On the Menu April 14th to 20th

The third week of April is filled with scrumptious meals and 45 delicious recipes! This week’s plan includes Easter-worthy main dishes, spring sides, seasonal vegetables, fresh salads, sweet desserts, and homemade breads—plus lots of early spring favorites perfect for celebrating the season.

Are you a seasonal cook? I love taking advantage of the early spring produce I’m finding at our local farmer’s market. Right now, asparagus and leeks, as well as beautiful, tender salad greens, are the first in-season veggies I’m seeing. And they are on the menu this week!

Whether you’re cooking for a crowd or just keeping things simple, this menu has something tasty every day. My grocery list is full of springtime favorites. Let’s get cooking…

Bobby and I just celebrated our anniversary on a short trip. Now that we are home, I’m making him a romantic dinner. Steak is such a delicious meal, and it is so easy to cook! Many home cooks shy away from making steak unless it is grilled. I think pan-seared steak is so much better than steak on a grill. Shawn at Kitchen Swagger has a fabulous tutorial about how to cook steak on the stovetop.

Asparagus is the perfect pairing for steak, and we can get it fresh from our local farm market. I’m also making an upside-down potato and onion tart. Doesn’t that sound amazing?

I’m even making dessert tonight. My husband’s favorite cake is carrot cake, so I’m making one for him.

Pan Seared Ribeye Steak with Bleu Cheese Butter

Upside Down Potato Onion Tart

Perfectly Roasted Asparagus

From Scratch Carrot Cake

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I love tonight’s main dish and make it regularly. Pan-seared cod In White Wine Sauce is delicious and easy to make. The flaky cod swims in a delightful sauce. This recipe is easy for a weeknight but perfect for company, too! This recipe is from, Ashley @ Baker By Nature! Thanks!

After our steak dinner and dessert last night, we are keeping it light by pairing the cod with green beans in a delicious Asian-inspired sauce and our favorite Arugula salad.

Pan Seared Cod in White Wine Tomato Basil Sauce

Copycat PF Chang’s Spicy Green Beans

Arugula Salad with Pinenuts, Lemon Vinaigrette, and Shaved Parmesan Cheese

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If you have been enjoying On The Menu, you will probably know that we are big soup eaters! I make a big pot of soup and serve it the next day or two for lunches or freeze it for a quick dinner. Tonight, Ukranian Mushroom Soup is on the menu. The recipe sounds scrumptious. I think I might try one change, though. Instead of vegetable broth, I’m thinking about using homemade chicken bone broth. Thanks, Iryna, at Lavender and Macarons.

I’m serving the soup with crusty, chewy rye bread with caraway seeds and broccoli salad. I could eat broccoli salad with almost anything.

Ukrainian Mushroom Soup

The Best Broccoli Salad

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My Tex-Mex fix this week is quesadillas! Tonight’s main dish is filled with chicken and veggies. I think I’ll add thawed frozen corn and canned refried beans to the quesadilla just for fun. They are so good, and take under 30 minutes to make. Thanks, Erin at Well Plated.

I’m making my own guac. It’s easy, too, and adds a flavor bomb to the quesadillas!

Chicken Quesadillas

Homemade Guacamole

Mexican Chopped Salad

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Almost every Friday, our Lancaster family joins together to have pizza and a salad and watch a kids’ movie with our grandchildren. Right now, Peter Rabbit 1 and Peter Rabbit 2 seem to be the most popular. Our son’s family brings the pizza, and we make the salad.

Tonight, we’re having pizza from our favorite Italian restaurant, and this is a full-flavored chopped salad. I am a big fan of chopped salad! I like it when I don’t have to wrangle big pieces of lettuce! I think the addition of Orzo is brilliant. The addition of this small pasta will make the salad a bit more substantial. Thanks for the yummy recipe, Ambitious Kitchen.

I’m making cookies for dinner tonight. We all love Snickerdoodles, and I can’t wait to make these from On Sutton Place.

Pizza

Herby Italian Orzo Salad

Snickerdoodle Bar Cookies

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Saturday

Saturday’s dinner is light, flavorful, and full of spring goodness! Salmon in a creamy roasted red pepper sauce is the star of the plate, served with fluffy garlic butter rice and tender parmesan roasted leeks. It’s an easy meal that tastes like something special.

Salmon in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Garlic Butter Rice

Parmesan Roasted Leeks

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This Easter, we are having dinner mid-afternoon. This is something different for us. Usually, we go to church early, come home, have a big brunch, and have dinner at our normal time. However, this year, our son plays drums for all church services and won’t be done until about two o’clock. So, as soon as he gets to our house, we will sit down and have a family meal.

So, I’m combining elements from our traditional brunch with dinner. The best of both!

Spiral Ham from Costco

Nani’s Dill Pickle Potato Salad

Pineapple Stuffing

Roasted Asparagus

Hard Boiled Eggs

Arugula Salad With Shaved Parmesan, Pinenuts, and Lemon Vinaigrette

Lemon Bundt Cake With Vanilla Frosting

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This week’s sweet treat is not only beautiful but also delicious. The berry cobbler has a sugar sprinkled biscuit crust and sweet and tart berries. Thanks, Sally for sharing your delicious dessert!

Berry Cobbler

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Individual sized potatoe stacks that are so pretty.

A medley of vegetables in a casserole.

A sweet and tangy baked chicken.

The most popular salad on Pinterest- or so they say.

This pound cake tastes as good as it looks.

My favorite make-ahead meatballs.

This doctor the box cake is called Are You Kidding Me Cake.

This chicken recipe is “magic”.

Really delicious-sounding baked potatoes.

These little veggie cakes look so good.

LOVE this chicken dish.

This Asian flavored salad is a family favorite.

This tasty chicken is on a stick.

I can’t wait to make this recipe. It looks amazing.

A new spin on mashed potatoes.

This dessert is custardy and creamy.

A beautiful spring inspired pasta dish.

A chowder from one of my favorite chefs.

This pound cake is moist without the butter.

A copycat chicken recipe.

This recipe is a mash up of cole slaw and Mexican street corn.

These meatballs are creamy.

This veggie dish is one of Ina Garden’s favorites.

These dessert bars are no-bake.

Shopping

Things to make your meals easier…

Have a scrumptious week, Friend!