March Menu Plan

 

Welcome to the March Menu Plan! Does anyone else think this year is flying by? Things have been super hectic for the rest of my family already this year, but I spend a lot of time home by myself and I think about food way more than I should! This month, I’m trying to incorporate a few more healthy dishes into the menu plan.

 

 

March Menu Planning Tips:

1. Make sure to keep a running list of simple recipes that you can throw together quickly. There were several nights in February when I planned a meal only to find that I was going to be the only one home to eat it. That’s okay for me, because we eat leftovers for lunch a lot. However, if you keep a list of easy dishes, you can throw together something that doesn’t require a lot of time or effort and be done with it!
2. Try something new. I have a goal to try 52 new recipes this year and I’ve tried eight so far and have 12 new ones in the March Menu Plan alone. Never be afraid to try something different when it comes to food, even if it’s just to add a little extra spice.
3. Use what you have. I know I repeat this a lot, but make sure to always check your fridge, freezer, and pantry before you run to the grocery and buy more stuff!
4. Give yourself a day or two off. That doesn’t necessarily have to mean eating dinner out. It can mean letting someone else cook for you or just having a sandwich or leftovers. We eat leftovers for lunch and have a leftover night once a week where we get everything out and mix and match. It saves money and cuts down on food waste.

 

 

March Menu

 

Wednesday/1: Ham and Cheese Omelet with Toast. I’ll be eating alone tonight, so I’m keeping it very simple. And just because, here’s a photo I took of one of my omelets forever ago. I only kept it because it looked like it was smiling at me. Haha. It’s a happy omelet!

Thursday/2: Leftover Night

Friday/3: Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki, Greek Fries. I love sandwiches, so this is an attempt at a “healthier” kind of sandwich. And I know this is another Half-Baked Harvest recipe, but all I can say is we should probably all go buy one of their cookbooks.

Saturday/4: Curry Chicken, Jasmine Rice, Naan. I’d love to tell you that I make my own curry sauce, but I keep extra jars of bottled Curry and Tikka sauces from Aldi and/or Kroger to make things easier. I also cook my rice in the Instant Pot.

Sunday/5: Family Dinner

Monday/6: Cream of Vegetable Soup, Bacon Ranch Flatbread. This Cream of Vegetable Soup is from Dolly’s Stampede in Pigeon Forge, TN (Dixie Stampede for those of us who are older and get confused when they change names) and it is delicious. I use butter instead of margarine and cream instead of half-and-half. The Bacon Ranch Flatbread is my own creation, but also delicious if I do say so myself.

Tuesday/7: Baked Salmon w/Lemon Sauce, Pesto Pasta, Leftover Salad. Although I should probably give up carbs altogether, I just can’t do it cold turkey. So my concession is to exchange my usual cheese sauce for pesto on my pasta.

Wednesday/8: Pork Ribs with Mustard BBQ Sauce, Red Skin Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob. I’m a mustard girl, but it’s only after my husband made Myron Mixon’s Mustard BBQ Sauce that I brought him over to my side. I’ve been craving this sauce for a while now and I just happen to have some ribs in the freezer…yay me! I don’t have any pictures of this or links right now, but I do happen to have some photos of corn from the garden. “It’s Corn. Big lump with knobs. It has the juice!” If you know, you know. If you don’t, go watch the corn video. He’s so stinking cute!!

Thursday/9: Leftover Night

Friday/10: Green Goddess Chicken, Lemon Rice, Roasted Cauliflower. This is another healthy meal, but there are so many herbs and flavors that I’m sure our tastebuds will be dancing. I’ll definitely let you know about this one, but I love lemon anything, so I don’t see how it can be bad!

Saturday/11: Not Quite Cavatini, Garlic Bread, Salad. Not Quite Cavatini is one of the “early days” That One Mom recipes. It’s adapted from a recipe one of my besties gave me and she adapted it from a copycat of the cavatini Pizza Hut used to make. Probably not super healthy, but definitely one of those filling comfort foods you just need to eat every now and then. (Note: This is a horrible photo and I will update this asap. Forgive me…I’m really still learning how to do this stuff even after all these years!)

Sunday/12: Family Dinner

Monday/13: Grady’s Broccoli Cheese Soup, Beer Bread. I know I make a lot of soup, but I love it so. We’d probably eat a lot more of it if my family liked it as much as I do! This recipe comes from a restaurant in Knoxville, TN called “Grady’s.” They had amazing food, but went out of business for some reason. I was super excited when I found the recipe in a cookbook. It definitely tastes like what the restaurant used to serve!

Tuesday/14: Ultimate Mediterranean Bowl. Look at me, being all healthy and stuff again. Although, I love falafel, this will be my first attempt at making it. Here’s hoping it turns out edible at least.

Wednesday/15: Tuna Burgers, Smashed Sweet Potatoes. My Momma used to make Tuna Burgers all the time when I was growing up and every now and then I just want one. It’s not a fancy dish, but it’s very comforting and easy. Luckily, my husband likes them too, so we eat them when the picky people aren’t home.

Thursday/16: Leftover Night

Friday/17: Beef Roast, Cooked Cabbage, Beer Rolls. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I feel like you can’t celebrate any kind of Irish heritage or holiday without having cabbage, but as an homage to my Southern/Appalachian roots, ours will have lots of bacon!

Saturday/18: Caprese Chicken Pizza & Caesar Salad. I have a favorite Caprese Dip recipe that I love and the second time I made it, I added chicken and never looked back. I have no idea how this is going to work out on a pizza crust, but we’re going to find out!!

Sunday/19: Family Dinner

Monday/20: Honey Garlic Chicken Wings and Fried Rice. I bought chicken wings on sale last month and I need to use more of what’s in our freezer. I’m hoping these taste like the honey chicken wings from the local Chinese restaurant. And that I won’t have to spend forever cleaning the glaze out of the air fryer.

Tuesday/21: White Bean Chicken Chili and Cornbread. I know, I know…it’s more “soup.” I can’t help myself. This is a super hardy chili recipe, especially with the addition of cornbread and cheese on top!

Wednesday/22: BBQ Pulled Pork, Beans, & Chips. Our daughter will be home for her last college Spring Bread, so this is just for her. She’d honestly skip the pulled pork, as long as she has the beans and chips together. I love my little weirdo!

Thursday/23: Leftover Night

Friday/24: Out of Town. I’ll be visiting some friends for the weekend. Anyone at home will be fending for themselves (it’s okay, we’re all grown here), but I won’t leave you in a lurch. Here’s a menu suggestion for today: Southern Pig Taters. This is an all-in-one dish. No need for anything else, but a salad or some cole slaw would pair well!

 

Saturday/25: Out of Town. Menu Suggestion: Saucy Baja Burgers & Fries

Sunday/26: Out of Town. Menu Suggestion: Sausage Biscuits and Scrambled Eggs

Monday/27: Hibachi Shrimp w/ Vegetables and Yum Yum Sauce. I ate a lot of this in 2020 when we had to drive back and forth to my clinic appointments and chemo treatments. At first, it was because covid shutdowns made it impossible to find anything besides fast food that wasn’t delivery. We stumbled on a Hibachi restaurant that had a drive thru and never looked back. After I didn’t have to travel back so often, we learned how to make this ourselves on the Blackstone. We’ve gotten pretty good at it!!

Tuesday/28: Five Ingredient Lemon Chicken, Baked Potato, Green Beans. Sometimes simple is best and lemon just goes with everything! (This recipe originally calls for asparagus, but I don’t like asparagus so I’ll be leaving it out. You do you though.)

Wednesday/29: Jamaican Jerk Pork w/Pineapple Salsa. My mouth waters just thinking about this. I’m using it to remind myself that summer isn’t far away.

Thursday/30: Leftover Night

Friday/31: Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad w/ Hot Bacon Honey Mustard Dressing. I want to tell you that this is healthy, but I’m not really sure that the Hot Bacon Honey Mustard Dressing is in that category. It’s good though, so we’re eating it!!

 

 

 

Now you’ve seen the March Menu Plan! Even if you don’t plan for an entire month, hopefully you’ll get some inspiration for new dishes to try.

Check out my other menu plan posts for more ideas. And don’t forget to sign up for That One Mom emails to get access to the Subscriber Library and the March Menu Plan printable!