Do you ever wish you had more time? Do you feel like you spend too much time at the grocery store, or in the kitchen, or waiting for delivery? Does you bank account look emptier because of all the ordering out you do? Do you want an easy way to make a week’s worth of homemade meals, for less than $100, with minimal prep and cook time from one grocery trip?
I thought so. Here is your answer!
This post is created to show you how to get a week’s worth of dinners (with some leftovers for lunches too) from a single 4 pound pork roast. All recipes easily feed 2 adults, with many recipes making much more food for leftovers and re-make meals.
By planning ahead to use one main dish all throughout the week, you can get creative and ensure that none of your food dollars get wasted by literally throwing them away. You will save time throughout the week by not having to go to the grocery store to pick up “just one or two things” and not having to worry what to make for dinner, it’s already planned out. And you can eat healthy, whole food, home cooked meals all week long!
Here is the list of recipes you will be making if you follow this plan:
- Italian Pork Chops
- Slow cooker BBQ pulled pork
- BBQ pork burritos
- BBQ pork quesadillas
- Pork lo mein stir fry
- Slow cooker pork and broccoli rice casserole
As far as cooking equipment, you will need at least a frying pan, and preferably a slow cooker. You can slow cook the pork in the oven, and make the casserole in the oven as well, but that requires slightly more hands-on time from you. The full grocery list can be found at the bottom of the post, and you can go to individual recipes by clicking on the links throughout.
The first thing you’re going to need to do is assess your pantry and freezer situation. If you have plenty of Italian dressing, some frozen mixed veggies, noodles, and plenty of spices, you’re already halfway there on this week’s grocery list. Then make your list of what you still need to make the recipes, and head to the store.
You will need to pick up a nice pork loin roast, or other pork roast. I recommend 3-5 pounds for 2 adults for one week’s worth of meals. You can adjust to larger or smaller sizes if feeding a larger crowd, or just one, or if you wish to double recipes or omit certain recipes this week.
Once you have your pork roast, use a sharp knife to cut 2-4 pork chops off the end. You can also ask your butcher to do so if you go to a regular grocery store. These pork chops can be frozen for later depending on when you want to make the Italian Pork Chops.
Once you have your chops cut, take about 1 pound off the remaining roast. This will be diced up into cubes. You can also freeze these chunks for later, depending on when you want to make the Pork Lo Mein Stir Fry.
As for the remainder of the roast, put that guy into your crock pot. This is gonna become one delicious, fall-apart pot of BBQ Pulled Pork. If you’re game, add a sliced onion and a can of beer, then cook on low for 8-10 hours or high at least 4 hours.
Shred the pork roast with two forks. I recommend removing half of the meat to a container in the refrigerator, and adding 1 cup BBQ sauce to the rest and cooking another hour on low.
Now you have about a pound each of plain pulled pork and BBQ pulled pork! Plus 2-4 chops, and a pound of diced pork in the freezer. And that’s after less than an hour total of hands-on prep time.
Now you can use the shredded plain or BBQ pork for:
Pulled Pork Burritoes (above) or Quesadillas:
And slow cooker pork and rice and broccoli casserole:
And the diced pork chunks for a delicious homemade lo mein:
And the best part is, you can choose when to make these recipes and in what order, because the pork chops, diced pork, and shredded cooked pork all freeze very well. You can turn these into breakfast and lunch too, pulled pork omelettes are great, as are BBQ pulled pork sandwiches on nice thick buns. Enjoy!
Full Grocery List
- 1 4-5 pound pork roast
- 1 cup Italian dressing
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- Frozen or fresh vegetables of your choice
- 1 cup BBQ sauce (or more, to taste)
- 1 package tortillas
- ~1 cup white or brown rice
- 1 can beans (black or pinto)
- 1 package lo mein noodles
- Soy sauce
- Shredded cheese
- Fresh or frozen broccoli
- 1 cup milk (optional)
- Burrito toppings – sour cream, guac, salsa, etc.
And seriously, that’s it! I guarantee you can buy all of these items for under $100 (at least everywhere I’ve lived from Colorado to Connecticut).
Also, if you’ve read this far and you’re curious, I also have a post explaining all the cuts of a pig. So next time you go to the store, you can know the difference between a rump roast, shoulder roast, and a loin. 🙂
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