Some weeks are just busy from start to finish.
Appointments, work, school activities, farm chores, errands, practices, laundry- - and somehow everyone still expects supper every night. 🤍
That’s exactly why I keep coming back to Meal Plan Monday.
Meal planning doesn’t have to mean spending hours prepping food or mapping out complicated recipes. Sometimes it simply means taking a few minutes at the beginning of the week to answer one very familiar question:
What are we having for supper this week?
For this week’s Meal Plan Monday, I put together another 5 Aldi Dinners for $50, and this time we’re making it the Busy Week Edition.
The goal is simple: five family-friendly suppers, one grocery trip, and meals that don’t require you to spend all evening in the kitchen.
We’re using a crockpot, making a one-skillet supper, taking advantage of a freezer shortcut, intentionally cooking once and eating twice, and finishing the week with an easy breakfast-for-supper night.
As always, grocery prices vary by Aldi location and from week to week, so think of $50 as a target grocery budget rather than a guaranteed checkout total. Shopping your kitchen first can make a big difference too.
This Week’s Meal Plan
Monday: Crockpot Salsa Chicken Tacos
Tuesday: Smoked Sausage, Broccoli & Cheesy Rice Skillet
Wednesday: Easy Meatball Subs + Green Beans
Thursday: Chicken Ranch Baked Potatoes
Friday: Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches + Fruit
Monday: Crockpot Salsa Chicken Tacos
Starting the week with a crockpot supper just makes sense.
You can get this going earlier in the day and have most of supper waiting when everyone is hungry.
Ingredients
• About 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 jar salsa
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• Flour tortillas
• Shredded cheese
Directions
Place the chicken in the slow cooker.
Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken and pour about 1½ cups salsa over the top.
Cover and cook on LOW for approximately 5–6 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is completely cooked and shreds easily.
Shred with two forks and stir the chicken back into the salsa.
Serve in warm tortillas with shredded cheese.
If you already have lettuce, sour cream, onion, tomatoes, or another favorite taco topping in the refrigerator, use those too.
Save Some for Thursday
Before everyone starts filling their tacos, set aside approximately 2 cups of the shredded chicken.
We’ll use it again later in the week for Chicken Ranch Baked Potatoes.
This is one of my favorite meal-planning tricks: cook once and use it twice.
Tuesday: Smoked Sausage, Broccoli & Cheesy Rice Skillet
A one-skillet supper is perfect for a busy night, and rice is one of the easiest ways to stretch a package of meat into a hearty family meal.
Ingredients
• 1 package smoked sausage
• 1½ cups uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1 bag frozen broccoli
• 3 cups chicken broth or water
• About 1 cup shredded cheese
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Black pepper
Directions
Slice the smoked sausage into rounds.
Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the rice, chicken broth or water, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook according to the rice package directions.
During the last several minutes of cooking, stir in the frozen broccoli.
Once the rice is tender and the broccoli is heated through, stir in the shredded cheese.
Serve hot.
Budget Tip
Instead of making smoked sausage the biggest portion of the meal, we’re using rice and broccoli to stretch it.
Simple ingredients. Filling supper. One skillet to clean.
That’s a win on a busy Tuesday.
Wednesday: Easy Meatball Subs + Green Beans
By Wednesday, I’m perfectly happy to use a shortcut.
Frozen meatballs make this supper especially easy, and regular hot dog buns help keep the cost lower than buying specialty sub rolls.
Ingredients
• 1 bag frozen Italian-style meatballs
• 1 jar pasta sauce
• 1 package hot dog buns
• Shredded cheese
• 1 bag frozen green beans
Directions
Prepare the meatballs according to package directions.
You can also place them in a skillet or saucepan with the pasta sauce and simmer until completely heated through.
Place several meatballs inside each bun.
Spoon a little extra sauce over the top and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
For toasted meatball subs, place them on a sheet pan and bake at 400°F for a few minutes, just until the cheese melts and the buns begin to toast.
Prepare the green beans according to package directions and serve alongside.
Farm Wife Tip
You don’t have to buy specialty ingredients just because a recipe traditionally calls for them.
Hot dog buns work perfectly well here.
Making little substitutions like that throughout the week is one of the easiest ways to help keep the grocery bill under control.
Thursday: Chicken Ranch Baked Potatoes
Remember Monday’s chicken?
Tonight, those planned leftovers become a completely different supper.
Ingredients
• Reserved shredded salsa chicken
• 4–6 large potatoes
• Shredded cheese
• Ranch dressing
• Remaining broccoli, if available
• Salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Scrub the potatoes and pierce them several times with a fork.
Bake for approximately 45–60 minutes, depending on their size, until tender.
If you’re really short on time, microwave the potatoes first. You can finish them briefly in the oven or air fryer if you prefer a crispier skin.
Split each potato and fluff the inside with a fork.
Top with warm shredded chicken, broccoli if desired, shredded cheese, and a drizzle of ranch dressing.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Planned Leftovers Make Busy Weeks Easier
There is a difference between random leftovers sitting in the refrigerator and planned leftovers.
On Monday, we intentionally cooked enough chicken for another meal.
Monday was tacos. Thursday is loaded baked potatoes.
Same chicken. Completely different supper.
And Thursday night requires very little cooking.
Friday: Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches + Fruit
By Friday, easy sounds pretty good.
Breakfast for supper is affordable, filling, family-friendly, and usually pretty quick to put together.
Ingredients
• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 roll breakfast sausage
• Remaining shredded cheese
• 1 package English muffins
• Bananas or another inexpensive fruit
• Salt and pepper
Directions
Form the breakfast sausage into patties and cook thoroughly in a skillet.
Cook the eggs however your family prefers. Scrambled eggs work especially well when you’re making several sandwiches at once.
Toast the English muffins.
Layer each muffin with egg, sausage, and shredded cheese.
Serve with bananas or whatever inexpensive fruit looked best when you shopped.
Make a Few Extras
If you have enough ingredients, make a couple of extra breakfast sandwiches while everything is already out.
Wrap and refrigerate or freeze them for quick breakfasts later.
Friday night supper just became a little meal prep for next week too.
Aldi Shopping List
Here’s the grab-and-go list for this week.
Meat & Protein
☐ Family pack boneless skinless chicken breasts
☐ 1 package smoked sausage
☐ 1 bag frozen Italian-style meatballs
☐ 1 roll breakfast sausage
☐ 1 dozen eggs
Produce
☐ 1 bag russet potatoes
☐ Bananas or another inexpensive seasonal fruit
Frozen
☐ 1 bag frozen broccoli
☐ 1 bag frozen green beans
Dairy
☐ 1 large bag shredded cheese
Bread
☐ 1 package flour tortillas
☐ 1 package hot dog buns
☐ 1 package English muffins
Pantry
☐ Long-grain white rice
☐ 1 jar salsa
☐ 1 packet taco seasoning
☐ 1 jar pasta sauce
☐ Ranch dressing, if needed
Shop Your Kitchen First
Before you head to Aldi, take a quick look through your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.
You may already have:
☐ Rice
☐ Salsa
☐ Taco seasoning
☐ Ranch dressing
☐ Chicken broth or bouillon
☐ Cooking oil
☐ Garlic powder
☐ Onion powder
☐ Salt
☐ Black pepper
Every box you can check at home is something you don’t have to buy.
And don’t be afraid to substitute.
Already have hamburger buns? Use those instead of hot dog buns.
Have a different frozen vegetable that needs used up? Serve that instead.
Have plenty of potatoes at home? Friday’s breakfast sandwiches could easily become eggs, sausage, and breakfast potatoes.
A meal plan should work with your kitchen—not make you buy things you don’t need.
Estimated Aldi Cost Breakdown
Here’s approximately how this shopping trip could break down.
Prices vary by store and week, but this gives you a realistic idea of where that $50 target goes.
Family pack chicken breasts: $9.62
Smoked sausage: $3.19
Frozen Italian meatballs: $8.25
Breakfast sausage: $2.65
Dozen eggs: $2.50
Russet potatoes: $3.50
Bananas: $1.00
Frozen broccoli: $1.29
Frozen green beans: $1.89
Shredded cheese: $3.09
Flour tortillas: $1.35
Long-grain rice: $2.00
Salsa: $2.00
Taco seasoning: $0.60
Pasta sauce: $1.75
Hot dog buns: $1.50
English muffins: $2.00
Ranch dressing: $2.00
Estimated Total: $50.18
That puts the complete grocery list at right around $50.
And remember—this estimate assumes you’re purchasing nearly everything on the list.
If you already have rice, ranch dressing, salsa, tortillas, potatoes, seasonings, or another ingredient at home, your actual grocery total can come down pretty quickly.
That’s why I always recommend shopping your kitchen first before starting your grocery list.
How the $50 Gets Stretched Across Five Dinners
One of the reasons this meal plan works is that several groceries have more than one job.
The family pack of chicken gives us Monday’s tacos and Thursday’s baked potatoes.
The shredded cheese goes into the tacos, sausage and rice skillet, meatball subs, baked potatoes, and breakfast sandwiches.
The broccoli can be used Tuesday and again Thursday.
Rice stretches the smoked sausage into a larger meal.
And Friday’s eggs and sausage can potentially make extra breakfast sandwiches for another day.
Instead of buying ingredients for five completely unrelated recipes, we’re intentionally looking for ways to cross-use what goes into the cart.
That’s where meal planning can really make a difference.
Meal Plan Monday Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
This is exactly why I like Meal Plan Monday.
You don’t need seven brand-new recipes every week.
You don’t need an elaborate spreadsheet.
And you certainly don’t have to spend your entire Sunday meal prepping.
Sometimes the biggest help is simply knowing what you’re going to make.
Monday’s chicken is already helping with Thursday.
Wednesday has an easy freezer shortcut.
Friday is breakfast for supper.
And the groceries are already in the house.
When 5:00 rolls around on a busy day, you don’t have to start from scratch and figure out what everyone is going to eat.
You already have a plan.
Five dinners. One grocery trip. Around a $50 target budget. And one less thing to think about during a busy week.
That’s what Meal Plan Monday is all about. 🤍
From my kitchen table to yours,
Budget note: Aldi prices and product availability vary by location and week. The prices shown are estimates, and the approximately $50 total is a target grocery budget. Basic cooking oils and seasonings are assumed to already be on hand.
🌿 Looking for more simple ways to make busy-season meals easier? Browse my meal plans, freezer meal ideas, and other practical guides here under the Shop Tab.