Easy Family Meals on a Budget – Week #47
This week we decided to go back to basic and simple meals. This means using very few ingredients in each dish but still being super yummy. Our budget is $70 or less for 6 Dinners and Dessert at Walmart.
Our total this week was only $65.01 so there is lots of wiggle room this week! We also use some basic pantry staples and items you may already have too. I’ve also included some low-cost fruits this week, so make sure you grab something to serve with your dinners.
I’ve included some tips along the way, to make meal prep and cooking a little bit faster and easier too!
Simple Dinner Ideas this Week
Shopping List
If you want to save time, you can check out My Walmart Grocery List for this week’s meal plan! *This is an affiliate link, and I do make a small commission on any purchases, but at no additional cost to you!*
Dinners for this Week
1. Baked Italian Chicken with Broccoli and Potatoes
This is a great sheet pan meal that you can easily switch out the protein as well as the veggies. Don’t have chicken breasts? This works great with thighs, leg quarters, and even chicken tenders. Swap out the potatoes for sweet potatoes and use whatever vegetable you want!
2. Pork Loin with Rice Pilaf & Sauteed Cabbage
I am so obsessed with cooking these pork loins in the air fryer because they come out super tasty in half the time! There are usually 4-5 different flavors to choose from so pick what works best for your family.
3. Tater Tot Casserole with Veggies
I love the simplicity of tater tot casserole, and I also love that you can totally swap this out for whatever you already have on hand! Use a different ground meat, a different veggie, a different soup, or even a different cheese!
4. Chicken and Cabbage Soup
I know it sounds a little odd, but this is such a wonderful chicken noodle style soup. Just instead of noodles we are going to use cabbage as the noodles. If you wanted to beef this up, you could always add the rest of the box of orzo to this as well!
5. Crustless Pork Quiche with Roasted Potatoes & Spinach Side Salad
I love quiche but I don’t really love pie crust, so now that I have started making it without a crust, it is a total game changer! One of the benefits of a quiche is that it can be an ultimate leftover buster and you don’t need a whole bunch either. Throw in any extra veggies you have from the week!
6. One Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo
I am a huge fan of one pot meals, and this one is seriously so yummy for not much effort. You can easily add different veggies to this one as well or even use different cuts of chicken. Lots of ways to adapt this one!
Dessert: Pudding Cookies
I just recently made this one with banana pudding and confetti cake mix. I love soft set cookies, and these turned out so great. I think next time I am going to try chocolate cake mix with cheesecake pudding! YUM! (I bet you could even add some chocolate chips to these as well.)
Low-Cost Fruit Options to Add:
I am a huge fan of adding fruit to dinners. This small, yummy part helps kids know they will love at least something on their plate.
So, whenever I have a little wiggle room in my budget, I try to pick up 2-3 fruits to add to meals. Here are some good options that you can this week! (Try mixing fresh fruit and canned fruit together for some added variety)
It’s also been shown that most Americans don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables, so add some to your dinner! (Remember you don’t need a ton of fruit either, just a 1/4 to 124 a cup can help fill you up at meal time.)
Free Printable PDF (Grocery List & Recipes)
This is a totally free print at home version of the meal plan. This will print on standard paper (8.5x11inches) unless you adjust it.
What about next week?
We really hope you enjoyed this week’s meal plan! If you want to see new menus every week, we encourage you to join our Facebook page where we post new menus every Saturday morning. Check it out here: Low Dough Family Facebook Page.
You can also join our email newsletter, so you get notified every time there is a new menu!
