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December 28, 2019

4 Quick & Easy Dinners For Crazy Busy Weeknights

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We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

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Years ago when I first started meal planning I would always scour the internet every week looking for ideas and inspiration. But being on a budget (a very tight one might I add) made it nearly impossible to find decent dinner meals that didn’t consist of rice, beans and ramen.

The thing is, I don’t just want to share random meals I find on the internet with you, I want to share exactly what I’m making so that you can be inspired to create yummy (yet realistic) meals for your family even if money is tight.

If you are new to my budget friendly meal planning posts I usually plan 4-5 dinners a week leaving 1 day for eating out, and 1 day for our Friday homemade pizza night. My husband and I always use our leftovers for lunch the next day but some weeks we have more leftovers than we need for lunches and so I will either freeze what we have left or we will have a leftover night.

This weeks meal plan is equally as cheap as it is easy (yay!) Some of these recipes consist of little to no prep with very minimal ingredients. These recipes are definitely worth trying out!

 

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The Recipes:

  • Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings (crazy simple and so so so good)
  • French’s Crunchy Onion Chicken ( 5 minute prep time & only 4 ingredients)
  • Layered Taco Salad
  • Asian Turkey Meatballs 

 

 

 

Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings

(Recipe from Cooking With Karli)

 

This recipe has instantly become a new family favorite. I’ve probably made it at least 5 times since I found it a few months ago. It’s incredibly easy to put together (like 5 minutes tops!), is a crockpot recipe and doesn’t require very many ingredients which makes it extremely budget friendly. Anytime I can find a delicious meal idea that is quick, cheap and easy I am ALL FOR IT!

 

 

 

French’s Crunchy Onion Chicken

(Recipe from Mccormick)

Fun fact: My husband absolutely hates onion. He dislikes it so much that I didn’t even tell him the name of this recipe because I knew he would more than likely have a negative feeling going in and I wanted his true reaction.

He ended up loving it! This is a great way to use up any leftover onion pieces you didn’t use for your green bean casserole after thanksgiving. Let me tell you, this was so easy. I feel like I say this all the time because, well, I love finding easy recipes. I live for it. Easy, cheap recipes are the best recipes to find when you want to eat well without spending hours in the kitchen. These are the recipes that help you stick to your meal plan.

A++++ from me!

 

 

Layered Taco Salad

(Recipe from Chin Deep)

If you’re looking for something you can make the morning (or night) before this is it! This meal is similar to a seven layer dip with a more salad like twist. This is perfect if you’re in the mood for something casual or you have company over. We portioned it out on top of tortilla chips and ate it like nachos but you could totally put it in a tortilla or taco shell too. I was surprised that we were able to get 2 nights of dinners out of this meal which makes it really affordable.

 

 

 

Asian Turkey Meatballs

(Recipe from Chef Savvy)

My kids are so incredibly picky when it comes to meat but if you put it in the shape of a meatball they gobble it up. The best thing about these meatballs is they are different from your traditional every day meatball and the prep time is only 10 minutes! Pair this with some rice and veggies and you are good to go.

 

 

 

Grocery List

Below is a grocery list of everything you will need to recreate this meal plan. If an Ibotta offer exists for a particular item you will see that notated next to it. To make things a little easier for you I also created this grocery list as a printable that you can download for FREE by clicking the image below.

Please note that Ibotta offers change frequently. Depending on when you are reading this there could be new offers for these items. It’s always worth it to search for the item in Ibotta to see if anything pops up.

A great way to save money on your weekly meal plan is to have your pantry stocked with basic staples. By having these basic staples on hand you will be able to make meals easier, cheaper and more efficiently. You can find that post HERE to help you get started building your pantry on a budget.

 

For this meal plan you will need:

  1. Chicken Broth
  2. Chicken Breast x2
  3. Onion x2
  4. Dried Parsley
  5. Cream Of Chicken
  6. 1 Can Biscuits
  7. French’s Crispy Fried Onions
  8. All Purpose Flour
  9. Eggs
  10. 1 lb Ground Beef
  11. Green Chilies
  12. Shredded Lettuce
  13. Taco Seasoning
  14. Ranch
  15. Sour Cream
  16. Mayo
  17. 1 Can Sweet Corn
  18. Salsa
  19. Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Cheese
  20. Olives
  21. Bacon
  22. Jalapeno
  23. Tomatoes
  24. Tortilla Chips
  25. 1 lb Ground Turkey
  26. Panko Bread Crumbs
  27. Garlic
  28. Green Onion
  29. Sesame Oil
  30. Soy Sauce
  31. Hoisin Sauce
  32. Sesame Seeds (optional)

 

 

 

 

 

Want To Remember This? Share it to your favorite board on Pinterest!

4 quick and easy dinners for busy weeknights. These awesome 15 minute, little to no prep meals are perfect for the busy family. Extremely budget friendly!

 

 

 

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