hair Pasta and top with Parmesan Cheese. I swear this turns our better than if you went to Red Lobster for Dinner. Amazing!
26. Roasted Chicken, Au Gratin Potatoes, and Broccoli
27. Sausage, Sauteed Peppers & Onion Subs
28. Chicken Quesadillas
29. Zucchini Quiche
30. BBQ Ribs-Cut a rack of Baby Back Ribs in half (to make more manageable in a pot), Boil in a Large stock pot for 30 minutes with 1-2 Bay Leaves added to the water at the beginning. Remove ribs from water using tongs and place in a 13×9 baking dish. coat both sides with lots of BBQ Sauce (We love Sweet Baby Ray’s brand), cover with aluminum foil and Bake at 350 for 3 hours (flipping ribs and recovering with foil halfway through). Remove foil and Broil for a few minutes to get a nice glazed finger licking good coating. Ribs should be fall off the bone tender, if not cook for a bit longer. if they are tough it usually means they need to cook more instead of less.
31. Paula Dean’s Meatloaf (FREEZE LEFTOVERS!), Mashed Potatoes & Corn– I HIGHLY recommend making two while you are at it and freezing whatever isn’t eaten because this meatloaf is one that you won’t be able to wait to eat again!

As always, I would LOVE to hear from you as we are on this journey together and learn from eachother in so many ways.

What are some dinner ideas on YOUR family’s menu this week??