Weekly Meal Plan #10: No-Fuss Dinners for the Week Ahead

This week’s meal plan is for that late-summer stretch when routines start creeping back in, but you still want dinner to feel simple.

You’ll find an easy chicken salad, quick air fryer shrimp, a better-than-takeout skillet dinner, slow cooker chicken, and a one-pan pork chop meal to finish the week. It is a nice mix of low-effort prep, quick cooking, and one slow cooker dinner for the day you know will be busy.

As always, move the meals around to fit your schedule. If one night is extra busy, use the slow cooker dinner. If you want something quick, make the shrimp. If you want a dinner with the meat and veggies together, save the pork chops for that night.

Don’t forget to check out my Week #9 meal plan if you missed it.

The Daily Dinner Line-Up

Meal Prep & Money-Saving Tips

• Chicken crossover: Monday’s chicken salad and Thursday’s slow cooker dinner both use chicken. Buy a larger pack if it is cheaper, then cook some for Monday and save the rest for Thursday’s slow cooker meal.
• Rotisserie shortcut: If you do not want to cook chicken for Monday, grab a rotisserie chicken. Use the meat for chicken salad, then save any leftovers for sandwiches, wraps, or salads.
• Rice plan: Wednesday’s Beef and Broccoli and Thursday’s Slow Cooker Asian Chicken are both great over rice. Make a bigger batch once and use it for both dinners.
• Shrimp stretch: Tuesday’s Air Fryer Shrimp cooks quickly, but shrimp can disappear fast. Serve it over rice, pasta, or salad to make it feel more filling without having to buy a lot more seafood.
• Green onion refresh: This week uses green onions in Monday’s chicken salad and as a garnish for Wednesday or Thursday. Slice the whole bunch and store it in a paper towel-lined container so it is ready to grab.
• Pork chop dinner built-in: Friday’s pork chop skillet already includes potatoes, carrots, onion, and green pepper, so you do not need to plan a separate side unless you want one.
• Pantry check: Before shopping, look for mayonnaise, wholegrain mustard, Italian dressing mix, soy sauce, honey, ketchup, hoisin sauce, beef broth, cornstarch, tomato soup, Tabasco, and basic seasonings. You may already have several of these on hand.
• Leftover plan: Use leftover beef and broccoli or slow cooker Asian chicken in rice bowls for lunch. Leftover pork chops can be sliced and served with the extra vegetables the next day.

Easy Swap Ideas

• Serving options: Serve the Classic Chicken Salad on bread, buns, croissants, wraps, crackers, or over lettuce.
• Mustard swap: Use Dijon mustard instead of wholegrain mustard in the chicken salad if that is what you have.
• Herb swap: Use parsley or dried dill instead of fresh dill in the chicken salad. If using dried dill, start with a smaller amount because it has a stronger flavor.
• Shrimp amount: Double the Air Fryer Shrimp if you are feeding more than three people, or serve it with rice, pasta, or a salad to stretch it.
• Shrimp seasoning swap: Use lemon pepper, garlic herb, or ranch seasoning instead of Italian dressing mix if that is what you have.
• Beef cut swap: Use flank, sirloin, or skirt steak, or another thinly sliced beef cut, for the Beef and Broccoli.
• Broccoli shortcut: Use frozen broccoli for the Beef and Broccoli if you already have it. Thaw it first and pat it dry so the sauce does not get watery.
• Hoisin substitute: If you do not have hoisin sauce, use a little extra soy sauce with a touch of honey or brown sugar.
• Chicken swap: Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts in the slow cooker for darker meat.
• Pork chop swap: Use bone-in pork chops for the skillet dinner, but adjust the cooking time as needed.
• Less heat: Leave out the Tabasco sauce in the Pork Chop Skillet Dinner if your family does not like spice.
• Potato swap: Use regular, red, or Yukon Gold potatoes instead of baby potatoes.

Master Grocery List: Week 10 Dinners

Note: This shopping list covers all 5 main dinners. If you plan to make the weekly bonus recipes, be sure to check the recipe links and add the ingredients to your list.

Meat and Seafood

• 3 cups of cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken (for Monday)
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (for Thursday)
• 1 to 2 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (for Tuesday)
• 1 lb flank steak or sirloin steak (for Wednesday)
• 6 pork loin chops (for Friday)

Produce

• 1 celery (for Monday)
• 1 bunch of green onions (for Monday)
• 1 lemon (for Tuesday)
• 1 bunch of fresh dill (for Monday)
• 1 head of broccoli (for Wednesday)
• 1 head of garlic (for Wednesday and Thursday)
• 1 piece of fresh ginger (for Wednesday and Thursday)
• 1 small bag of baby potatoes (4 cups) (for Friday)
• 6 carrots (for Friday)
• 1 yellow onion (for Friday)
• 1 green pepper (for Friday)

Dairy and Refrigerated

• 1 package of unsalted butter (for Tuesday)

Pantry

• 1 jar of mayonnaise (for Monday)
• 1 bottle of wholegrain mustard (for Monday)
• 1 bottle of lemon juice (for Monday)
• 1 packet of Italian dressing mix (for Tuesday)
• 1 bottle of soy sauce (for Wednesday and Thursday)
• 1 box of cornstarch (for Wednesday and Thursday)
• 1 bottle of vegetable oil (for Wednesday and Friday)
• 1 can of beef broth (for Wednesday)
• 1 bottle of hoisin sauce (for Wednesday)
• 1 package of brown sugar (for Wednesday)
• 1 bottle of rice vinegar (for Wednesday)
• 1 bottle of sesame oil (for Wednesday)
• 1 bottle of honey (for Thursday)
• 1 bottle of ketchup (for Thursday)
• 1 can of tomato soup (for Friday)
• 1 bottle of Tabasco sauce (for Friday)

Spices and Seasonings

• Oregano (for Thursday)
• Red pepper flakes (for Thursday)
• Salt
• Black pepper

Grab Your Free Printable Shopping List & Meal Plan

To make your week even easier, I’ve put together a printable PDF pack of this exact meal plan and the complete grocery list.

A little planning at the start of the week makes dinner feel so much easier when everyone is hungry and you need something simple.