My new mantra is “just get me to October!” September has been busy with back-to-school events (Parents’ Night, Harvest Fest) and lots of solo parenting. Here’s the magic of meal plans, though — when a calendar week is hectic I can use meal planning to make one part of each day easier. (In this case dinner.)

This week’s meal plan includes one slow cooker recipe we stashed in the freezer a few weeks back, plus three new but ultra-easy recipes that everyone will love. There’s still our regularly scheduled pizza on Friday, which uses up leftovers but doesn’t use the slow cooker. Here’s how a week of slow cooker dinners is making my week easier.

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If you’re sticking to a calorie budget, you likely understand the importance of planning and prepping your meals. Starting the week with a fridge full of packed Tupperware can help you stick within your calorie range and prevent mealtimes from being stressful. But picking and choosing the best recipes to prep? Now that’s where things get tricky.

It’s also where we come in. This Power Hour plan is packed with lean proteins, fresh vegetables, and whole grains to create an entire week’s worth of meals that all clock in at 1,500 calories a day or fewer — a common calorie goal for those looking to lose weight or consume fewer calories.

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During everyone’s most-and-least favorite holiday movie, Love, Actually, Prime Minister Hugh Grant lists all of the reasons why he thinks Great Britain deserves that first part of its name: “We may be a small country, but we’re a great one, too,” he said. “The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham’s right foot. David Beckham’s left foot, come to that.”

That’s a good start, but he somehow failed to mention Britain’s most impressive contribution to world cuisine: the fry-up. (Variations on the always-massive meal are known as the Full English, Full Scottish, or the Full Irish — there’s a theme here — depending on which country you’re ordering one in). Regardless, the most well-known version has to be the Full English, which traditionally includes eggs, rashers of bacon, bangers, black pudding, grilled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, baked beans, and toast.

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You likely know Shepherd’s pie as a homey, comforting casserole — one that combines a flavorful stew of ground beef, peas, carrots (and sometimes corn) with mountains of creamy mashed potatoes. This skillet version has all those classic components, but takes less than an hour to make and skips the fresh vegetables (and the prep that comes with them) in favor of the frozen kind — letting you focus your efforts on the creamy potatoes.

This Shepherd’s pie is a complete meal in a single skillet, and just the kind of dinner you want to tuck into as the weather cools. Plus, it’s so easy you can make it on a weeknight.

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Have you ever wished you had an extra pair of hands while cooking to flip the pages of your cookbook, set a timer, look up how long the chicken should roast, or read the next step in your recipe? Well, starting today, you can, thanks to a new set of features from Amazon on Amazon Echo devices — and a new Kitchn relationship with Amazon.

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Potato soup is such a fall classic. Tender pieces of creamy russet potatoes mingle with onions, garlic, and salty pancetta for a bowl of soul-soothing solace. The only possible upgrade to this classic is to make it easier with the help from the slow cooker. And let’s be real — this soup is one hundred times better when it’s made in the slow cooker.

To make the absolute easiest potato soup, this recipe relies on pantry staples to create a bowl of creamy, comforting soup that’s as easy to make as it is to love. Here’s how it’s done.

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Parents of little toddlers and preschoolers who are dutifully packing lunches for daycare and school, you are awesome. I know how exhausted you are by those little ones right now, but I’m here to remind you that in just a few short years, you’ll be sending those same kids off to first grade with lunches they packed themselves. I know this firsthand, because I just sent my oldest off with a lunch she learned to pack watching me throughout these past few years.

Toddler and preschool lunches are often the most arduous to pack; most things need to be small and soft, which means you’re either spending a lot of time chopping or even more time steaming. That’s why I compiled 10 of my favorite preschool and toddler lunch ideas that are both easy and healthy, and will help you pack lunches more quickly until those kiddos can pack their own.

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You know how it’s almost physically impossible to set foot in a Target and buy just one thing? Well, that phenomenon is going to ring even more true now that the store just announced its brand-new home collections for fall.

I plan to shop away the end-of-summer blues by redecorating a little bit around my apartment. There’s something about cozy fall weather that makes me want to channel my inner Ina Garten and host a dinner party or casual wine and cheese night with friends. Thankfully the new collections from exclusive-to-Target brands — including Threshold, Hearth & Hand with Magnolia, Project 62, and Opalhouse — are here to provide all the inspiration I could ever need. The best part about the collections is that they are all meant to mix and match.

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In Explain It Like I’m 6, a dietician answers the burning health questions from Associate Food Editor Meghan Splawn‘s daughter, Ella.

When I was a kid I used to beg my parents to take me to Dairy Queen so I could order a brownie sundae. Topped with fudge and a mountain of whipped cream, it was the pinnacle of joy for my pre-teen brain. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t eat this all the time, or why my parents sometimes suggested eating vegetables when ice cream was a mere five minutes away. What was the big deal? Ice cream obviously tastes better, so why would I not just eat that?

Meghan’s daughter, Ella, has similar feelings. I mean, ice cream has some nutrients, right? It’s not just empty space! Here’s what she asked her mom when they were talking about healthy eating questions.

Ella’s Question: Why can’t I eat ice cream every day? Doesn’t ice cream have vitamins?

Good question, kid. Here’s Sally Kuzemchak of Real Mom Nutrition with the answer.

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In the world of nostalgic foods, there are a few standouts: hot chocolate (with mini marshmallows, of course), macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and the diner classic, the tuna melt. Just the thought of a homemade melt takes us back to sick days, snow days, and pretty much any other day that Mom was responsible for a hot lunch.

The times, they are a changin’, though, and as we considered the tuna melt recently, we wondered about canned tuna. Knowing what we do now about sustainability and the many threats facing our oceans, how can we be smart consumers of the ingredient that’s all too necessary for a classic tuna melt? What brands of canned tuna are both delicious and safe for the environment?

We reached out to fishmongers across the country to find out, and the consensus was resounding.

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