On Our Table: Dinners of October, Part One
If there is any sort of theme for the beginning of October, at least in terms of dinner, it looks to be that variety is paramount to a successful set of meals. I tried to find a trend amidst our first-half-of-October dishes and while yes, they’re all delicious and excellent for the chill in the air, there’s not much else they have in common. But that’s fantastic!
We work hard to keep our dinners as varied as possible each week and this set shows exactly that. Sure, there are ones that are similar to something we had last week or the one prior, but overall this group of dinners was wonderfully diverse. From curry to tacos to stir-fry to pasta, and chili, we ate quite well this first half of October.
Let me share the dinner details with you below. I have included recipe links when available as well as links to some of the fantastic ingredients (and cookbooks) we used along the way. I hope you find some delicious dinner inspiration!
Pork and mushroom stir-fry with rice noodles
One of my favorite meals will always be stir-fry and this was no exception. Be sure to use gluten free rice noodles as a base and include any and all veggies to make the dish hearty and healthy. We used ground pork as the primary protein here, but chicken, shrimp, ground turkey, or even tofu would be terrific as well.
cajun shrimp taco bowls
The best way to mix up taco night? Make a bowl instead! Tired of the usual protein options? Change it up with shrimp! We loved these cajun shrimp bowls that included sliced avocado, pinto beans, corn, and diced tomato. Keep it on the healthy side by serving on a bed of greens and skip the cheese. Not required, just an option. ;)
crispy chicken and roasted cauliflower
One of the best ways to perk up an otherwise basic dinner is to enhance the vegetable. Instead of boring/bland cauliflower, we roasted it and served with a delicious tahini sauce. Joyfully, that sauce was a terrific dip for the crispy chicken as well. Find the recipe, below.
egg roll in a bowl
A dinner that has been made a few times this season already, I can’t get over how divine this meal is every single time. I just love it. For this instance, we actually used ground beef instead of pork and it was still amazing. The only trouble with egg roll in a bowl? Trying to save some for leftovers. ;)
baked cod with crunchy miso-butter breadcrumbs
Salty and crunchy fans unite! This cod recipe overflows with savory goodness and is a star dish - it looks so fancy! However, it’s easily a weeknight meal which is great news for everyone. Strongly recommend serving it with a seasonal veggie to balance out the miso-butter-breadcrumbed fish. They pair together quite nicely!
red coconut curry shrimp
On a very chilly October night, I find a piping-hot bowl of curry to be one of the most-delicious options available. This dish is a repeat from one of my favorite cookbooks and it wins the week every time. The bowl is overflowing with shrimp, mushrooms, and onion, which cooked in an incredible red coconut curry. Perfect dinner! Be sure to serve with rice and plenty of lime wedges.
spicy beef tex-mex tacos
It was a Saturday night and instead of takeout tacos, we made them ourselves! This low-effort Tex-Mex taco is bursting with flavor and incredibly delicious everything. We kept the work-level low by using pre-made tortillas (these are Siete Foods cassava flour tortillas) and filling the tacos with ground beef, cheese, diced tomato, and slices of avocado. Do not forget the lime! This is a very savory meal so the squeeze of fresh lime really is the ‘cherry’ on top.
tortelloni with tomato basil marinara
We dove into the world of fresh gluten free pasta and now there is no turning back. I saw this brand, Taste Republic, while getting groceries for a different meal. On impulse, I bought two packages for dinner that night (instead of our original plan). My oh my this was so delicious! We combined the pasta (once cooked) with a jar of Rao’s tomato basil marinara (to which we added shallots and pepperoni) and all of a sudden we had a ridiculously awesome, and very easy, meal. Major dinnertime win - the pasta cooks perfectly in just five minutes. :)
chickpea curry with sweet potatoes and greens
Here is another great night of curry that has an entirely different flavor profile than the other one in this roundup. This dish overflows with sweet potatoes, greens, and chickpeas; it’s a hearty and healthy meatless meal.The slivers of toasted almonds on top added the best finishing crunch. And I’d strongly recommend the dollops of yogurt. ;) Recipe is from the wonderful book Cook90 - link below.
SHRIMP scampi PASTA with spinach
This dinner was originally going to be a spinach salad with shrimp. That idea quickly turned into a pasta salad with shrimp which eventually became a shrimp scampi pasta with spinach. Evolution! Basically, the bad weather called the shots and all I wanted was a warm meal at the end of the day. I loved this dish because it combined my favorite shrimp scampi with healthy greens and garden-fresh tomatoes - a well-rounded dinner. Somewhat summery, but who cares? It was excellent.
slow cooker beef chili
Our first foray into chili this season was a delicious success! Seth prepared the chili the night prior, then I added it to the slow cooker during the work day. Eight hours later we had a ridiculously-awesome chili, ready to eat! We topped it with sliced avocado, cilantro, cheese, diced onion, and sour cream. Quite a hearty and over-the-top dinner, but it was entirely worth it. #treatyoself. ;)
chicken sausage meatballs and cauliflower pasta
One of the best ways to eat roasted vegetables is to mix them with pasta! This meal included roasted cauliflower and fantastic chicken sausage meatballs from Pig Rock Sausages - the absolute best. Roasted veggies plus meatballs plus pasta equals one perfect dinner.
Enjoy!
Mollie and Seth
@glutenfreemollied