Easy weeknight cooking is a must-have in our home, which is why I prepped a weekly meal plan with an Aldi shopping list. I like to call it my Aldi meal plan. I like to have about a dozen easy recipes on hand so I can flip through them every week when I’m meal planning for my family members.
Having healthy meals on hand helps me to feel free during the week and like I'm a super organized mom.
While I've shopped at plenty of grocery stores, I find shopping at Aldi is the most convenient for my grocery budget because I can often save money. Plus, Aldi offers curbside pickup!
I'm always impressed by others Aldi finds and love to search #aldihaul on Instagram, so I thought why not create my own Aldi grocery list. By the way, have you seen my family friendly meal planner template? You can get it here. I'm certain you'll save time with it!
This recipe is based off of Half Baked Harvest’s Florentine Butter Chicken, and it is delicious! It’s slightly more involved than the others, but SO worth it!
I make this at least once every two weeks. You can serve it without orzo pasta if you’re watching your grains and add in a green vegetable like asparagus.
Ingredients:
1lb chicken tenders
1 large egg, beaten
¼ cup of gluten free flour
4 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 ½ cups cherry tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup of white wine
3 lemons
½ lb of orzo pasta
Instructions:
While I like to use chicken tenders for this recipe because they cook quickly, you can also use chicken breasts. One of my tricks to this recipe is setting out two plates. On the first plate, sprinkle the ¼ cup of gluten free flour, salt and pepper.
Beat one egg in a small bowl to dip the chicken tenders into. After dipping the chicken tenders in the egg, place the chicken into the flour to coat. Set it on the second plate.
Boil salted water for the orzo. Slice one lemon. Squeeze the juice of two lemons into a bowl and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken tenders and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken tenders from the heat and place onto the plate.
Add the 4 tablespoons of butter to the pan. Once the butter melts, add the slices of lemon to caramelize for one minute. Remove the lemon slices and set on top of the chicken.
Add orzo pasta to the boiling water and cook for several minutes until cooked through. Drain the pasta and drizzle olive oil over it, so it doesn’t stick.
Add the thyme and cherry tomatoes to the pan. After a few minutes, the cherry tomatoes will start to burst. Once they do, add the white wine and lemon juice and cook for 2 minutes. Then, re-add the chicken tenders back to the pan to cook.
The sauce will thicken and chicken tenders will cook through.
Italian is an easy weeknight go-to for us. I like to keep a few packs of raviolis in the refrigerator and Aldi has a great variety to choose from! Also, a few cans of pasta sauce on hand is always a good idea - I consider it to be a pantry staple.
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Ingredients:
One pack of Ravioli
One can pasta sauce
1lb of mild Italian Sausage
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning (Oregano, Thyme and Basil)
½ cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a glass dish, pour ¼ cup of water.
Place the Italian sausage in the water and sprinkle Italian seasoning on top. Cook for 30 minutes in the oven flipping midway through.
Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling. Add the ravioli and cook for 2 minutes until they float to the top.
Drain and top with pasta sauce. Slice the sausage into ½ pieces and add to the pasta sauce. Heat for 2 minutes
I hope you find this free Aldi meal plan handy! I know that when I sit down to meal plan and then grocery shop, it makes our week run more smoothly. For more meal ideas, check out this section on the blog, and stay tuned for more weekly Aldi meal plans!
