This post was sponsored by Perdue Farms. All opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase using the links, I may receive a commission.
One of my secrets for how to ‘get it all done’ is meal planning. It may sound tedious, but it actually saves time deciding what to cook and eat each day, makes grocery shopping much more quick and efficient, and saves a lot of money while also dramatically lowering food waste. The most efficient way to start a meal plan that ensures the least amount of waste is to center your recipe choices around bundles of ingredients. Today I’m sharing meal planning tips, plus a menu and shopping list to create more than 6 easy, family-friendly meals (2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 2-3 dinners) – perfect for a weekend!
My partner for today’s post is Perdue Farms, who you may know from their popular Dino Nuggets. What you might not know is that you’ve probably been eating Perdue Farms’ chicken and their premium Niman Ranch pork your whole life, as they have been supplying high-quality meats to grocery stores and restaurants for 100 years. They are now the #1 supplier of Organic Chicken in the US, as well as a leader in premium Beef, Pork, Lamb, Pasture Raised, Grass-fed, Heritage Breed, Antibiotic-Free (No Antibiotics Ever), Non-GMO, Certified Humane, GAP & more. All that being said, Perdue Farms’ big announcement is that they now offer direct-to-consumer shopping options on their website! I can attest to the high quality of Perdue Farms’ chicken and Niman Ranch’s pork products, so the convenience of being able to get it shipped directly to my door at a discount is great news! Today’s post will show you how to plan and create more than 6 easy, family-friendly meals using the Perdue Farms Family Bundle – Medium protein box. Plus, if you use coupon code FARMER10 you’ll get 10% off your order and FREE Diced Chicken included with your box!!
The new Perdue Farms shopping site includes lots of protein to purchase in cuts, packs, or boxed bundles. I received the Family Bundle – Medium box, which includes Niman Ranch Applewood Uncured Bacon, Niman Ranch Uncured Pork Breakfast Sausage, PERDUE ® Panko Breaded Dino Nuggets, Niman Ranch Uncured Bacon Wrapped With Rosemary Pork Chop, and PERDUE ® Harvestland ® Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins, Individually Wrapped. Getting these products as a bundle like this saves 17% compared with purchasing all the products individually. Since I could easily get at least 6 meals from the protein in this box (with only minimal additional ingredients from the grocery store), this covered a big chunk of my family’s meal plan this week. I’m sharing the plan, shopping list, and recipes here with you today for your own family-friendly, easy meal plan! You’ll want to pin this post.
For families seeking both convenience and cost-efficiency, check out EveryPlate meal menus for budget-friendly yet quality meal options. The plans offer a variety of meals catering to different tastes including meat & veggies, vegetarian, or even quick & easy recipes. By combining EveryPlate menus with Perdue Farms protein packages, your family’s meals could be not just diverse and delicious but also highly economical.
Giving back – sustainability and supporting small farmers
Sustainability, ethical treatment of animals, and supporting small businesses are all important to me. I am proud to be working with Perdue Farms, as they share these values and prove it every day.
When I received my Family Bundle, I immediately noticed how they designed the shipment with sustainability in mind. Every box is made out of 100 percent recyclable cardboard and insulated with Green Cell Foam®, an eco-friendly insulation that is biodegradable, compostable and made from high-grade non-GMO cornstarch that is also dissolvable in water. They also send a reusable and recyclable grocery bag and a pollinator seed packet with your order. Perdue Farms recognizes that our nation wouldn’t be able to produce the food we do without bees and butterflies, and encourages you to plant the seeds to create a robust pollinator habitat near your home! They also makes a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation for every box shipped. Learn more about how Perdue Farms cares here.
As I said above, over the last 10 years, Perdue Farms has transitioned from conventional chicken & turkey production to becoming the #1 supplier in the US for Organic Chicken. They also have a huge emphasis on animal welfare (learn more about that here), and support small, independent family farmers and their businesses. Niman Ranch, for example, works with 740 farmers and ranchers as part of this mission to support small, independent farmers, even offering scholarships to help support the farming industry and encourage young farmers starting out. You can meet some of these family farmers here.
Meal plan and shopping list: How to feed your family for the whole weekend
The way I go about meal planning is actually a pretty simple system, but a little planning goes a long way in saving time and money when grocery shopping and cooking. I start by looking at my calendar and seeing how many meals I need to account for, and make a line for each meal in my planner. A weekend, for example, would require 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 3 dinners (if you count Friday night). Since protein is central to most meals, I first see what I have in my freezer. From there, I search the recipe idea boards I’ve saved for myself in Pinterest, which I have sectioned by meat type (chicken, pork, or beef main dish recipes, for example). When I decide on a recipe, I immediately write down the ingredients in my shopping list so that I am only shopping for what I need when I go to the store (this prevents a lot of food waste at my house). I will also look for meals with similar ingredients so that I can save money by purchasing in bulk (a bag of potatoes to use for multiple different meals, for example).
Today I’m sharing 2 breakfasts (Easy Baked Bacon and Egg Bites and Easy Pork Sausage Hash), 2 lunches (Panko-Crusted Dino Nuggets and Family-Friendly Dino Nugget Parmesan), and 2 dinners (One-Pan Bacon-Wrapped Pork Chops Dinner and Teriyaki-Ranch Chicken Tenders), But you will have enough chicken tenderloins leftover in your 2.25-pound pack of Perdue’s Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins to get one more meal for the third dinner if you wanted to plan for a full weekend.
Here’s what you need for this family-friendly weekend meal plan.
From the Perdue Farms website:
- Perdue Farms Family Bundle – Medium box (includes Niman Ranch Applewood Uncured Bacon, Niman Ranch Uncured Pork Breakfast Sausage, PERDUE ® Panko Breaded Dino Nuggets, Niman Ranch Uncured Bacon Wrapped With Rosemary Pork Chop, and PERDUE ® Harvestland ® Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins)
Grocery store:
- Eggs
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Shredded Cheddar cheese
- Frozen hash brown potatoes
- Onion
- Green bell pepper
- Red potatoes
- Instant macaroni and cheese
- Marinara sauce
- Spaghetti noodles
- White rice
- Teriyaki sauce
- Ranch dressing
Pantry staples:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic salt
- Seasoning salt
- Thyme
- Vegetable oil
- Olive oil
- Non-stick cooking spray
- Ketchup
Ready to get cooking? Here are the super easy recipes for this family meal plan.
6+ easy family-friendly meals to make this weekend: Breakfasts
Easy Baked Bacon and Egg Bites
This breakfast is very hands-off to prepare, but can be eaten with your hands! It is great as a grab-and-go breakfast, and also works well for meal prepping a few days’ worth of breakfasts. Bonus: This breakfast is also keto-friendly.
Start by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees F. Spray the cups of a muffin pan with non-stick spray, then line a piece of Niman Ranch Applewood Uncured Bacon around the inside of each cup. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then pour out some of the excess bacon grease.
Crack an egg into the center of each bacon ring and season with salt and pepper. Optional: sprinkle some diced onion, bell pepper, or mushrooms and/or some shredded cheese over the top of the egg. Bake in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
The Baked Bacon and Egg Bites should pop right out of the muffin cups and can be eaten fresh or saved for breakfasts for other days if you’re meal prepping for the week ahead.
Easy Pork Sausage Hash
When I need a quick, but hearty breakfast, hash is my go-to. I use pre-cut frozen hash brown potatoes to save myself time on chopping potatoes. In addition to the potatoes, this recipe also includes Niman Ranch Uncured Pork Breakfast Sausage, onion, green bell pepper, garlic salt, and seasoning salt.
Prepare your ingredients by slicing the Niman Ranch Uncured Pork Breakfast Sausage into rings and dicing some onion and a green bell pepper.
Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned, then remove them to a plate to set aside, but do not drain the oil. Add the potatoes, onion, and bell pepper to the skillet with the reserved oil and sausage drippings, and stir until the vegetables are coated in oil. Season with some garlic and seasoning salt and cook, flipping only once or twice, until the potatoes are browned and the vegetables are tender. Stir the sausage into the potato mixture and serve.
6+ easy family-friendly meals to make this weekend: Lunches
Panko-Crusted Dino Nuggets
On a busy weekend, sometimes you can’t be bothered with fussiness over what’s for lunch. PERDUE ® Panko Breaded Dino Nuggets are the perfect solution in this case, as everyone loves them! These dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets make mealtime fun! Made from the very best boneless, skinless chicken breast, lightly seasoned before being formed into morsels, then coated in a crunchy home-style Panko breading and baked, these golden and delicious nuggets are sold frozen and packaged in a 27-ounce resealable bag for convenience. Cook them according to package directions and serve with a side of ketchup and some instant mac and cheese for a kid-friendly lunch… but from experience I can tell you that adults also love the taste of these nuggets!
Family-Friendly Dino Nugget Parmesan
An out-of-the-box easy lunch idea using PERDUE ® Panko Breaded Dino Nuggets: Dino Nugget Parmesan! Start by making the Dino Nuggets in the oven according to package directions, but after flipping them mid-way through baking, spoon some marinara on top of each nugget.
Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the marinara, then continue the second half of baking.
Serve with some spaghetti noodles topped with additional marinara sauce. Optional: While adults love this meal, too, you can make a “grown-up” version by grilling a chicken tenderloin then topping it with marinara and mozzarella cheese and baking for a few minutes with the Dino Nuggets to melt the cheese. Serve it over pasta or on a sandwich roll.
6+ easy family-friendly meals to make this weekend: Dinners
One-Pan Bacon-Wrapped Pork Chops Dinner
I love me an easy, one-pan meal… especially one as delicious as this! Niman Ranch’s Uncured Bacon Wrapped With Rosemary Pork Chop is SO good. Seriously, the quality is impressive, even to pork aficionados like my family. With just a few extra ingredients and a baking pan, you’ve got a full family dinner with minimal effort.
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F. Place the bacon-wrapped pork chops on the pan, spaced out a bit. Toss some red potatoes in a bit of olive oil, then distribute them around the pork chops on the pan. Season everything with some fresh cracked salt and pepper and a bit of dried thyme.
Bake for 20 minutes, then finish off under the broiler for a minute or two to add some crispness.
Teriyaki-Ranch Chicken Tenders
You might be surprised to hear that teriyaki sauce and ranch dressing go well together. I’ve been a fan of the combo since trying this Anniversary Chicken recipe, so I like to whip it up when I need a quick and easy chicken dinner that I know the family will love. It’s especially great if you have ranch and teriyaki sauces in your fridge already.
The recipe starts by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees F, then browning some PERDUE ® Harvestland ® Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins in a skillet with vegetable oil for about 2 minutes a side on medium-high heat. Transfer the browned chicken to a baking dish in a single layer.
Drizzle some teriyaki sauce on top of the chicken…
… then pour some ranch dressing over the top of that.
Finally, sprinkle some shredded Cheddar cheese over the top of everything.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-22 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through and the cheese is bubbly. Trust me, you will be surprised at how great this unlikely combo of ingredients tastes! Serve it over some steamed white rice.
Additional chicken dinner idea:
What to do with the extra chicken tenderloins? Season them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (my favorite seasoning trio), grill them, and serve with some of the extra rice purchased for the Teriyaki-Ranch Chicken Tenders or over some lettuce for an easy salad with ranch dressing.
Pin this post to save these easy, family-friendly recipe ideas, and when you’re ready to start saving on high-quality meats with bundle boxes from Perdue Farms, click here to shop! Don’t forget to use coupon code FARMER10 for 10% off your order and FREE Diced Chicken included with your box!!
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