6 Affordable Dinner Ideas for Busy Weeknights (All Under $60!) Week #62

This week is all about busy weeknights but easy dinners. You will notice that most of the dishes use very few ingredients but are still super tasty. All of these can be easily switched around as well depending on personal perferences.

This week our prices came from Richford, Vermont and the closest Super Walmart was just about 20 miles away. There was also a smaller Walmart about 1 mile closer but that appears to be one of the stores that sell very few grocery items like produce and meat.

Our total came out super close to $60! Our total was $59.86, so very little wiggle room. That’s okay though because there are a bunch of items on the list that you may already have at home!

Yummy Meals this Week

Grocery List

If you want to see the full shopping list on Walmart in your area, all you have to do is click my Walmart Grocery list and change the zip code to your area. *This is an affiliate link, and I do make a small commission on any purchases, but at no additional cost to you!*

**** Please note, that every once in a while, an item that I pick turns out to be regional. This means that it may be a much higher price in some areas. Always double check the list and if you see an item that is much higher than normal, just adjust as needed.

Meal Prep Tips

These are the three main things I would prep early in order to save time on each night’s dinner!

These can be done on the weekend or when you have an hour or two to knock them out.

Easy Recipes this Week

Hawaiian Calzones with Side Salad

These calzones are so simple to make and you can literally fill them with whatever you like. When you don’t use a marinara sauce, they end up being very similar to Homemade Hot Pockets!

If you wanted to use a sauce you can totally use any leftover pasta sauce, alfredo sauce, or even Ranch dressing. Just make sure that the sauce doesn’t come too close to the edge. This will make it hard to seal them.

Honey Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken with Asparagus and Potatoes

I wanted to include a sheet pan meal this week, so you can see how to work with items that have different cooking times. Now of course the size of your potatoes and chicken can vary so that may adjust the total time needed.

This is another easy one that you can easily switch out items. You could use really any meat that you like but just know that if you use anything with a bone line Bone-In leg quarters or Bone-In pork chops, it may take longer to cook.

Ground Turkey & Mushroom Skillet with Rice & Veggies

This is a great twist on a classic. Instead of the more traditional Strognoff served with noodles, we are going to serve it over rice. Boom! All new dish has been created.

Now my kids are super picky and prefer the veggies on the side, so that is an easy thing to adapt if needed. You can really add any type of veggie to this dish, so check what you already have in the freezer or fridge!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos with Corn & Refried Beans

Hands down, this is my favorite crockpot meal! I love the fact that it is so super simple, plus I have totally made this with frozen chicken too! (It can take longer, but it totally turns out great.)

This shredded chicken can also be used for a million things. You can make burritos, enchiladas, tacos, taco salad, and really so much more!

Ham & Broccoli Hashbrown Bake

This is a nice twist on the Cracker Barrel Hashbrown casserole. Just by adding chopped ham and broccoli, we have turned a great side dish into a fabulous casserole!

We are using regular potatoes for this dish, but if you have them, you can easily use frozen hashbrowns. I find that you have defrost them first and squeeze out any liquid it cooks faster.

If you use frozen hashbrowns, it seems to take over an hour to bake. That is too long for me to wait for the yummy! LOL.

Chicken Fried Rice

It took a suprisingly long time for me to really get the hang of Fried Rice. I finally figured out that I had too much in the pan when I tried to add the eggs. So, this is the method I use to make sure I don’t end up with a gummy mess!

This dish is also a great leftover buster, so I tend to do it at the end of the week. This lets me clean out any frozen or cooked veggies from my fridge!

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 grab 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 1/2 a cup can help fill you up at mealtime.)

*Walmart is not always the cheapest when it comes to fresh fruits. Lots of local stores run better sales and have fruit as loss leaders, so check your local stores for some better deals if needed!*

Free Printable PDF Version

This prints on standard paper sized 8.5 x 11 inches.

What about next week?

We put out a new meal plan every week! We have 3 ways to be notified of new menus:

*Join our Low Dough Facebook Page where we post new menus every Saturday and new meal ideas every Wednesday!

*Sign up for the weekly email newsletter on Fridays (early menu access)

Join our Facebook Group- Meal Planning for All (you can ask questions and get help planning your own menus)

Until next week, I hope you have a fabulous week!