Like many families today, we're certainly feeling the pinch of our family purse. While I have always tried to keep grocery costs to a minimum, I feel like I am almost back to shopping the same way I did when my husband and I were first married. We didn't have much money, and had to shop very carefully. Read on to find out what my top five go-to dinners are.

Meal planning has always helped us keep our food-spending to a minimum. We don't go out to eat very often, which helps us save a lot of money. I plan meals two weeks at a time, and shop weekly. Having easy, low-cost meals is our best way to save money, and keep everyone fed. I try to change the meals up, but I have my weekly go-tos.

Here are my top five go-to dinners:

Pork Roast with rice and zucchini

Every couple of months, we buy a pork tenderloin at Costco. We slice roast portions, and thin slices, and then package and vacuum seal them. They go straight to the freezer, awaiting their day to be cooked. While we rotate between roast pork, and thin sliced pork (grilled or pan fried), a roast is my top choice for easy pork!

I season the roast with olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and fresh rosemary, and pop it into the oven at 375 degrees for about an hour. Juicy, flavorful pork is the result, and we serve that up with white (sushi) rice, and sauteed zucchini. Easy peasy, and delicious.

Tacos or Fajitas

Taco Tuesdays? You bet! We switch it up every other week with tacos or fajitas. The kids love the predictability of Tuesday night dinners, and mom and dad love the ease of cooking and cleaning up. Plus, we usually always have lots of leftovers to make more meals with (lunches, snacks) for the rest of the week. Win-win!

Pasta

The thing with pasta is that it is so versatile. My kids have never met a noodle they haven't liked. It's easy to change it up week to week with different pastas, sauces, proteins, veggies, etc. My girls love spaghetti and meatballs, while my son loves buttered penne. Hubby and I love alfredo pasta (homemade alfredo sauce), or angel hair with olive oil and fresh veggies. Delicious!

Keilbasa

Keilbasa and potatoes were a weekly staple for my family when I was growing up. It was cheap, and my mom always seemed to know just how to make it stretch for a lot of people. I love to prepare it sliced and pan fried with potatoes or pierogies! Serve it up with sour cream, applesauce, saurkraut, and a fresh veggie.

Sliders

I have recently started making sliders on Sunday nights. It's our busiest night of the week, most weeks. I'm not a huge fan of sandwiches for dinner, but a package of Hawaiian rolls at Aldi is under $3.00, and we change up the toppings each week, so we never feel like we're making the same thing over and over. We've made everything from ham and cheese to chicken parm, and Philly cheesestake sliders. There are so many options, so we never get bored with making them. It makes a huge batch, which means leftovers for lunches, or enough for me to take a dinner portion to share with my parents.

These options may not be for everyone, but they work for us. Other nights of the week, we bake or grill chicken, sometimes have burgers or hot dogs, have pizza, and sometimes I make favorites like hamburger stroganoff or chicken paprikash. We'll have a quiche with salad every once in a while, and soups in the winter. Baked potatoes are a great option, too! These are just some of our favorites which get requested on a regular basis. I find that by shopping at Costco for meat, and then shopping at Aldi for most other items (except fresh produce and deli meat), we save lots of money by cooking and eating at home.

What do you think of these meal ideas? See any favorites on the list? 

What are some of your weekly favorite meals? Be sure to tell us in the comments and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram!

Wishing you a week of good eats!