Weekly Meal Plan — What We’re Eating at the Longstreth House September 20–26, 2026
This week’s weekly meal plan for a family opens with Sunday no peek chicken and rice — honey garlic roasted carrots and rolls on the side, and pumpkin caramel sheet cake for dessert — and closes out Friday with slow cooker carne guisada tacos, with Aunt Jane’s homemade hot pockets and baked potatoes on Monday, broccoli cheddar soup with a French baguette for dipping on Tuesday, and a Boursin orzo bake with sausage and spinach on Thursday. Every one of these dinners fed our crowd of seven before I put it in front of you, so I already know how it holds up on a regular weeknight. I post a new weekly meal plan for a family every Saturday morning, grocery list and all, so you can shop and plan the week ahead without the guesswork.
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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 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 — September 20 to 26, 2026
Here’s exactly what we’re eating this week at the Longstreth house. Tap “Get the Recipe” on any night for the full post, or “See What You’ll Need” to jump straight to that meal’s grocery list below.
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 — September 20 to 26, 2026
Here’s your full shopping list for the week, grouped the way you actually move through the store. I’m assuming you’ve already got my Baker’s Dozen on hand — flour, sugar, salt, pepper, eggs, butter, milk, and the rest — so those aren’t repeated here.
🥩 Meat & Proteins
This week: 4–6 boneless skinless chicken breasts for Sunday; 1–2 lbs ground turkey for Monday’s hot pockets — ground beef or sausage works too; 1 lb smoked sausage for Thursday; and 2–3 lbs beef stew meat for Friday’s carne guisada.
🥦 Produce & Fresh
This week: 1 lb carrots for Sunday’s honey garlic carrots; a head of cabbage, an onion, and a russet potato per person for Monday; a second onion, 1 cup shredded carrots, and about 3 cups of broccoli for Tuesday’s soup; 2 cups fresh spinach, plus cherry tomatoes if you want them, for Thursday; and shredded lettuce and pico de gallo for Friday’s tacos.
🧀 Dairy & Refrigerated
This week: 2–3 cans of crescent rolls for Monday; heavy cream for three nights — ½ cup for Sunday’s caramel frosting, ½ cup for Tuesday’s soup, and a generous ¼ cup splash for Thursday; 2½ cups shredded cheddar for Tuesday; grated Parmesan for Tuesday (⅓ cup) and Thursday (1 cup); a 5.2 oz package of Boursin garlic and herb for Thursday; and sour cream for Friday’s tacos.
🧫 Pantry
This week: Minute Rice, 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, and a packet of onion soup mix for Sunday’s chicken, plus honey and soy sauce for the carrots, and a 15 oz can of pumpkin purée, cinnamon, shortening for the pan, powdered sugar, and vanilla for the sheet cake — fall sprinkles and edible gold leaf are optional; Worcestershire, Cavender’s Greek seasoning, Kinder’s Garlic & Herb, and garlic powder for Monday; chicken broth and cayenne for Tuesday; 16 oz orzo, more chicken broth (4 cups), onion powder, and Cajun seasoning for Thursday; and taco seasoning, dried minced onion, Better Than Bouillon beef base, a 10 oz can of green chile enchilada sauce, queso, and pickled onions for Friday.
🍞 Bread
This week: dinner rolls for Sunday; a French baguette for dipping on Tuesday; and corn tortillas for Friday, fried until crispy.
🍽️ Grocery List by Meal
Only cooking a few nights this week? Jump to any dinner below and grab just what that meal needs — each card is its own mini shopping list.
Sunday — No Peek Chicken and Rice, Honey Garlic Carrots, Rolls + Pumpkin Caramel Sheet Cake
No Peek Chicken and Rice → Honey Garlic Carrots → Pumpkin Caramel Cake →
Meat
Produce
Dairy & Refrigerated
Pantry
Bread
Monday — Aunt Jane’s Homemade Hot Pockets
Get the Recipe →Tuesday — Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Get the Recipe →Produce
Dairy & Refrigerated
Pantry
Bread
Thursday — Boursin Orzo Bake with Sausage and Spinach
Get the Recipe →Meat
Produce
Dairy & Refrigerated
Pantry
Friday — Carne Guisada Tacos
Get the Recipe →Meat
Produce
Dairy & Refrigerated
Pantry
Bread
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.
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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.