This is meal plan #2 with five quick easy and cheap meals that you can use for one week. The meal plan includes all five recipes and a shopping list for you to download and print.
Meal Plan #2
This is Meal Plan #2 and includes five dinner recipes that use cheap and easy ingredients. Here you'll get sweet and sour beef with cabbage, chili pizza garlic bread, sweet pan chicken and sweet potatoes, one-pot ground pork with noodles, plus a beef and rice casserole.
Why Should You Use A Meal Plan?
- Meal plans make life easier, once you get the hang of things.
- You'll know what to expect for the entire week, taking the guesswork out of knowing what to cook for dinner.
- You'll save money at the grocery store by knowing exactly what to buy, and nothing more.
- It allows your family to enjoy a variety of recipes without having to search for new ones yourself.
- you'll save time! Everything is planned out for you already. No need to write a grocery list either, I've done that for you!
Download Our Printable Shopping List
Download the full meal plan and shopping list for FREE! Click here to download Meal Plan #2.
Meal Plan Tips
- Take a look at the meal plan with the shopping list before you go grocery shopping.
- Shop your pantry first! For example, there's no need to buy new spices or canned diced tomatoes if you already have some.
- Swap out ingredients that you don't like. For example, if sweet potatoes aren't your thing, try using russet potatoes instead.
- Work smarter not harder. Cook a double batch of a recipe and freeze the rest for later. For example, our parmesan ground pork quiche freezes beautifully. One could easily be frozen for a future meal.
- Check your local grocery stores for any sales and discounts. For example, one of my local stores was offering 2-for-1 on chicken thighs. I don't normally shop there because it's more expensive, but I made a trip and just bought the chicken!
More Meal Plans To Try
- Meal Plan #1: Five Easy Weeknight Meals
Watch The Meal Plan Cooking Video:
Be sure to watch the video below so you can cook along with me!
Watch Andi make these 5 quick and easy cheap meal ideas. These recipes are perfect for busy weeknights!
Dinner 1: Sweet and Sour Beef with Cabbage
Ground beef, onion, lentils, and bell pepper and cooked on the stove. Chopped cabbage and a sweet and sour sauce are poured on top. Everything is baked in the oven for a delicious and filling recipe.
- Green cabbage is inexpensive and filling. Just cook until soft and tender.
- Swap out ground beef for ground pork (it's cheaper), ground turkey or ground chicken.
See the full Sweet and Sour Beef with Cabbage recipe here.
Sweet and Sour Beef Cabbage
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup lentils
- 3 celery stalks - chopped
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp old fashioned rolled oats - or breadcrumbs
- 1 medium cabbage - core removed and cut into wedges
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar - or coconut sugar
- 1 tsp salt - divided
- ½ tsp ground black pepper - divided
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Slice the cabbage into quarters. Remove the inner core by slicing off with a knife. Cut each into 8 wedges. This recipe will use 6 wedges.
- In a bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, white vinegar, brown sugar, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground pepper. Set it aside for now.
- Add the ground beef and onions to a large pot over medium high heat. Cook until the beef is browned.
- Stir in the lentils. Drain any excess grease from the pot.
- Add in the chopped celery and bell pepper.
- Add the garlic powder, rolled oats (or breadcrumbs), ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground pepper.
- Add the ground beef to an oven-safe dish (if it isn't already in one). Spread into an even layer. Add the cabbage wedges on top. Drizzle the cabbage with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sweet and sour sauce overtop.Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender when poked with a fork.
- Scoop 1-2 cabbage wedges with ground beef mixture on to each serving plate. Enjoy!
Dinner 2: Chili Pizza Garlic Bread
Canned chili is mixed with bell pepper, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. Added to garlic bread, sprinkled with parmesan and mozzarella cheese and baked in the oven. The result is a fun meal idea the whole family can enjoy.
- Use a garlic bread loaf, garlic texas toast or a french bread loaf for the recipe.
- Canned chili makes a great base for this recipe. You can also make your own homemade chili instead.
- This is a meatless recipe, but you can easily add ground beef, ground pork or diced cooked sausage.
See our full chili pizza garlic bread recipe here.
Chili Pizza Bread
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 15 oz canned chili
- 1 cup chopped bell pepper
- 4 oz canned mushrooms - pieces and stems
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes - drained
- 1 garlic toast - or french bread
- 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Preheat the broiler and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cook the onion with a bit of oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.
- Stir in canned chili, canned mushrooms and chopped bell pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring often.
- Place the garlic bread on a bakign sheet. Spoon the chili mixture on top of each side of the bread.
- Sprinkle parmesan and shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Broil for 2-4 minutes on the middle rack, or until cheese is melted and the garlic bread is crispy and toasted. Slice and serve.
Dinner 3: Sheet Pan Chicken and Sweet Potatoes
Chicken legs are baked with sweet potatoes, chunks of onion and garlic cloves for a simple, healthy meal.
- Chicken legs are usually cheapest chicken cut. You can also use chicken thighs for the recipe.
- If you don't like sweet potatoes, swap them for russet potatoes or baby potatoes instead.
- Add some greens like broccoli and brussels sprouts if you'd like.
- Serve this with a side of rice, quinoa or pasta.
See the full sheet pan chicken and sweet potatoes recipe here.
Sheet Pan Chicken and Sweet Potato
Ingredients:
- 6-8 chicken legs
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 2-3 medium sweet potatoes - peeled and chopped into cubes
- 1 medium onion - chopped into wedges
- 1 garlic bulb - 6-8 cloves, all cloves peeled but not chopped
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet (or two baking sheets) with aluminum foil.
- In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Add in the chicken and toss to coat. Keep the leftover sauce.
- Place the chicken legs in the center of the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
- While the chicken is baking, peel and chop the sweet potato into small cubes. Chop the yellow onion into large chunks. Peel the garlic bulb into cloves.
- Add the sweet potato, chopped onion and garlic cloves to the large bowl with the leftover olive oil mixture. Toss everything until coated.
- Once chicken has cooked 15 minutes, remove from oven and add the sweet potato mixture along each side. Bake for another 45 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are crispy on the ouside and tender when poked with a fork. Chicken should also be fully cooked and reach 165°F internal temperature with a meat thermometer.
- While sheet pan ingredients are baking, cook some rice (this step is optional).
- Serve the chicken and sweet potato mixture with rice. Enjoy!
Dinner 4: One-Pot Ground Pork with Noodles
Ground beef, egg noodles, kidney beans and bell pepper are cooked together in one pot with a tomato sauce for an easy weeknight meal.
- Egg white noodles tend to cook the fastest. However, you can try this recipe with other noodles you already have.
- Swap the ground beef for ground pork (it's cheaper), ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Kidney beans can be swapped with lentils, chickpeas or white navy beans.
- Sprinkle a bit of shredded mozzarella on top! Parmesan would be good too.
See the full one-pot ground pork with noodles recipe here.
One Pot Ground Pork with Noodles
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground pork
- 15 oz canned diced tomatoes - drained
- 15 oz canned kidney beans - drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups water
- 8 oz pizza sauce
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 3 cup egg noodles
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tspg ground black pepper
- Add 1 lb ground pork to heated cooking oil in a large pot. Cook over medium-high heat until browned through.
- Add 15 oz canned diced tomatoes, 15 oz canned kidney beans, 8 oz pizza sauce, ½ cup green bell pepper, 2 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, and 1 ½ cups water. Mix ingredients.
- Stir in 3 cup egg noodles. Bring to a boil and reduce to let simmer until the egg noodles are cooked al dente.
- Garnish with shredded mozzarella or parmesan.
Dinner 5: Beef and Rice Casserole
Ground beef, onion and celery are cooked in a frying pan. This is layered in a casserole dish with a creamy mixture of mushroom soup, milk and rice. Topped with grated parmesan and baked for a filling meal.
- Ground beef is inexpensive, but can easily be replaced with ground pork, ground turkey or ground chicken.
- No need to cook the rice in advance, it will cook right in the casserole dish as the recipe is baking!
See the full beef and rice casserole recipe here.
Beef Carrot Rice Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 2 celery stalks - chopped
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 10 oz cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup milk - or cream
- 2 cups water - or broth
- 1 cup rice
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Add the ground beef, chopped onion and chopped celery to a frying pan over medium high heat. Cook until the beef browns. Drain any excess grease.
- Stir in the shredded carrot, then pour into a bowl and set aside.
- Add the cream of mushroom soup, milk, water, and rice to the frying pan. Bring to a boil and reduce to let simmer until the liquid reduces and the rice cooks (mine took about 5-7 minutes). Stir occasionally often during this time.
- Assembly: Pour half of the creamy rice mixture into a casserole dish. Now add half of the ground beef mixture on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Add the rest of the creamy rice mixture.
- Add the last half of the ground beef mixture and sprinkle with more parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes covered. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, then scoop on to plates and serve.
Don't Forget! The FREE printable shopping list and Meal Plan can be found here.
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