April Meal Plan!

Brainstorming meals for April in my little blue book (aka, my brain- if I lost it I'd be lost!)

I’ve been asked to share our April meals. As I said here, one of the ways we save money is by meal planning monthly. This helps me have a running grocery list so I can buy things on sale and to stock up on high ticket items when they go on sale, like meat! We are gone for a week in April, so I only needed 19 meals (we have leftovers two/three times a week- another money saver!)

Hamburgers, homemade sweet potato fries and baked beans
Grilled chicken and Vera Bradley summertime pasta salad (l/o)
Parmesan crusted tilapia, lemon basil orzo and roasted vegetable (broccoli, squash or asparagus)
Spaghetti and roasted vegetable (l/o)
BBQ chicken sandwiches with baked potatoes (l/o)
Chicken tacos, southwestern salad with homemade cilantro lime vinegarette (l/o)
MYO (make you own) pizza
Chipotle chicken bowls- salsa chicken, rice, beans, cheese, salsa, avocado (l/o)
MYO Quesadillas with southwestern salad
Stuffed shells with roasted vegetables (l/o)
Chicken sausage, rice and black beans
Crockpot chicken alfredo (l/o)


Homemade sweet potato fries
1large sweet potato (enough to feed two hungry adults!)
A splash of olive oil
salt, pepper

-cut the sweet potatoes into fries- this is the hardest part. You’re gonna want to make them thin and all uniform in size so they cook evenly.
-put the potatoes, oil and seasonings into a gallon size ziplock bag and shake, shake shake!
-spread them out on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
-we enjoy them with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce- except that I just looked at the ingredient list (I’ve been scared to up until recently bc we LOVE SBR’s) and it’s got high fructose corn syrup in it.. .no surprise, but we’ll be looking for a new BBQ sauce. Any suggestions?


Vera Bradley Summertime Pasta Salad (based on the recipe Vera Bradley cookbook with a few of my own modifications)
1 box of penne pasta cooked al dente and drained
½ bag of baby spinach
1 large red onion, diced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese (could also use feta)
-combine all of these in a large bowl and top with dressing! This is best made a couple hours ahead of time to let the flavors combine. Store in the fridge! We serve it topped with grilled chicken.

3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 TBS Dijon mustard
1 TBS Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
-whisk these together and enjoy!

BBQ chicken sandwiches
Shredded chicken topped with BBQ sauce on whole wheat buns- SUPER easy to do!
-I make shredded chicken one of two ways- when I make my own chicken broth from a whole chicken, or in the crockpot - put BSCB in the crockpot with the liquid of your choice (salsa for chipotle chicken, bbq sauce for bbq chicken, chicken stock for plain chicken) and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 4 hours on high and shred!

Southwestern Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
Combine anything you would want in a southwestern salad- I use Bibb lettuce, corn, black beans, tomato, cilantro, crushed up tortilla chips and cheese.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette-
lime juice from 3 limes
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2tsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup olive oil
½ cup chopped cilantro
-This is a make and test dressing recipe- make a batch and taste and add what you need more of. If you like a sweeter dressing, add honey. Need a little more kick? Add more lime!

Crock pot Chicken Alfredo
1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts (I usually use two)
1 package Italian dressing seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 TBS butter
8oz container of chive and onion cream cheese (I use low fat)
½ cup white wine (plus a glass for yourself while you’re cooking!)
-put everything but the cream cheese into the crockpot in the morning and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4
-when chicken is cooked, shred and return to the crockpot along with the cream cheese and cook on low for 30 minutes.
-serve with angel hair pasta
*This freezes very well!


You still have 5 days before April- it’s not too late to get started on your monthly meal plan!

What’s for dinner this week in your house?

Love,
Chef K Vog.