Healthy Grocery List for Family of 4 on a Budget #6

This week’s meal plan is all about speed and ease of preparation. I purposely picked meals that are easy to make and to precook when possible.

The menu for a family of 4 will come in super handy if you have a lot of sports and activities in the evenings or if you are just short on time. Our menu includes breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks on a tight budget.

Now we know that having a plan without snacks and sweets is not realistic, so we include those in our plans as well. This is a full breakdown of how I would make this frugal meal plan work.

7 Day Family Meal Plan

Breakfasts

Ham and Mushroom Scrambled Eggs
Biscuits with Sausage Gravy
Vanilla Yogurt with Blueberries
Cinnamon Toast with Strawberries
Cheese Toast

Ham and Mushroom Scrambled Eggs- Using leftover ham and sauteed mushrooms, we will make an easy scrambled egg. This is like an easy omelet that doesn’t need to be flipped. Easily can serve 4 people and be made in one pan. (Pro Tip: Use butter in your pan to keep your eggs from sticking)

Biscuits with Sausage Gravy– Another super easy breakfast using a can of biscuits and a gravy pack. The gravy packs typically just need milk, and you can also sneak in any extra vegetables like chopped bell pepper in the gravy.

Lunches

Salad with Ham and Hard-Boiled Eggs
Baked Potato with Sour Cream
Egg Salad with Saltines
Grilled Cheese with Corn Chips
Dinner Leftovers

Egg Salad and Hard-Boiled Eggs– I would go ahead and boil 4-5 eggs early in the week so that these lunches are ready to go. I have recently started adding a dash of vinegar or baking soda to the water to help make peeling the eggs easier.

Baked potato with Sour Cream – Making baked potatoes in the microwave is super easy. I wash the potatoes well with cold water and then poke them on each side with a fork. We have a 1100-watt microwave, so your times may vary on your model. I like to microwave the potatoes on a plate for 3 minutes. Then I will flip them and cook for another 3 minutes. I keep flipping and cooking for 3 minutes until the potatoes are soft. I love this easy lunch and usually top my potatoes with salt, pepper, butter, and sour cream.

Dinners

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham and Cheddar Cheese
Ground Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff (beef broth, green bell pepper, egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream)
Ground Beef Chili over Brown Rice (canned tomatoes, kidney beans, chili powder, green bell pepper) with Canned Corn
Grilled Chicken with Brown Rice and Peas
Leftover Grilled Chicken with Cream Cheese Topping (ranch powder, fresh tomatoes, and cheddar cheese) and Butter Noodles
Ham, Cheese, and Broccoli Stromboli

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham and Cheddar Cheese– Depending on the size of your potatoes, you may need about 4-6 medium sized ones. I like to wash in cold water and carefully slice them into thin slices. Then I will shingle the potatoes out on a greased glass casserole dish. In a saucepan on the stove, I make a quick roux using 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp flour. Then I will add 1 cup of milk and allow the sauce to thicken. I like to season the sauce with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and parsley flakes. (If you are rushed for time, you can skip the roux and mix a can of cream of celery soup with 1 cup of milk) Then, pour your thickened milk mixture over the potatoes. I will top the potatoes with about 1/3 of package of diced ham. Cook for about 1 hour in a 350-degree oven until potatoes are soft. I will then top with shredded cheddar cheese and bake for another 15 minutes until bubbly and brown. I typically serve this with a side salad or with leftover vegetables from another night.

Ground Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff – This is mostly a one pot meal that is super easy. I like to start by sauteing the sliced mushrooms. Once they are fully cooked, I will remove from the pan and save 1/4 of them for the scrambled eggs. Into my hot pan, I will go ahead and brown the whole pound of ground beef. Once the meat is fully cooked, I will drain the fat and save 1/2 of the ground beef for my chili. (By precooking the meat, it makes chili night super quick). Next, we will add our can of beef broth, cooked mushrooms, half of a chopped bell pepper, and about half of a bag of egg noodles. For seasonings, I will add some Worster Shire sauce or steak sauce for richness. You can also add dried oregano or parsley flakes. If your noodles are not fully covered, you can add a little bit of water until just covered. I let everything boil until my noodles are cooked. Then I will add 1 can of cream of mushroom and stir until creamy. I will also add a good spoonful of sour cream at the end to give a nice creaminess. (Because the beef broth tends to be a little salty, I will wait until the end to add any additional salt and pepper)

Ground Beef Chili over Brown Rice with Canned Corn– In a saucepan, I will go ahead and cook up the other half of the chopped bell pepper. We already cooked our ground beef, so I will add that and a drained/rinsed can of kidney beans. Mix this well together with a can of tomatoes and a good portion of chili powder. (Pack of chili seasoning are really just chili powder and salt, so save yourself the extra money by just buying straight chili powder.) In another saucepan, I will go ahead and make my brown rice. Since we will have rice for another night, I will go ahead and make twice as much. By combining cooking, this helps save me time on other night’s where I may be rushed for time. My kids also like to eat their chili with some Frito Corn Chips on top for an extra crunch. You can also top each bowl with sour cream and some shredded cheddar cheese. (If you are not feeling the brown rice, try serving the chili over baked potatoes for a hearty meal)

Grilled Chicken – My husband loves to grill whenever the weather is nice, so we like to go ahead and grill multiple night’s worth of meat all at once. We will go ahead and grill all the chicken, and on the first night we will serve the chicken with frozen peas and rice. If the weather isn’t great, you can also grill these inside on a grill pan or in a cast iron pan.

Grilled Chicken with Cream Cheese Topping– We lovingly call this Crack Chicken, because it has become super addictive. In a small bowl, we will mix together 1 block of cream cheese, 1/2 pack of ranch powder, salt/pepper/garlic powder, and about 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. I like to take the leftover grilled chicken and cut it into slices across. I will lay these chicken pieces down on a casserole dish and try to cover as much of the bottom as possible. Using a spoon, I will take the cream cheese mixture and make little piles of cream cheese on top of the chicken. I like to top the cream cheese with diced tomato, cooked mushrooms, and any other vegetables I have available. (You can also skip the ranch powder and use taco seasoning in the cream cheese mixture – we like to top with black beans, jalapeno slices, and corn for a tex-mex version.) I will then top the chicken and cream cheese with a little more shredded cheese. We bake this for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees until everything is melty and bubbly. For the noodles, I like to just make super simple butter egg noodles and then top the pasta with my grilled chicken. (We love this versatile dish and probably have 2-3 times a month)

Ham, Cheese, and Broccoli Stromboli– A stromboli or calzone is super simple to make and uses the same dough that homemade pizza uses.

I like to use this very basic dough recipe:

2 cups flour
1 pack of dry active yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
3/4 hot water
seasoning (we will use the other half of the ranch powder seasoning pack)

I make this dough with just using a fork, but you can also make it using a Kitchen Aid style stand mixer. I find the dough is more biscuit like if I use a fork, but it is lighter and airy if I use a mixer. After you let the dough rise in a humid place like the garage or laundry room, you will see it double in size! I like to spread out my dough on a greased cookie sheet and use a little extra flour if it feels a little sticky. I will then use a little ranch dressing as the base for our stromboli. I will them top half the dough with ham, cooked broccoli, and some shredded cheese. I like to add a little italian seasoning blend and pepper for extra flavor. Then fold over the other half of your dough to cover your toppings. I use my fingers to pinch the dough closed and stay secured. Using a knife, I will make some slice marks along the dough to vent while cooking. You can top your dough with egg wash, melted butter, or a little baking soda water for a pretzel crust. Bake in 400-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Sweet Treat

Saltine “Crack” Brittle

This super easy brittle candy is so tasty and also another versatile one to use up what you already have. The basics of this recipe is to take 1 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and melt over medium heat on the stove. You want to heat the mixture until super bubbly. On a cookie sheet, I will lay out a sleeve of saltines crackers to where they are all flat and not overlapping. Very carefully pour the bubbly sugar mixture over the saltine crackers and then bake the crackers for 5 minutes in a 350-degree oven. After 5 minutes, I will put the pan out and then top with chocolate chips. Sometimes I will use a spatula to smooth the melted chocolate out and other times I leave the chips in place. This is totally personal preference. My kids also like to add some sprinkles or any other miscellaneous decorations or even candy like M&Ms. My parents like to add chopped nuts to theirs. Once all your ingredients are added, then you put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator to cool. Once the crackers are fully cooled, you can break the crackers like brittle, and they are a super tasty caramel treat.

Budget Friendly Grocery List

Look through this broken-down by section grocery list and see if you have any of these items already in your pantry or freezer. This will help lower your grocery costs by using what you already have.

This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.

Produce Items	Have on Hand?
Mushrooms
Blueberries
Strawberries
Potatoes
Lettuce
Tomato x2
Cucumber
Green Bell Pepper
Celery
Total: (9 items)

This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.

Meat Items	Have on Hand?
Diced Ham
1lb ground beef
Chicken Breasts (4-6)
Total: (3 items)

This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.

Dry Goods Items	Have on Hand?
Sausage Gravy Mix
Sandwich bread
Saltines
Corn Chips
Beef Broth
Egg Noodles
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Canned Tomatoes
Chili Powder
Kidney Beans
Brown Rice
Ranch Powder
Ranch Dressing
Popcorn
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Chocolate Chips
Canned Corn
Total: (18 items)

These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.

Frozen Items	Have on Hand?
Frozen Peas
Frozen Broccoli
Total: (2 items)

These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.

Dairy Items	Have on Hand?
Eggs
2% milk
American Cheese
Shredded Cheddar Cheese 16oz
Vanilla Yogurt
Sour Cream
Cream Cheese Block
Biscuits
Total: (7 items)

Feed Your Family on a Budget

I have priced out this meal plan at multiple stores, and at most places it typically runs about $100. If you have some of the items like the dry goods already in your pantry, you can spend even less!

Store	Total
Acme (Aberdeen, MD)	$93.56
ShopRite (Aberdeen, MD)	$118.36
Vons (Torrance, CA)	$114.60
Smart & Final (Torrance, CA)	$109.15
Harris Teeter (Charleston, SC)	$103.92
Walmart (Charleston, SC)	$88.60
Jewel (Dyer, IN)	$109.22
Meijer (Dyer, IN)	$88.19
Shaw’s (Portland, ME)	$108.48
Hannaford (Portland, ME)	$88.09
City Market (Rawlins, WY)	$89.48
Walmart (Rawlins, WY)	$83.43
Giant (Washington DC)	$108.10
Safeway (Washington DC)	$115.70
Food Depot (Douglasville, GA)	$77.10
Kroger (Douglasville, GA)	$89.10
Brookshire’s (Dallas, TX)	$100.85
Aldi (Dallas, TX)	$88.26
Hy-Vee (Fremont, NE)	$91.32
Baker’s (Fremont, NE)	$86.62
Total Stores: 20	Average Total: $97.60