Weekly ALDI Meal Plan week of 3/19/17 - 3/25/17

ALDI meal planning week of 3/19/17 – 3/25/17

Six complete dinners for a family of four for $60.00

Prices here are collected from this week’s ad and my local store in the Chicago suburbs, but may vary by location & region. I’m assuming here that you already have pantry basics like olive oil, soy sauce, and spices. Read through the recipes before you shop to make sure you have the necessary pantry staples on hand.

Six Easy Dinners from ALDI for $60.00

• Sunday: St. Louis ribs with BBQ sauce. (Seasonings of choice, wrap in foil, & bake on a rimmed baking sheet at 300 degrees for about three hours, or until tender. Unwrap foil, baste with BBQ sauce, and bake another 15-20 minutes or so until sauce is browned nicely, then serve with additional sauce. Note: If you have an Instant Pot, you can also pre-cook the ribs in there much more quickly and just baste and grill or finish off in the oven.) Sides: Oven roasted red potatoes (use 1.5 lbs) and lemon glazed carrots (reserve a couple of carrots for Thursday).
• Monday: Asparagus mushroom stir fry served over rice. Sides: Orange slices, strawberries, and egg drop soup (use vegetable instead of chicken broth for Meatless Monday, and use four eggs to make it a little heartier and provide one egg per person).
• Tuesday: Garlic lemon pork chops (use the assorted pork chops; substitute a finely chopped green onion for the chives and vegetable broth for chicken broth). Sides: Salad topped with bacon bits, plus mashed red potatoes. (Use 2 lbs potatoes, washed but unpeeled, boil until fork tender, drain, and mash with 1 cup vegetable broth, pepper, dried parsley, butter, bacon bits, and minced garlic to taste. Chop and stir in any green onions you have left.)
• Wednesday: One pan paprika chicken drumsticks & rice (use half the pack of chicken). Side: Sauteed spinach with garlic, lemon juice, & crushed red pepper, plus bananas.
• Thursday: Sheet pan chicken drumsticks & veggies (use other half of chicken, and peel & cut up a whole carrot or two instead of using baby carrots). Side: Salad topped with several sliced hard boiled eggs, sliced cucumber, and bacon bits, plus orange slices.
•  Friday: Crunchy homemade fish tenders with tartar sauce. (Substitute Swai for cod and crushed Rice Squares for Panko. Crush by hand or run through the food processor, and three cups crush down to about 1 cup of "Panko.") Sides: Oven baked red potato wedges (use the rest of the bag), bananas, and oven roasted asparagus with crushed red pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, & pepper.
• Saturday: Leftovers, or date night!