A week eats better when it's decided once, at the store. This plan decides it: three dinners from one grocery run and one skillet.

Cook them in any order. The beans keep longest, so a safe order is chicken first, then steak, then beans across the week.

Why you'll love this

  • Three dinners, one list, roughly $34.
  • Every night lands in 45 minutes or less.
  • About $2.85 a serving averaged across the week.
  • The bean skillet is a built-in flex night; it moves to next week without waste.

The menu

  1. One-pan lemon chicken and orzo, 45 minutes, ~$2.80/serving. The comfort night.
  2. Garlic butter steak bites with charred broccoli, 22 minutes, ~$4.20/serving. The fast one.
  3. Creamy white bean and spinach skillet, 25 minutes, ~$1.60/serving. The pantry-saver; it also freezes.

Every recipe serves four, so a two-person household gets six dinners from this list with lunches built in.

The grocery list

  • Proteins & dairy: 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (2 lb), 1½ lb sirloin steak, butter, grated parmesan (⅓ cup).
  • Produce: 2 lemons, 1 yellow onion, 1 head garlic, 1 large head broccoli, 8 oz baby spinach (covers both skillets), fresh parsley, fresh thyme.
  • Pantry: orzo (1½ cups), 2 cans white beans, 1 can coconut milk (full fat), chicken broth (3½ cups), vegetable broth (½ cup), olive oil, neutral oil, smoked paprika, paprika, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, flaky salt.

Already have most of the pantry row? The basket comes to roughly $34 for the three dinners, about $2.85 a serving across the week.

How to run the week

Shop once. Then:

  • Night 1, the chicken orzo: cook it first and save two portions for lunches.
  • Steak night: nothing prepped ahead except cutting the broccoli while the pan heats.
  • The bean skillet, the flex night: 25 minutes from a dead-empty fridge. If plans change it moves to next week without waste; the beans, coconut milk, and frozen spinach (swap it in) all keep.

Print this page and the list goes to the store with you. Start here on any week that needs deciding once; plan #2 is the four-dinner version with a Sunday lunch hour, for when you want the lunches handled too.