Weekly Menu Planning - September 2025

Welcome to the September 2025 edition of the thread where we share our weekly menus and more.

Some of us share a day by day plan, others report last week’s actual meals, and some put together a list of ideas to work from the week. You do you, and take comfort that the best laid plans do change for all of us!

If you have recipe links or sources, do share them, as we all love picking up new ideas from everyone else’s menus! For context and because we’re interested, please include your location and how many you plan and/or cook for.

It is back-to-school time for many of us, whether it’s at the front of the classroom or packing lunches for young scholars. Some of us are only affected if we get stuck behind a school bus. But there is always extra energy in the air this time of year!

(The August thread remains available for reporting actuals and any follow-up discussions.)

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Greetings, People.

I am hoping to keep this a mostly no-shop week so we can whittle down fridge, freezer, and garden surplus. Aside from wanting some greens for salads, a lemon, and a rib or two of celery, I think I’m on track.

Cooking for two adults in the PNW:

FRI: ATK’s red beans and rice (sorry – paywall). Will use Uli’s fresh Cajun andouille, peppers, and onions.

SAT: Pizza night (red sauce). Chopped salad with charred scallion dressing.

SUN: Recipe Tin Eats Thai beef salad – I typically leave out the mint, and add green peppers.

MON: Salmon Caesar with scallion-roasted fish. Homemade croutons.

TUE: I’m thinking pasta or a noodle stir-fry (with veg).

WED: Seafood chowder. Herbed biscuits. Cucumber salad.

THUR: Pan-roasted chicken thighs. Spuds of some variety. Green beans.

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Aloha, bon jour, salute, was geht, fellow HOs?

Cooking for two wild & crazy souls in the Penna boonz as ever, and still mostly finding inspiration at the local FMs, the contents of our freezer, fridge & pantry, and of course everyone’s fabulous meals here :slight_smile:

The temps have dropped quite a bit this week, which is wonderful cuz I’m about ready for shweater weather, but the weekend may yet see more summery temps! Yay for Labor Day weekend!!!

TODAY my band has a gig: Jazz Thursday at the venue we play bi-monthly. Rumor has it we no longer get 50% off on food — just drinks. That’s a-ok by me, since I’ve not ordered food there in eons, and we have enough left of that wonderful shrimp & corn chowdah I made yesterday to have a bowl before or after. Maybe even enough to feed my sax player, who’s asked to crash with us (he lives out of town) :blush:

MAÑANA: my PIC thawed and marinated lamb loin and shoulder chops yesterday & plans on grilling these. Sides TBD. If I hadn’t blanked on snatching up some of those fantastic green beans at the Tue FM those would’ve been the perfect candidate. Maybe I can find equally good beans at the Friday market :crossed_fingers:t2:

SATURDAY: possibly something with the shrimp stock I made.

SUNDAY: Labor Day potluck with a hungry horde. MOAR lamb courtesy of my PIC who will be trimming, cutting, marinating & skewering 2 legs of lamb for kebabs, melitsanosalata & tzatziki by yours truly — plus whatever our friends are bringing. Thankfully, a lot of very talented cooks among them :smiling_face:

MONDAY: possibly leftovers from the potluck.

TUESDAY: smoked chicken tacos

WEDNESDAY: time for another gathering with my chile heads at a Sichuan restaurant. It’s either Wednesday or Thursday, depending on what works best for the majority.

Happy cooking, y’all!

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Cooking for 3 in southwestern Ontario. Mostly comfort food next week.

Monday : Moussaka, green beans from the garden.

Tuesday: Tuna Casserole

Wednesday: roast lamb chunks with tzatziki, new potatoes

Thursday: chicken piccata with angel hair

Friday : fish to be determined.

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Hello friends we finally got rain in Ottawa! We had a couple of false starts recently but five minutes of rain isn’t going to get our lawns and gardens growing however we got quite a bit of rain yesterday. I worked in the office yesterday then had to pick up my CSA after work. I ran a couple of errands in the neighbourhood as well since the pickup spot is in a part of town I don’t go to too often even though it’s not that far away from home. I was SOAKED when I got home so errand running for 90 minutes in the rain maybe wasn’t my smartest move :upside_down_face: But I got everything done so I can get on with my weekend. My menus this week are as follows:

Today: It’s still cool and gloomy out today so I didn’t feel like venturing out too far to pick up lunch. I went to the nearby deli for lunch choosing spaghetti and meatballs since I felt like something warm and I am too lazy to make meatballs myself. I will have a corn salad for dinner tonight.

Saturday: Clean out the fridge and freezer day. I keep finding things in the freezer that I forgot to add to my inventory list. Also the fridge needs a good cleaning. I love all this fresh corn I’ve been getting but I keep finding bits of silk that keep attaching itself to everything :frowning: Dinner will be a repeat of last weekend: bagel, cream cheese, cucumber and a salad of tomatoes and green beans with a dijon vinaigrette. The original recipe calls for using dijon mustard rather than horseradish and it makes for a nice, easy summer salad.

Sunday: I have “museum visit” pencilled in my calendar although I haven’t decided which one yet… Dinner will be a basa fillet with a panzanella salad.

Monday: Labour Day Monday. Some of the unions in Ottawa band together and organize a Labour Day parade every year and they start their march at city hall then end at a park in west centretown. It takes about an hour (we walk slowly) then end at the park for a bbq. I went a couple of years ago and enjoyed networking with other unions and hearing what other peoples issues are. I decided to go back this year. I will have bbq’d something (either a hot dog or hamburger) then another salad for dinner.

Tuesday: Back to work. I will have a hamburger casserole (ground beef and an assortment of veggies stir fried on the stove top) for dinner.

Wednesday: I found two servings of dal in the freezer so I will have one with rice.

Thursday: Bbq at work. The property management company that owns my office building has a tenant appreciation bbq every summer so I will be having another bbq this week! I will have another goat cheese, roasted beet and farro salad for dinner.

Have a nice week everyone.

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Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga, where we’re enjoying a nice run of fake fall with cool-for-us temperatures.
Plans for mostly September:
Friday, August 29 (tonight): Shepherd’s pie from deep in my archives; salad with charred eggplant dressing from Falastin
Breakfast: blueberry pancakes
Saturday: Going to a farm-to-table dinner at a farm “among the sunflowers”; should be fun
Sunday: Chicken tinga from Milk Street, probably as tacos; lemon tart
Monday: the shrimp scampi we didn’t have last week; tomato salad
Tuesday: Scrounge
Wednesday: Stir-fried lettuce bowls with ginger fried rice from Family
Thursday: Scrounge
Friday: Corn nuggets from Extra Good Things

Happy Labor Day weekend to all celebrating, and happy cooking!

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Cooking for one in mid-coast Maine.

I am on a mission to eat down my freezer inventory so of course I bought a couple of duck legs at a farmers market today. But how could I resist??

Tonight: Friday night nibbles.
Saturday: grilled steak tips with crumbled blue cheese, FM salad, Jamie Oliver Swiss Chard with Cannellini Beans.
Sunday: beef and romano bean stir fry with jasmine rice.
Monday: roasted duck leg with a salad of black beans, corn, radishes, scallions and baby cilantro (loosely based on skinnytaste Fiesta Bean Salad and for sure using her dressing which is great.).
Tuesday: pork chop with baby kale and little potatoes
Wednesday: roasted duck leg with l.o. chard and cannellini beans
Thursday: farmers market and fishmonger finds

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Your entire week sounds positively delicious :yum:

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Survived the whirlwind that was the first week of the semester. Now, I’m just hoping the students will show back up after the long weekend.

For two adults in San Diego:

Breakfasts: That TJs mini pumpkin sheet cake to start. :wink: Followed by days of granola and fruit.

S: (tonight) takeout - BBQ chicken pizza for me, pepperoni for him.

Su: Purchased crab cakes with Caesar salad - seafood

M: TJ’s Santa Maria tri-tip sandwiches (avocado, onions, peppers, cheese)

T: Mashed potato tacos - vegetarian

W: Pasta with leftover tri-tip and veggies in a cream sauce

Th: Leftover tri-tip in a salad with garlic bread - salad

F: Probably an early dinner out before heading to our favorite bookstore (Mysterious Galaxy) for a silent reading evening.

Take care of yourselves!

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Hi everyone

Days are flying by and yet the going seems slow. The past several disappeared in lots of visiting related to the Ganpati festival, which concludes tomorrow. I have also decided to extend my trip, which has relieved some of the ambient stress.

Just wrote out a tentative plan for the week including all meals, which took some effort because there are 3 or 4 meals per day in these parts :grin:.

Ideas for the week:
– Mushroom & spinach lasagne, Indian style – paneer for ricotta, mixed into a thick bechamel plus sauteed spinach and mushrooms, and a slightly spicy tomato sauce. I’ll use a loaf pan, which should make two meals for the two lasagna lovers.
– Potato chops (ie baby lamb chops coated with mashed potato & pan-fried) + cauliflower cheese (aka gratin).
– Biryani (finally) – mutton for us, soya “chaap” / local mock chicken for mom.
– Homemade Frankies / Kathi rolls – big parathas (coated with egg on one side for the chicken eaters) + malai chicken tikka and soya chaap / mock chicken tikka, pickled onions, green chutney.
– Kerala vegetable stew with appams.
– Sushi bowls
– Mom’s fish curry (with pomfret) + rice
– Fondue (from frozen) with favored accompaniments: baby potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and homemade crusty bread
– Another whole roast chicken: it was a huge hit last week in its simplest form (courtesy a tasty chicken to begin with) – I think I’ll spatchcock it to try to get more even browning in the little countertop oven

I also hope to stop procrastinating and finally bake some bread this week!

Hope those of you in North America enjoyed the long weekend. Wish you all a calm and tasty week ahead.

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Happy Labour Day, menu planners!

I have rosemary, oregano and lemon pork ribs slow roasting in oven as I garden.
Olivye/ Russian salad will be served with the ribs.

Tuesday will be mac and cheese.

Wednesday will be chicken piccata with pasta.

Moussaka on Thursday.

Fish on Friday to be determined. Maybe English fish pie

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Hi-ho, HOs. Still cooking for two cranky old folk in Central PA.

After an emotional rollercoaster of a weekend I’m hoping for fewer turbulences ahead :crossed_fingers:t2:

Our potluck on Sunday was wonderful, with many friends we hadn’t seen / who hadn’t seen one another since before the summer break, and with TPSO amazing food. We are truly lucky to have so many good cooks in our circle :slight_smile:

Unfortunately, there were no leftovers I’d planned on having yesterday (save for a cuke salad), so instead we picked up terribly mediocre Indian for dinner last night. The cuke salad was the highlight of our meal.

We also already had the smoked chicken tacos I’d planned for this week, and most of the chicken has been decimated in the meantime.

Today I had another chiro appointment for my decrepit body, and a glimmer of hope for my chronic pain issue: stemwave therapy. It may be able to break up the scar tissue that is likely the culprit for my troubles. Now, wouldn’t that be excellent? To sit like a normal person again after 2+ years? Hell yeah! MOAR crossed fingers.

Dinner will be a spicy shrimp & corn pasta with various veg bits & bobs from the crisper. The heat is provided by the batch of hatch chiles I roasted on Saturday, the rest of which will join the other bag in the freezer.

Tomorrow I’m gathering my chile heads for the first time since we got back from Berlin at a Sichuan restaurant I’ve only been to once many moons ago, as our beloved hole-in-the-wall with The Best Sichuan cukes, mapo tofu & cumin beef is no more :sob: since the owner retired. We’ll see how it compares.

Thursday TBD, possibly hatch chile cheeborgerz & fries.

Friday we’re likely to have a poker game (been a while) at our friends’ house, so I have no idear what we’ll eat, but probably some type of delivery. Might be tricky since it’s yet another home game woo hoo :roll_eyes:

Saturday I’ve reserved a big table for my gal pals and a few other hangers-on to catch my friend’s show at a venue even more out in the boonz than where we live IYCBI! Another fellow singer’s spouse who used to be the chef at a favorite small plates place in town recently moved over there, so the food should be as good as the music :blush:

Sunday we will hopefully see the return of our Spicy Sunday tradition, which usually means some Thai dish. It’s been a while since I made laab, but a curry might also be a possibility.

That’s about as far ahead as I can think ATM.

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Here’s my plan for two adults and a kiddo with an unpredictable palate in Asheville, NC:

Upon reviewing, I can tell already it’s good that I have some kid-friendly stuff squirreled away in the freezer. :expressionless:

Also, we’re camping next weekend and I haven’t factored that in yet, so some of these will carry over to the week or two.

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This all sounds delicious.

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Thank you! Let’s see if I actually make them :sweat_smile::rofl:

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I have always wondered about this at TJs. How do you cook it?

I loved these in LA! I made potato quesadillas a while back, thanks for the crunchy taco reminder!

This sounds wonderful. I was just reading about a reading “summer camp” organized by an online book club that started during the pandemic.

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Hi, everyone. Cooking for three in the Boston burbs, sort of - we were away over the holiday weekend (visiting family and watching football) and have a busy week ahead. Most of the cooking I’ve planned for this week is pantry/freezer based, as I made a quick stop at our pricey local grocery store for the bare minimum essentials like milk and produce.

Mon: green chicken chili (adapted for the IP), cornbread (Mark Bittman’s NYT recipe)
Lunches for the week: cowboy caviar but hold the avocado and 2 bell peppers instead of 1

Tues: chicken parm stuffed peppers - these were new for us, pretty good though the panko on top was pointless. Garlic bread on the side.

Weds: takeout for the guys, tbd for me as I have a work thing and won’t be home until late-ish

Thurs: pork fried rice

Fri: leftovers

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This seems just the ticket for Spicy Sunday :slight_smile:

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Do you have hot paprika or Kashmiri chile powder? If you don’t, use regular and bump the cayenne up (or chop up a few Thai chiles).

Just want you to enjoy it at your preferred heat level :wink:

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