This Week's $46 Meal Plan: 6 Dinners, Zero Stress, One Grocery Trip
Okay so I sat down with my coffee this morning and planned out the entire week around what's actually on sale right now. Ground beef is cheap at Aldi, chicken thighs are basically free, and I found a way to make six actual dinners for $46.23. Here's every single meal.
The Meal Plan
Monday: Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Roasted Vegetables
Throw chicken thighs and whatever vegetables you have on a pan with olive oil and seasoning. 30 minutes. Done. The leftover chicken is your secret weapon for Wednesday.
Tuesday: Ground Beef Tacos (Hard & Soft)
Brown the ground beef, set out shells and toppings. Lily likes soft, Jun likes hard, David just eats them all. This is the night where everyone is happy and I'm not cooking three different things.
Wednesday: Chicken Fried Rice (Leftover Makeover)
Shred Monday's leftover chicken, toss it in a pan with rice, frozen peas, soy sauce, and an egg. Tastes like takeout. Costs $1.80 in ingredients. Jun actually eats this.
Thursday: Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Dump the rest of the ground beef with potatoes, carrots, onions, and broth in the slow cooker at 8 AM. Come home to dinner already made. This is my survival meal.
Friday: Baked Pasta with Meat Sauce
Use the leftover beef stew (just strain it) as your base, mix with pasta, top with cheese, bake. Looks fancy. Is not fancy. Takes 20 minutes.
Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner
Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, fruit. Everyone eats it, I don't have to think, and it costs almost nothing. Sometimes the best dinner is the simplest one.
The Shopping List (Organized by Section)
MEAT COUNTER
- 2 lbs chicken thighs (Aldi): $3.98
- 2 lbs ground beef 80/20 (Aldi): $6.98
- 1 lb bacon (Aldi): $2.99
PRODUCE
- 5 lb bag potatoes (Aldi): $1.99
- 2 lb bag carrots (Aldi): $1.29
- 1 onion (Aldi): $0.49
- Bell peppers 3-pack (Aldi): $2.49
- Lettuce (Aldi): $1.49
- Tomatoes 2-pack (Aldi): $1.99
FROZEN
- Frozen peas 2 lb bag (Aldi): $1.99
PANTRY/DRY GOODS
- Olive oil (already have)
- Soy sauce (already have)
- Rice 2 lb bag (Aldi): $1.49
- Pasta 1 lb box (Aldi): $0.79
- Taco shells 12-count (Aldi): $1.29
- Flour tortillas 10-count (Aldi): $1.49
- Beef broth 32 oz (Aldi): $1.29
- Canned tomato sauce 15 oz (Aldi): $0.59
DAIRY/EGGS
- Eggs 18-count (Aldi): $2.49
- Cheddar cheese shredded (Aldi): $3.49
- Butter (already have)
BREAD
- Bread 1 loaf (Aldi): $0.99
TOPPINGS/CONDIMENTS
- Salsa (already have)
- Sour cream (already have)
- Hot sauce (already have)
TOTAL: $46.23
How to Make This Actually Work
Sunday Prep (30 minutes):
- Chop all vegetables and store in containers
- Cook rice (use your rice cooker if you have one — set it and forget it)
- Brown the ground beef and drain it (use for three meals)
Monday: Sheet pan is literally just assembly. Toss, season, bake at 400°F for 25 minutes.
Tuesday: Tacos are the easiest night of the week. Brown beef, warm shells, set out toppings. Everyone builds their own.
Wednesday: Fried rice uses Sunday's cooked rice + Monday's leftover chicken. This is why you cook extra on Sunday.
Thursday: Slow cooker goes on in the morning. You're not cooking. You're just existing.
Friday: The stew is already cooked. You're literally just mixing it with pasta and baking it.
Saturday: Breakfast for dinner. Scramble eggs, toast bread, fry bacon. No recipe needed.
Picky Eater Hacks
For Jun (refuses vegetables):
- Monday: Give him plain chicken with rice on the side
- Wednesday: Fried rice without the peas (he'll eat the chicken and rice)
- Thursday: Just the potatoes and meat from the stew
- Friday: Pasta with meat sauce (no veggies mixed in)
For Lily (adventurous but picky):
- Everything except she wants extra cheese on the baked pasta
- Tacos with mild salsa only
For Mateo (will eat literally anything): No modifications needed. He's our secret weapon.
Leftover Strategy
Monday's chicken: Shred the extra for Wednesday's fried rice. Don't waste it.
Tuesday's leftover taco meat: Use for the meat sauce on Friday. It's already seasoned.
Thursday's stew: Strain the liquid, mix the meat and veggies with pasta sauce and pasta. Boom. Friday dinner.
Saturday's bacon: If there's any left, crumble it for salads or fried rice next week.
Storage & Freezing
All of these leftovers keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. The stew freezes great for up to 3 months if you want to make extra. The fried rice freezes okay but tastes better fresh.
Real Talk
David said the sheet pan chicken was "restaurant quality" which — coming from him — basically means I'm a professional chef now. Jun actually ate the fried rice without complaining. Lily asked for seconds of the baked pasta. And I spent $46.23 to feed five people for six nights.
That's $7.70 per dinner. $1.54 per person.
Not bad for a Tuesday morning's work.
What's on YOUR meal plan this week? Drop it in the comments — I want to see your numbers!