Large Family Recipes for Your Meal Plan
We have a big family to feed every single week. When I fail to meal plan it becomes a very stressful situation for me.
For thirteen years I have been meal planning as a way to save money, stay out of the drive thru lines and keep our budget on track.
I want to share our large family meal plan with you and what a week of cooking looks like at my house. It is so much easier to get dinner on the table when you spend about an hour of one day writing out what you plan to cook, ensuring you have the ingredients on hand, making a shopping list of what you don’t have and placing an online grocery order for the things you need. Then you have everything on hand for what you need and you will be good to go! Then it’s just a matter of cooking dinner each night.
If you need some ideas on what to put on your menu each week, make sure you check out my large family meal planning posts. I link to many easy recipes that I have created and some that others have created as well.
Ready to see what we are having this week for dinner?
Large Family Recipes
Black Bean Chicken Bowls– this recipe was created for the Instant Pot but it is super easy to convert to a slow cooker recipe which is what I will do this time. I am also going to use thighs instead of breasts. I will cook it on high for 6 hours in my 6 quart Crock Pot. I buy my chicken breasts in bulk at Sam’s for $1.72 per pound. One package is enough to make two separate meals for my family. I will serve this over rice which I have a large supply of on hand.
Frito Pie Casserole– this is going to start by making a big pot of chili in the slow cooker. I will use half of the pot for this recipe and freeze the leftovers to use in the coming weeks on baked potatoes. Frito pie is another recipe that screams fall!! Do you bake your Frito pie or make it all on the stove top?
Tender Slow Cooker Pot Roast– with carrots and potatoes. We are so ready for fall and cooler weather here in Texas. This recipe will cook all day in the slow cooker and be ready at dinner time. I will serve it with a salad and cornbread. This will feed a crowd! I buy my potatoes in 15 pounds bags at Sams and my baby carrots in 3 pound bags also at Sams.
Salmon Patties– these can be made in the electric skillet using a little bit of coconut oil. My grandmother and mother made these all the time when I was a kid and I loved them! Yes, it is using canned salmon. We love them. The recipe is in my March 2019 Freezer Meal Plan…. yes, these freeze really nicely!
Baked Ranch Chicken Thighs– these are so easy and cook quickly Serve them with mashed potatoes, dinner rolls and a salad and you have a nice meal. I buy my bone in skin on chicken thighs in bulk at Sams for $0.90 per pound. One package is enough for two dinners.
Stuffed Bell Peppers– I am going to double the meat recipe and add rice to them instead of quinoa. I am going to freeze half of the mixture for a later time and use the other half for our dinner. I buy bell peppers in bulk at Sams. I am also going to use cheddar cheese instead of feta. Our side will be sauted brussels sprouts.
Leftover Buffet– use them up!
Grocery Budget
One way that I stay on budget with my grocery shopping is to buy as much as I can in bulk. I can buy 50 pounds of rice for under $17. By doing this I only buy rice about once a year and we eat it multiple times per week as a side.
Buying groceries in large quantities has really helped me save on my grocery bill. You can get an idea of the groceries I buy in bulk, how much I pay for them and how long they last.
I also do 90% of my grocery shopping online from Sams or Walmart. There are a few things I buy at HEB, like my beef and homemade tortillas. Online grocery shopping allows me to never check out until my cart total is exactly where I need it to be and no impulse shopping!
Large Family Freezer Cooking
Many of these meals are freezer friendly. Spending an hour or two preassembling and freezing these meals is a great way to save time during the week. Then, all you have to do is defrost and cook. I understand that freezer meals are not for everyone, but it is much easier than you might think. It really is not something to be afraid of. I teach you how to freezer cook in live videos over in our Facebook group, Get Dinner on the Table.
