Hello friends, happy fall! Here’s what October brought to the table!
Cooler weather has been showing itself on the west coast. I’m not sure how we’re welcoming November already, I feel like summer just barely ended.
What We’re Eating Right Now
I think fall is my favorite food season (ok, and summer for all of the fresh veggies!).
- Stew is the perfect fall weather meal. Beef stew is a classic but I’m pretty obsessed with this chicken stew recipe too! Last year I added a leftover turkey stew to the site, be sure to bookmark it for Thanksgiving leftovers. It’s SO SO good!
- I’ve made this side dish recipe more times than I can count.
- I’m obsessed with all things sweet potato right now. This brand new pasta dish is amazing and oh-so-easy. It’s packed with flavor and I think you’ll love it.
- If you’ve got a slow cooker, add this melt-in-your-mouth crock pot meal to your list!
- I might be eating a little Halloween candy right now too 😉 (mini gummy bears and little candy bars top my list).
Holly’s October Favorites
- We did lots and lots of testing of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes in October so we had lots of leftover Thanksgiving dishes and turkey. I am not complaining one little bit!
- We also tested 7 variations on stuffing (with subsitutions or other cooking methods). This easy stuffing recipe is my absolute favorite (and a fave for many of you too).
- In October we had a little team retreat with the SpendWithPennies team and visited Victoria, BC on the west coast of Canada for a few days. Since most of us work virtually, it was great to spend some time together for some fun and learning. We went to the world famous Butchart Gardens (image above) and enjoyed some amazing food at their high tea!
- I also went to Seattle for a couple of days and did a guided food tour of Pike’s Place Market and enjoyed some amazing chowder and of course Beecher’s cheese. The history of the market is amazing and I loved learning how the Historical Commission is preserving the market and everything it was built on. (When travelling, I highly recommend a tour of some sort, I often do food tours and/or cooking classes).
- Finally, I did something totally new to me, I did a glass-blowing class. I posted it on my Instagram stories and will share the finished piece on Instagram stories once I get it. It was a bit scary working with molten glass but really fun.
ICYMI
In case you missed it!
Save your favorites. A few months ago we launched “save” on SpendWithPennies which means when you’re browsing around, you can save your favorite recipes to your recipe box and you can come back to them! Just click the little heart on the side of the page to save. Sign up with your email (it’s free) so you can access them on any device, phone, or computer.
Spend With Pennies Meal Planner If you haven’t had a chance yet, be sure to check out the Spend With Pennies digital meal plan! We send a meal plan every week and you can drag and drop them however you like to create meal plans and shopping lists! Add your own recipes or search thousands of recipes in our database.
Your Thanksgiving HQ
‘Tis the season and I’m here for it. I’ve done all of the planning, and created shopping lists and serving charts for you. This lays out everything you should need for dinner including the recipes and a to-do list!
More Thanksgiving Links You’ll Need
- 💡 How to Make Thanksgiving Dinner here
- 📝 Printable Thanksgiving Dinner Planner here
- 🍽 Thanksgiving Servings Size Planner here
- ❄️ How Long to Thaw Your Turkey here
- 🔪 How to Carve a Turkey here
In My Kitchen
- If you’re doing lots of prep check out my fave chopper, it saves SO much time. I use it for chopping onions and celery for stuffing, tomatoes for salsa, and all kinds of other things!
- These aren’t anything fancy but I use this little tool almost every day! It’s perfect for:
- loosening the edges of a cake
- lifting muffins out of a muffin tin
- scraping the bottom of a mayonnaise jar
- spreading butter or peanut butter
- even cutting cake or brownies without scraping your pan.
Our Favorite Recipes in October.
- This easy new 4 Ingredient Bread. 15 minutes hands-on and a couple of hours rising. So good.
- This month I made a big batch of this sauce and froze it in smaller servings for quick meals.
Kitchen Tip: When I reheat this sauce, I often roast whatever veggies I have in the fridge in my air fryer (including tomatoes). Add them to the sauce to stretch it a bit further and clean out the fridge! - I updated my breakfast sandwiches recipe to make them even easier. It’s perfect to make ahead for busy mornings.
- Something new to try is this restaurant favorite (image above left) made at home! Serve it with this the bread above or a batch of these for dipping.
Your Favorite Recipes in October.
Here’s what you were checking out in October!
This family favorite recipe was a childhood favorite for ALL of my kids growing up and recently you have been loving it too! If you’re short on time, try this mini version.
- More reader favorites in October:
Our Little Emmy is Growing!
Our little Emmy is now 7 months old and getting a little bit bigger. She has the sweetest temperament (for those of you who missed it, she’s a Havanese). She got her first haircut and also had her first puppaccino.
What we’re looking forward to in November.
Cooler weather, lots of leftovers (YAY!!), brussels sprouts, and root veggies.
- Expect to see some ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers this month (including a new from-scratch turkey casserole and a crock pot soup).
- We have so many amazing Thanksgiving day recipes you’ll love. This sweet potato and apple casserole is amazing although we do love a good classic sweet potato casserole.
Let us know in the comments below what you’d like to see!
Happy Thanksgiving! xoxo
