Weekly Meal Plan — What We’re Eating at the Longstreth House May 3–9, 2026
This week’s weekly meal plan for a family of seven has something for everyone — a cozy Sunday chicken pot pie with baked mac & cheese and dinner rolls as optional sides, a no-bake strawberry pie for dessert, a quick shrimp and chicken stir fry with frozen egg rolls on the side, a Mediterranean ground turkey bowl that tastes fancy but isn’t, creamy tortellini soup served with crusty bread for dipping and a fresh salad, and make-your-own nachos on Friday loaded with tortilla chips, nacho cheese, shredded cheese, and all your favorite toppings. I plan every weekly meal plan for a family around what we’re really eating at the Longstreth house (seven of us, two cats, and a husband who appreciates a good meal). Below is the full plan, the complete grocery list organized by store section, and a per-meal breakdown if you only want one or two dinners from the week. Saturday we usually order in or go out — five dinners at home is our rhythm.
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Stephanie’s
13 Essential Kitchen Ingredients
A Baker’s Dozen 🥖
When you follow my weekly meal plans and grocery lists, I’m assuming you already have these 13 basics on hand. They show up in almost everything I cook and bake — keep them stocked and you’ll always be ready to make whatever’s on the menu.
Why This Weekly Meal Plan for a Family Works
Here’s what’s different about this weekly meal plan for a family. Every meal you see below is a meal my family actually ate the week before I shared it. If something didn’t work, I fix it. If a recipe needs a note, I add one. What you’re getting is a tested, real-world weekly meal plan for a family — not a template I filled in from a spreadsheet.
- Tested by a family of seven first. Five kids, two parents, two cats. If my crowd eats it, your crowd probably will too.
- A real grocery list, organized by store section. Meat, Produce, Dairy, Pantry, Frozen, Bread — the way you actually walk through the store, not the way recipes list ingredients.
- A per-meal breakdown for flexible weeks. Only want Tuesday’s dinner? Scroll to Tuesday’s card and grab just what you need. No math required.
- Every recipe links to a tested post right here on this site. No dead links, no mystery techniques — the full recipe with step-by-step instructions is one click away.
- A printable PDF for newsletter subscribers. I send the full plan plus the grocery list to my email list every Saturday morning so you can print it for the fridge or take it with you to the store.
This Week’s Weekly Meal Plan for a Family — May 3 to 9, 2026
Here’s what’s on the table at the Longstreth house this week. Tap any meal to get the full recipe, or jump down to that night’s shopping list if you’re only making one or two dinners.
Saturday we usually order in, go out, or let the kids make pizza — five dinners at home is our rhythm. If your week needs a sixth, swap in any of my crowd-friendly recipes or let Saturday be the night off.
🛒 Full Weekly Grocery List — May 3 to 9, 2026
This is the complete grocery list for this week’s weekly meal plan for a family — all five dinners in one shop, organized by store section so you can get in and get out. Basics like flour, oil, salt, eggs, and butter aren’t listed below — see Stephanie’s Baker’s Dozen above for the 13 essentials I’m assuming you already have on hand.
🥩 Meat & Proteins
This week: boneless skinless chicken breast (Sunday pot pie, plus the Monday stir fry), 1 lb shrimp (Monday stir fry), 1 lb ground turkey (Tuesday turkey bowls), and 1–2 lbs ground beef (Friday nachos).
🥦 Produce & Fresh
This week: 2 yellow onions (stir fry, turkey bowls, and soup), a red bell pepper, shredded carrots, and a broccoli or stir-fry veggie mix (Monday stir fry); sweet or russet potatoes, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes (Tuesday turkey bowls); fresh strawberries (Sunday strawberry pie); and spinach plus a bag of salad mix (Thursday tortellini soup and side salad). For Friday nachos, grab toppings as desired — lettuce, jalapeños, avocados, and pico de gallo.
🧀 Dairy & Refrigerated
This week: a refrigerated pie crust (Sunday pot pie); cream cheese and whipped topping (Sunday strawberry pie); cheese tortellini and Alfredo sauce (Thursday soup); shredded cheddar or queso and optional sour cream (Friday nachos); shredded Parmesan (Thursday soup); and feta crumbles (Tuesday turkey bowls).
🥫 Pantry
This week: three cans of cream soup — cream of chicken, cream of celery, and cream of potato (Sunday pot pie); a graham cracker crust, powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice (Sunday strawberry pie); rice, soy sauce, teriyaki, ginger paste, cornstarch, and minced garlic (Monday stir fry); a can of cannellini beans, balsamic vinegar, and oregano or Italian seasoning (Tuesday turkey bowls); chicken broth for the Thursday tortellini soup; and tortilla chips, taco seasoning, nacho cheese, refried beans, and black olives (Friday nachos). Add a box of mac & cheese if you want it as a Sunday side.
![Spice World Minced Garlic 4.5 Oz Jar [Pack of 2]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/510T7mXdCYL._SL160_.jpg)
❄️ Frozen
This week: 1 lb frozen mixed vegetables (Sunday pot pie), and frozen egg rolls as an optional side for the Monday stir fry.
🍞 Bread
This week: crusty bread for the Thursday soup — a French loaf or ciabatta works, or grab the garlic bread below. Dinner rolls are optional for the Sunday pot pie dinner.
🍽️ Grocery List by Meal
Just making one or two meals this week? Here’s each night broken out so you only grab what you need.
Meat
Dairy & Refrigerated
Frozen
Produce
Pantry
Plus mac & cheese of your preference (optional side)
Bread (optional)
Dinner rolls, optional
Monday — Shrimp & Chicken Stir Fry
Get the Recipe →Meat
Produce
Pantry
Frozen
Tuesday — Ground Turkey Bowls
Get the Recipe →Meat
Produce
Plus potato toppings you like
Dairy & Refrigerated
Pantry
Thursday — Creamy Tortellini Soup
Get the Recipe →Produce
Dairy & Refrigerated
Pantry
Bread (optional)
A French loaf or ciabatta works too
Friday — Make Your Own Nachos
Get the Recipe →Meat
Dairy & Refrigerated
Pantry
Toppings
Lettuce, jalapeños, avocados, pico de gallo, as desired
Weekly Meal Plan for a Family FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Week
How do you plan this weekly meal plan for a family each week?
I plan each weekly meal plan for a family ahead based on what we’re genuinely craving, what’s on sale at Publix, what we already have in the pantry, and what will stretch into good leftovers for Wednesday. My family of seven eats these meals first. If something flops, I fix it before I share it with you. Every weekly meal plan you see here is tested before publication — never a list of recipes I haven’t made. For general guidance on building balanced meals around what your family already loves, the USDA’s MyPlate healthy eating for families guide is a helpful starting point.
Can I use this meal plan for a smaller family?
Absolutely. Every recipe post on this site includes a scalable recipe card — you can halve or quarter any recipe with one click in the servings field. For a family of four, I’d cut the quantities by about 40%. For two, halve everything. The grocery list amounts are for a crowd, so scale those to match your servings.
Where can I get a printable version of this weekly meal plan?
Right at the top of this page. The printable version of this weekly meal plan for a family — the full menu, the meal-by-meal shopping reference, and the complete grocery list on the back — opens the moment you drop your email in, no waiting and no second page. It’s formatted for the fridge and for your grocery run. Already on my list? Use that same email and it opens the same way. Every printable I’ve made is also gathered together at your Seat at the Table, and a fresh plan lands in your inbox every Saturday morning.
Do you include breakfast and lunch in the meal plan?
No — this weekly meal plan for a family covers dinner only, because dinner is where most families need the most help. We do breakfast casually (pancakes, eggs, oatmeal, cereal) and lunches are a mix of leftovers and easy builds. If there’s demand for a breakfast or lunch plan later, I’ll build one.
Can I swap out meals I don’t like?
Of course. This is your plan — use whatever’s useful and ignore the rest. Every recipe on the menu links to a full post with ingredients, so you can grab just what you need. The per-meal grocery cards above make swapping especially easy — pick the three or four nights that sound good, and shop only those.
Want a little note from my table every Saturday? Join my weekly newsletter — meal plans, recipes, family moments, and whatever’s happening at the Longstreth house. Sign up here.
About Stephanie Longstreth
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.