If you want one less decision to make this week, here are seven dinners you can put on the menu. We’re making everything from crispy chicken and mashed potato bowls to cheesy stuffed peppers, smoky sausage pasta, and a crockpot pork loin with honey garlic sauce.
The trick to keeping this week’s grocery list manageable is giving a few ingredients two jobs. The same frozen chicken bites go into two completely different bowls, two packs of bell peppers cover two dinners, and one bag of sweet potatoes works for both a BBQ skillet and crispy tacos.
1
Cheesy Green Chile Beef & Rice Stuffed Peppers
Bell pepper halves are filled with seasoned ground beef, rice, mild green chiles, and tomato sauce, then baked with melted cheese on top. The rice helps stretch a pound of ground beef into eight stuffed pepper halves. Pick the four largest peppers from your two packs for this dinner and save the other two for the pasta.
Get the Cheesy Green Chile Beef & Rice Stuffed Peppers recipe →
2
Crispy Chicken & Gravy Biscuit Bowls
Start with buttery mashed potatoes, then add sweet corn, cheddar, crispy chicken bites, and warm brown gravy. Serve a biscuit on the side for dipping. If you like your chicken extra crunchy, spoon the gravy over the potatoes and corn first, then pile the chicken on top.
3
BBQ Pork & Sweet Potato Skillet
Ground pork, tender sweet potatoes, and black beans get tossed in barbecue sauce and topped with melted cheddar. The sweet potatoes soften right in the skillet, and the black beans help stretch the ground pork. A smoky or tangy BBQ sauce goes especially well with the sweetness of the potatoes.
4
Smoked Sausage & Pepper Marinara Pasta
Slice the two peppers you saved and cook them with onion, garlic, and smoked sausage. Toss everything with marinara and penne or rotini for a hearty pasta night. A sprinkle of Parmesan is great if you already have some in the fridge.
5
Crispy Hot Honey Chicken Bowls
Use the rest of your frozen chicken bites for rice bowls with roasted broccoli and a buttery hot honey sauce. Start with one tablespoon of hot sauce for a milder batch, or serve the sauce on the side so everyone can decide how much heat they want.
6
Crispy Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tacos
Sweet potatoes, seasoned black beans, and cheddar make a hearty filling for crispy corn tortillas. Serve with salsa for dipping. This dinner uses the rest of the sweet potatoes from the BBQ pork skillet and two more cans of the same black beans.
7
Crockpot Honey Garlic Pork Loin
Boneless pork loin cooks in a sweet and savory sauce made with honey, garlic, soy sauce, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Serve it with white rice and broccoli, and spoon some of the thickened sauce over the whole plate. This is a good one to put on the calendar for the day you’d rather get dinner started early.
How to Shop for This Week’s Dinners
- Frozen chicken bites or popcorn chicken: The gravy bowls use 1½ pounds. Check the package weight and buy enough for the hot honey bowls, too. If you’re using 1½ pounds for each, you’ll need 3 pounds total.
- Bell peppers: Buy two 3-packs. Use four peppers for stuffing and slice the other two for the smoked sausage pasta.
- Sweet potatoes: You’ll need 2½ pounds total. Use 1½ pounds for the BBQ pork skillet and 1 pound for the tacos. A 3-pound bag covers both.
- Rice and cheddar: One bag of long-grain white rice works for the stuffed peppers, hot honey bowls, and pork loin. You can use the same cheddar for the stuffed peppers, gravy bowls, BBQ skillet, and tacos.
Before you shop, check your pantry and freezer for rice, black beans, frozen broccoli, honey, and any open bottles of sauce. If you already have barbecue sauce or half a bag of chicken bites, count that toward what you need this week.
Grocery List for All 7 Dinners
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this week’s seven budget-friendly dinners!
Meat & frozen
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 (2 lb) boneless pork loin roast
- 12–14 oz fully cooked smoked sausage
- Frozen breaded chicken bites or popcorn chicken — 1½ lbs for the gravy bowls, plus one recipe’s worth for the hot honey bowls. If you want to use 1½ lbs for each dinner, buy 3 lbs total.
- 1 (12 oz) bag frozen broccoli
Produce
- 6 bell peppers (two 3-packs) — use the 4 largest for stuffed peppers and the other 2 for the marinara pasta
- 2½ lbs sweet potatoes — 1½ lbs for the BBQ pork skillet and 1 lb for the tacos. A 3-lb bag covers both.
- 2 lbs russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
- 4 yellow onions — the recipes use 2 small and 1½ medium
- 11 garlic cloves — buy 2 bulbs if needed
- 1 head broccoli
- Optional: 1 bunch green onions
Dairy & refrigerated
- 4½ cups shredded cheese (about 18 oz) — use cheddar for all four recipes, or use 1½ cups Mexican blend for the stuffed peppers and 3 cups cheddar for the other dinners
- 5 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk, plus more as needed
- 1 (8-count) can refrigerated biscuits
- Optional: sour cream and grated Parmesan
Rice, pasta & tortillas
- 4½ cups uncooked long-grain white rice — 1 cup for the stuffed peppers, 2 cups for the hot honey bowls, and 1½ cups for the pork loin
- 12 oz penne or rotini
- 12 small corn tortillas
Canned goods, sauces & mixes
- 3 (15 oz) cans black beans
- 1 (15 oz) can corn
- 1 (4 oz) can diced mild green chiles
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce
- 1 packet brown gravy mix
- ½ cup barbecue sauce, plus more to taste
- ½ cup salsa
- ⅚ cup honey total (½ cup for the pork loin and ⅓ cup for the hot honey bowls)
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1–2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Optional: ½ cup beef broth for the stuffed peppers, or use water
Pantry check
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- Salt and black pepper
