A week of dinners from one grocery run

The hardest part of cooking at home on a weeknight is not the cooking. It is the question at six o'clock: what is for dinner, and do we have it? One planned grocery run on the weekend answers that question five times. Here is a week that works for two to four people, built so that one ingredient carries into the next night and very little is left in the fridge by Friday.

The plan

• Monday: lemon-garlic chicken with rice and broccoli
• Tuesday: spaghetti in tomato sauce with spinach
• Wednesday: chicken and black bean rice bowls
• Thursday: oven-baked salmon with roasted vegetables
• Friday: fried rice to finish everything off

Notice the pattern. Monday's chicken is cooked in a double batch, so half of it goes into Wednesday's bowls. Monday's rice is cooked in a double batch too, and day-old rice is exactly what Friday's fried rice needs.

The list, aisle by aisle

Shopping by aisle keeps the trip short and stops the cart filling with things that were never on the plan.

• Meat & Seafood: 2 lb boneless chicken breasts, 1 lb coastal salmon fillets
• Produce: broccoli crowns, baby spinach, roma tomatoes, a lemon, a head of garlic
• Pantry: long grain rice, classic spaghetti, tomato basil pasta sauce, black beans, extra virgin olive oil
• Frozen: frozen mixed vegetables for Friday
• Dairy & Eggs: a dozen eggs, also for Friday

Monday: lemon-garlic chicken

Cook two cups of rice instead of one. Season all the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic and lemon, sear it in olive oil for five minutes a side, then finish it in a 400°F (200°C) oven until the thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C). Steam the broccoli for the last four minutes. Eat half the chicken; slice the rest, cool it quickly, and keep it covered in the fridge with half the rice.

Tuesday: spaghetti with spinach

While the pasta boils, warm the sauce and stir in two handfuls of spinach until it wilts. Chop a couple of tomatoes over the top for something fresh. It takes fifteen minutes, which is the point of a Tuesday.

Wednesday: rice bowls

Reheat the sliced chicken and a portion of the rice until both are steaming hot all the way through. Warm the drained black beans with a little garlic, then build bowls: rice, beans, chicken, diced tomato and any spinach that is left. A squeeze of lemon ties it together.

Thursday: sheet-pan salmon

Lay the salmon on a lined tray with the rest of the broccoli and tomatoes, brush with olive oil, season, and roast at 400°F (200°C) for 12 to 15 minutes, until the fish flakes easily. One tray, one wash-up.

Friday: clean-out fried rice

Heat a wide pan very hot. Fry the cold leftover rice with the frozen mixed vegetables, push it aside, scramble two or three eggs in the gap, then toss everything together with a splash of soy sauce if you have it. Anything left from the week can go in.

Three habits that make the plan stick

• Cook grains twice. Rice keeps for three to four days in the fridge once cooled quickly, and cold rice fries better than fresh.
• Put Thursday's fish in the freezer if plans change. Fresh fish is best within a day or two of buying; frozen, it waits for a better night.
• Check the fridge before the next shop. Whatever is still there on Saturday starts next week's plan.

Everything on the list is in the shop's aisles, from independent sellers, in one cart. If you would rather not carry it home, delivery and pickup are both at checkout.