September Meal Plan: Quick Meal Ideas

September means back to school! For many, this may look different this year. While your family is working on fine tuning your schedule, give yourself a break in the kitchen with this month’s collection of quick meal ideas.

One of my favorite kitchen shortcuts is my Instant Pot. This electric pressure cooker has been very popular for several years, and with good reason! Pressure cooking is not only super fast and efficient, but the end result is moist and tender. Forgot to take something out for dinner? No problem! I love that I can take a frozen chunk of meat, plop it in the pressure cooker, and be eating in no time.  And, if the temperatures have yet to drop where you live, you’ll love how the pressure cooker (especially an Instant Pot) doesn’t heat up the kitchen. This month, you’ll find several pressure cooked meals.

Need More?

I link directly to recipes whenever possible, but sometimes I make a note about how I alter a recipe to accommodate for budget or nutrition. You’ll find these notes in the Notes section further down in this September meal plan.

The Details

This collection of quick meal ideas serves four or five average eaters, but you can make needed adjustments based on your family size and personal desires.  This collection of quick meal ideas  features whole, real, and traditional foods. Foods are often (but not always) fermented, cultured, soaked, sprouted, or soured.

For many of these dishes, a loaf of nice crusty sourdough bread is wonderful alongside! Don’t have a sourdough starter? Learn how to catch a wild starter.

Be sure to scroll down to the Notes section for valuable information!

 

Partial Week

Tuesday: Eggs in Marinara
Wednesday: Instant Pot Lemon-Dill Salmon & Asparagus
Thursday: Easy, Paleo Sweet and Sour Chicken
Friday: 15-minute KETO Asian Beef Bowl (see Notes)
Saturday: Bean Burritos (see Notes)

Week 1

Sunday: Salmon Curry
Monday: Instant Pot Mediterranean Spinach-Feta Pie
Tuesday: Healthy Instant Pot Thai Chicken {30 Minute Meal}
Wednesday: Ground Beef Curry / Pakistani Kima
Thursday: Red Beans: Rajma Style (see Notes)
Friday: Creamy Curried Chicken (see Notes)
Saturday: Low-Carb Hamburger Soup

Week 2

Sunday: Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken (slow cooker too!)
Monday: Salmon Cakes with Homemade Lemon Mayonnaise (see Notes)
Tuesday: Quick and Easy Gyros
Wednesday: Garbanzo Bean Curry (see notes)
Thursday: Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
Friday: Easy Keto Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Saturday: Taco Soup

Week 3

Sunday: Sheet Pan Garlic Butter Salmon, Asparagus, and Potatoes
Monday: Best Shakshuka
Tuesday: Spanish Omelet Tortilla
Wednesday: Sort of Goulash, but not really…
Thursday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup
Friday: Egg Roll in a Bowl
Saturday: Medallions in Cream Sauce (see Notes)

Week 4 (Partial)

Sunday: Feta Shrimp Skillet
Monday: Egg Curry (see Notes)
Tuesday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs (see Notes)
Wednesday: Curry Lo Mein Style Dinner

Notes

Partial Week

Friday:

This is written as a Keto recipe, but feel free to use rice as your base if you’re not grain-free. So good! Make extra rice for tomorrow night’s bean burritos.

Saturday:

You probably know I’m a huge fan of beans. Usually I cook my own beans from dry (learn more in my book Stretchy Beans), but keeping canned beans on hand can really be a huge help for those nights when the meal plan is off the rails. This is one of those recipes that I try to keep everything on hand for as an emergency meal.

Week 1

Thursday:

This is a yummy dish that can be spicy or not. I usually soak and cook my kidney for this, but you can use two cans of kidney beans (drained) for an almost instant meal.

Friday:

Use a traditional fat (such as lard, tallow, or coconut oil) in place of the canola for this chicken curry.

Week 2

Monday:

The homemade mayonnaise with these salmon patties is amazing. But if you’d prefer not to make your own mayonnaise, substitute your favorite tarter sauce.

Wednesday:

This curry is quick and delicious. I usually soak and cook my garbanzo beans for this, but you can use  two cans of drained garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas) for an almost instant meal.

Week 3

Saturday:

This is one of our favorite dishes. While we use backstrap (venison or antelope), feel free to substitute a strip steak or other quick-cooking chop.

Week 4

Monday:

This egg curry is one of my favorite quick dishes. We keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for lunches, breakfast, and this super quick supper. Here’s a great way to hard-cook eggs so they are easy to peal. Use your Instant Pot!

Thursday:

We make these yummy meatballs using venison or antelope – also delicious with beef. 🙂

 

Looking for more quick meal ideas? Check out the meal plan archives here.

 

Learn how to cook fast, tender, and delicious foods without sacrificing any of the health benefits of traditional cooking. Find out more at Traditional Cooking School.

PS: For a limited time, TCS is offering a free T-shirt and print book with your eCourse purchase.