Meal planning! It can be exhausting (why is it so hard?) On weeks when I am rushed or just to mentally tired to meal plan I use some lists I’ve created on InstaCart.
These lists allow you to easily add all the items needed to make the meals to your cart. You can remove items that you already have or add in additional needed items, but having the set lists makes grocery shopping even faster.
Aldi Week 1 Instacart List Can be added to your InstaCart account by clicking here.
The meals are:
- Orange Chicken
- Ravioli
- Pizza
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Hamburgers
- Chicken Salad Sandwiches
I always leave one day a week open to eat up leftovers. All of these meals are fairly easy to make. And you can adjust the recipes based on your preferences.
Recipes:
Easy Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Orange Marmalade
- 1 Cup Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 Bag Kirkwood Honey Battered Breast Tenders Cooked according to package directions and cut into bite size pieces
- 1 Bag Steamable Frozen Broccoli Stir Fry Steamed in microwave
- 2 Cups Cooked Rice
Instructions
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In a sauce pan combine the Marmalade, BBQ Sauce and Soy Sauce. Stir until combined.
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Cook over medium heat until thickened and smooth (about 15-20 minutes. (This sauce freezes well. If you want to save yourself even more time on a future meal you can double the sauce ingredients and freeze half of the sauce).
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Combine cooked battered chicken and stir fry with sauce and serve over cooked rice.
Ravioli
This is super easy, especially if you can have regular jarred marinara sauce. I can't because of an onion and garlic allergy. So I make my own sauce.
Ingredients
Quick Marinara Sauce
- 1 8 oz Can Tomato Sauce
- 1 14.5 oz Can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- 1 6 oz Can Tomato Paste
- 1/2 Fresh Bell Pepper
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
Ravioli Toppings
- Parmesan Cheese
- Cottage Cheese
- Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
- 1 Bag Frozen Cheese Ravioli
Instructions
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Blend all ingredients for marinara sauce in blender.
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Cook Ravioli according to package directions.
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Pour ravioli into 9×13 glass pan. Pour marinara sauce on top and stir till covered.
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Top ravioli with cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and shredded cheese.
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Heat in oven until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
Pizza
We make our own pizza dough in a breadmaker. But you can forego this step and use a premade pizza crust or even French bread. We use the same sauce that I make for the ravioli (I usually just save some from making Ravioli earlier in the week.) And then top with your favorite pizza toppings. Cheese, pepperoni, little smokie sausages and mushrooms are the favorites in our house, but you can add what you prefer.
Easy Pizza Dough
We use this for pizza and calzones.
Ingredients
- 1 3/8 Cup Water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 4 Cups Flour
- 2 tsp Yeast
Instructions
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Combine all ingredients in order given in bread pan.
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Select dough setting.
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When breadmaker is done roll out onto pizza pan or shape into small rounds for calzones.
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After adding toppings bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Chopped Celery
- 1 Cup Chopped Carrots
- 4 Cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Cup Cooked and shredded Chicken
Noodles (You can buy regular noodles to add to your soup, but I really prefer these)
- 2 1/3 Cups Flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1/3 Cup Water
- 1 tsp Cooking Oil
Instructions
Noodles
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Mix all noodle ingredients together.
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Knead dough until all flour is incorporated (I use my kitchen aid mixer with a paddle attachment)
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Let dough rest 10 minutes.
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Roll out onto floured surface until about 1/16 inch thick. Cut into strips.
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This recipe makes enough to do two batches of soup. It freezes really well. So I just lay out half of the noodles on a pan covered in foil and freeze overnight. Then store them in a ziplock bag in the freezer for a future meal.
Soup
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Add broth, chicken, carrots and celery to large soup pan. Add any additional spices. I like to add Thyme, Oregano, a bay leaf and basil.
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Bring to a boil.
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Add noodles slowly. Allow them to cook about 7 minutes.
Hamburgers
Pretty self explanatory. Cook with your preferred method (If I am tight for time, I cook mine in my oven at 425 degrees for 7 minutes. Flip them over and then cook another 7 minutes. ) Quick way to get a lot done!
Add your favorite hamburger toppings; cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, Mayo, we love adding an easy over egg to our hamburgers (Yum!)
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Cooked Shredded Chicken
- 2 stalks Chopped Celery
- 1/4 Cup Onion chopped *can be left out for allergies or low fodmap
- 3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp. Lemon Juice
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp Celery Seeds
- 3/4 Cup Sliced Grapes
Instructions
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Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
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Chill salad
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Serve on croissants, French bread, or tortillas as a wrap or on romaine lettuce.
That’s it! Hope this helps you reclaim some mental space!
