Halloween-Themed Weeknight Dinners
Monday: Pepper & Tomato Soup
This creamy, blood-red concoction will make you feel like you're simmering a sultry potion or dining like a hungry vampire. Bonus points if you design the sour cream topping to look like a spiderweb.
Recipe: Try our Pepper & Tomato Soup
Tuesday: Pork Chops with Blood Oranges, Fennel & Olives
Blood oranges add extra ~spookiness~ to this fall-y 30-minute meal.
Recipe: Try our Pork Chops with Blood Oranges, Fennel & Olives
Wednesday: Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta
This creamy penne dish not only packs delicious flavor but also shares a name with the infamously creepy clown from It. Even scarier? It'll only take around 15 minutes to whip up.
Recipe: Try our Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta
Thursday: Asian-Style Sticky Ribs with Orange & Ginger
When everyone else is traipsing around looking for candy, roast a zesty rack of ribs that might just scare your trick or treaters into giving you all of their Reese's and Kit Kats.
Recipe: Try our Asian-Style Sticky Ribs with Orange & Ginger
Friday: Chicken Mole Chili
Integrate chocolate into your diet in a more sophisticated way with mole sauce. A pinch of cinnamon and plenty of cocoa powder makes this chili the perfect way to transition into November.
Recipe: Try our Chicken Mole Chili
Shopping List
For the pepper & tomato soup:
- 5 large red bell peppers
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 3 tbsp. EVOO
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 tsp. toasted cumin seeds
For the pork chops with blood oranges, fennel & olives:
- 2 blood oranges
- 2 small heads fennel
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 4 pork loin chops (each 3/4 inch thick)
- 2 tbsp. sherry vinegar
- 3/4 cup Castelvetrano olives
For the penne-wise pumpkin pasta:
- Salt
- 1 lb. whole wheat penne rigate
- 2 tbsp. EVOO
- 3 shallots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 15-oz. can pure pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
- 2 pinches ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- Pepper
- 7 leaves fresh sage
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
For the Asian-style sticky ribs with orange & ginger:
- 3 large navel oranges
- 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/3 cup orange marmalade
- 2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. fresh ginger
- 4 large cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp. Sriracha
- 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 rack (3 1/2 to 4 lbs.) pork loin ribs
- Fresh cilantro leaves
For the chicken mole chili:
- 1 32-oz. container (4 cups) chicken stock
- 3 ancho chiles
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 4 slices lean, smoky bacon
- 2 lb. ground chicken
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp. sweet smoked paprika or chili powder
- 1 tbsp. ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 cups shredded or crumbled extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- 1 small red onion
- Cilantro