Meal Plan #10 | September 2024
Instant Pot Pork Adobo + Tofu Tacos + Baked Potatoes + Orzo Pasta Salad + Instant Pot Chicken & Rice Soup
Hi Friends!
Yesterday in LA it was 101 degrees and by Friday we’ll be back down to 78° (thank god). This swing in weather inspired me to create a meal plan for September that bridges the gap between summer and fall. The menu includes both sunny orzo pasta salad and cozy chicken and rice soup. The lineup also includes Instant Pot pork adobo, tofu tacos and extra-crispy baked potatoes with all the toppings.
As with every monthly meal plan, each recipe also includes suggestions for side dishes. You can follow this entire meal plan (so you don’t even have to think about what’s for dinner) OR just choose one or two recipes that sound good for your family.
Meal #1: Instant Pot pork adobo
Meal #2: Tofu Tacos
Meal #3: Baked potatoes (no link, see instructions below)
Meal #4: Orzo pasta salad with sausage or salmon
Meal #5: Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
Where to Find the Recipes
Meals #1 and #2 link to my food blog where you’ll find the recipes with cooking tips. All of the recipe cards on my blog have the option to print.
Meal #3 for baked potatoes has the full recipe written below.
Meals #4 and #5 link to bonus recipes that are only available to paid subscribers. All of the bonus recipes can be found in the Kitchen Skip recipe index page.
Let’s dig in!
Meal #1
Recipe: Instant Pot pork adobo
Side Dishes: Serve white or brown rice to soak up the sauce from the pork, plus green beans or sautéed spinach on the side. I also like sweet potatoes with this meal.
This Filipino-inspired pork adobo is cooked in a salty, sweet & tangy sauce until chunks of pork shoulder are fall-apart tender. Just combine the ingredients in your pressure cooker and dinner cooks itself.
Meal #2
Recipe: Tofu Tacos
Side Dishes: Make sure to buy tortillas and all the regular taco toppings that your family likes. Don’t forget chips!
My family has been eating these vegetarian tacos a lot lately. The flavorful tofu crumbles look surprisingly like ground meat and are a satisfying taco filling when topped with black beans, shredded cabbage, cheese, avocado, green onion, etc…
Meal #3
Recipe: Baked Potatoes
My favorite baked potato recipe is English Jacket Potatoes from Cup of Jo. The skin gets extra-crispy and the middle is perfectly fluffy and creamy. But, you have to be patient and be willing to have your oven on for about two hours, so plan ahead.
First, wash the Russet potatoes early in the day (or the night before) to make sure the skin has time to dry. Cut a cross shape about 1/4-inch thick in the middle of each potato. Heat the oven to 400F. Place the potatoes uncovered, directly on the top oven rack. Bake for close to 2 hours. The potatoes should be very tender and the skin should be very crunchy. Re-cut the cross in the middle but make it deeper and bigger to release steam. Return the potatoes to the oven for another 10 minutes before serving.
A faster method is pre-cooking the potatoes in the microwave for 6 minutes (stab them a few times with a fork first) then transfer the potatoes to the oven to bake for 30 minutes at 400F. The skin isn’t as crispy, but they’re still good.
Side Dishes: Often, I’ll serve a green salad with baked potatoes. But most importantly, line up your favorite potato toppings! You’ll need butter and sour cream (of course) and then choose a few toppings from the list below:
Grated cheddar or try 5-minute nacho cheese sauce from Budget Bytes
Ranch dressing (or try creamy herb dressing with horseradish)
Crumbled bacon or bacon bits
Green onion or chives
To make the meal heartier, add canned chili to spoon over the potatoes
Meal #4
Recipe: Sunny orzo pasta salad *Make your life easier by making this cold pasta salad the night before and storing it in the fridge.
Side Dishes: Pre-cooked sausage of your choice (just warm it in a skillet or grill it) or salmon (this salmon recipe has cooking instructions for pan-searing, grilling or baking salmon.)
Have you tried this orzo pasta salad yet? Now’s the time! This pasta salad isn’t complicated. You mix orzo with lemon, oil and garlic then add a generous amount of fresh parsley and crumbled feta. It’s light and lemony and so, so good.
Meal #5
Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
Side Dishes: None needed, unless you want bread and butter on the side
Is the weather cool enough for soup yet? Maybe? Let’s go for it anyway with this comforting chicken and rice soup, made completely in your Instant Pot.
Want to save this meal plan for later? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
All of the meal plans can be found on the Kitchen Skip Substack homepage under the “meal plan” link at the top of the page. Visit anytime for meal planning inspiration!