Weekly Menu Planning - April 2026

Cooking Discussions
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Welcome to the April 2026 edition of the thread where we share our weekly menus and more.

Some of us share a day by day plan, others report last week’s actual meals, and some put together a list of ideas to work from the week. You do you, and take comfort that the best laid plans do change for all of us!

If you have recipe links or sources, do share them, as we all love picking up new ideas from everyone else’s menus! For context and because we’re interested, please include your location and how many you plan and/or cook for.

April brings us longer days and hopefully sunshine and flowers in the garden. What will you be cooking?

(The March thread remains available for reporting actuals and any follow-up discussions.)

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Weekly Menu Planning - March 2026
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Hi everyone

Last week ended up being several meals out to meet people, some repurposing of leftovers, and some assembly of ingredients I had prepared earlier.

I’ve been leaning quite meat-heavy of late, and would like to get back to a good dose of beans and a few vegetarian meals.

Still missing my mojo, so it was a bit of a struggle to come up with ideas again.

— Hoppin’ John-inspired black-eyed peas and quinoa + sauteed cabbage (SE Asian or South Indian)
— Gigantes beans – either Greek-ish with tomatoes or a simple warm salad
— Curried coconut tomato lentil soup (Ottolenghi) possibly with butternut squash added. This is Sambhar-adjacent, so I might make some more Idlis to accompany it.
— Asian-leaning salmon chowder – thinking along the lines of Tom Kha (lemongrass, ginger, coconut milk) + bok choy or Napa cabbage
— Soy sauce chicken with bok choy
— Kheema – to eat & for kheema puff pastry spirals for Easter

.

I’m also a bit preoccupied with Easter trip planning around food, having booked my tickets to visit family and friends for a few days.

Trying to figure out what I want to make, what the various kids and adults will enjoy, and what can be packed in a compact fashion and will travel well – an app or two, maybe a main, and something sweet for the various kids and my aunt.

.

Wish you all a safe and peaceful week.

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Hi all, feeding two adults and a teen in the Boston burbs. Once again, I’ve got another busy week coming up and so planned relatively easy meals.

Lunches: Mediterranean quinoa (an Instagram recipe: baked in broth with chickpeas, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and roasted red peppers, to be topped with feta)

Sun: chicken enchiladas (Ina’s, from Modern Comfort Food)

Mon: IP vegetarian chili, cornbread (leftover Alton Brown all-corn cornbread for me, Jiffy for the guys)

Tues: pasta, meatballs (frozen), red sauce (from a jar), green beans.

Weds: encore presentation of enchiladas

Thurs: Sticky rainbow beef with rice

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That quinoa salad sounds really good. Which insta account did you get it from?

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I must have read a comment that said you could sub 2C (dry) quinoa for the orzo, so I did and it worked well. I also added about 1 C roasted red pepper strips and most of the bag of spinach. Even with the improvisation, it worked really well! Artichoke hearts would have been tasty too. One tip: covering the casserole dish with foil wasn’t really a tight enough seal, so next time I’d use a dish that has an oven-safe lid.

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Thanks!

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Hi HOs, hi HOs,
Here is this week’s
food prose.

Aka menu planning for two w̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶&̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ mildly interesting adults in Happy Valley. Things did not entirely shake out as I’d anticipated, but we ate well nonetheless, as evidenced by actual meals in last month’s WFD thread :slight_smile:

I had to check the March planning thread to see what was on the menu for today. It IS warm out, so grilling X is still an option, and yet I am drawing a blank :thinking:

Hopefully, inspiration will hit me like a lightning bolt between now and dinnah time :crossed_fingers:t2:

Tomorrow is my PIC’s last long day on campus for the semester, and temps are going down again. It’s been a freaking rollercoaster here weather wise. We have some of that fab lamb & sausage meat-a sauce-a in the freezer, which will make for a lovely, warming pasta. I’ll cook the pasta today as per my diabetic nurse friend — just hafta decide what kind I want to make. Choices are ample, given my propensity for carb hoarding :wink:

Friday my friend has a show at the same venue we play regularly. We’ll have to decide if we want to pay the $15 cover each & suffer through mediocre food and $$$$ drinks. Maybe we can get a quorum instead to finally try the KBBQ / hot pot place, as we have yet to do so.

Saturday is the benefit for the local domestic violence shelter. Due to abysmal numbers in ticket sales thx to the overall incompetence of the undergrads we tried to work with, plus the fact that nobody (myself included) ever noticed the event fell on Easter Eve we canceled the catered VIP event starting an hour prior. Thankfully Imay be able to head home between the sound check and the show to get all dolled up for the 10+ folks who will be there :zany_face:. Dinner is a major ? and will be an afterthought.

Sunday is Easter. We are heathens & will have our big lamb feast on the following Sunday instead, which also happens to be Easter. This Sunday, however, I am hopeful to continue the time-honored casa lingua tradition of Ssssspicy Sssssunday.

Monday Greek-style roasted BISO chicken breast, lemon potatoes, maroulosalata.

Tuesday TBD.

That’s all I got for now. Wishing y’all a faboski week with good food & good company :black_heart:

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Cooking for 3 in southwestern Ontario. Still dealing with gout and low salt diets.

Wed: pork meatballs, roasted parsnips.

I baked koulourakia today. Shameless plug. LOL.

Thu: herbs and greens soup, not sure what protein yet.

Friday : fried pickerel , working on my fish frying skills for Good Friday.

Saturday: take-out to be decided. I need a break. LOL.

We do both Easters so we will have lamb both Easter Sundays. This Sunday for dinner: Rack of lamb, looking at a more Italian herb combo. Scalloped potatoes. A lettuce and herb salad.

I don’t seem to have my full mojo right now.

Dealing with a lot of stuff lately. I usually have lots of ideas for Easter.

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Greetings, People.

All links (where necessary) are gift links. Cooking for two adults in the PNW:

FRI: A sad-farewell to Greek Week. NYT’s sheet-pan donar kebab. Pita, raita, hummus. Greek salad.

SAT: Spinach calzone. Caesar salad.

SUN: There is a package of Hebrew Nationals languishing in our freezer, thus Charros Corridos (hot dog bean soup). Tortilla chips. Avocado and cucumber salad.

MON: ATK’s quick beef and mushroom stew. Green veg TBD.

TUE: Fish chowder. Old Bay biscuits or focaccia (have both in the freezer). Cucumber salad.

WED: Recipe Tin Eats’ Peri peri chicken burgers. Fries. Chopped salad.

THUR: Kylie Kwong’s shrimp and asparagus stir-fry. Rice.

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your recipe link reminded me of a Burmese shrimp and asparagus stir fry I like !

…..

sounds like a super plan, as usual, @munchkinredux

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Hello friends and happy False Friday! I can’t believe it’s April already. Easter is coming up for those of us who celebrate and I am lucky enough to get Friday AND Monday off! It’s still cool out for this time of year but we’ve had a couple of warm days so I guess Mother Nature is making progress. I’m posting my menus a day early this week since I have a busy weekend coming up. This is what I have planned for this week:

Today: No end-of-week take-out lunch today because I will be going out for dinner. A church in my neighbourhood has an Easter dinner tonight so I’m going. I have no idea what is on the menu but it would be nice having company for an Easter meal this year.

Friday: Today is the day I take out my summer clothes. I don’t care if it snows after then I get frostbite, I am declaring it spring! I will have fried cabbage and noodles for dinner.

Saturday: I’m heading out to the pricey butcher to pick up an Easter dinner I ordered. I have no idea what the dinner will include but I imagine it will be ham or turkey. I will continue on to the deli down the street to pick up dessert and I will probably pick up take-out for Saturday night dinner while I am there. They have a hot buffet out which I’ve been meaning to try so tonight might be the night. I don’t have a back up plan, so if they don’t have anything appealing I will peer in the fridge and see if there is anything in there that appeals to me. So this is a longwinded way of saying I have no idea what I will have for dinner tonight :slight_smile:

Sunday: Tonight is the night I will have the dinner I picked up yesterday.

Monday: Qeema and a tomato salad.

Tuesday: Chicken and zucchini stirfry.

Thursday: Linguine with zucchini and mint, marousalata.

Happy Easter and Passover to those who are celebrating.

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Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga.
Easter weekend breakfast: Kugelhopf
Saturday, April 4: Skillet mushroom lasagna from Bon Appétit, roasted cauliflower
Sunday: Easter brunch at church, for dinner pork chops, some kind of potatoes, Mediterranean vegetables, date bars
Tuesday: Pasta with shrimp, broccoli
All other days TBD. Work is going to be pretty busy, so there may be takeout in there somewhere…
Happy Passover and Easter to those celebrating! Have a good week and happy cooking!

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Hi everyone

Traveling for a few days to visit family & friends.

— Sat: Cooked with my teenage nephews — homestyle Indian chicken with green bean sabzi and homemade parathas (that they even rolled out with a bit of guidance).
— Sun: Easter family gathering— lamb has been replaced by chicken, and someone decided to make lasagne, so it’s going to be a weird (though still delicious) meal this year :joy:. I made a few things to add to the grazing before dinner — beet-tinged gravlax, cheesy jalapeño corn bites, and pate.
— Mon: I’ll take my aunt out for dinner, unless she wants to go over to one of my cousins’.
— Tues: Dinner on the train home — either a lobster roll or a banh mi and cha gio.

Ideas for the rest of the week:
— Roasted salmon with butternut squash and greens.
— Spanish-style octopus with potatoes / Pulpo alla Gallega from COTM Jose Andres.
— Adana kebab from COTM Zaytinya / Jose Andres.
— Kheema: with either potatoes or macaroni.

Wish you all a peaceful weekend, and Happy Passover and Happy Easter to those celebrating!

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Hi all, cooking for three in the Boston burbs. Another busy week ahead…

Sun: chicken Parmesan - not a typical Easter dinner, but I didn’t feel like making a ham, and we went to a favorite Italian restaurant last night and DH didn’t get his usual, so…

Mon: breakfast - eggs, bacon, hash browns, fruit

Tues: tacos, refried beans

Weds: this cornmeal-crusted chicken/corn/cotija cheese skillet dish from How to Cook Everything Fast. Maybe some rice on the side.

Thurs: one-pan chicken and broccoli lasagna (but probably with more chicken and broccoli because the ratios seem off)

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New selections for COTM — Cookbooks of the Month / Quarter — Jose Andres and Serious Eats:

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cooking for 3 in SW Ontario

Monday: leftover Easter lamb. Mushroom cheddar noodle Kugel.

Tuesday: crab cakes and pilaf

Wed: chicken and scalloped potatoes.

Thu: fast fry pork chops, pasta to be determined

Fri: fried fish, sides to be determined

Sat: to be determined

Sun: Greek-style lamb, sides to be determined

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2026 Spring Holidays -- Easter, Passover, and more
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Greetings, People.

Blue skies, budding greens, fruit trees in bloom … and high pollen count. Yay, spring! :sneezing_face:

Cooking for two adults in the PNW.

FRI: Giada’s Amalfi lemon chicken (thanks to @newtraditionalists for the referral). Rice. Asparagus.

SAT: A repeat of NYT’s Sopa Tarasca (spicy bean soup). Avocado and corn chips for garnishes.

SUN: Pizza. Salad.

MON: Milk Street’s Pinchos Morunos. Roast spuds. Veg TBD.

TUE: Leftover lemony chicken. Pasta salad with baby spinach, mushrooms, bacon, and walnuts.

WED: Stir-fry pork and asparagus from Bon Appetit. Rice.

THUR: Spinach quiche. Green salad.

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My oh my how quickly the weeks fly by! Another week of meals to plan for two w̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶&̶ ̶c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ mildly interesting adults in Happy Valley.

Today my boo is off to Princeton for a conference until Saturday, so this gal is going to enjoy salmon from the AF with hopefully asparagus on the side — both things he isn’t particularly fond of, but which I love. If my hunt for asparagi doesn’t turn up any that are thicker than a pencil, I will likely pivot to snow peas, inspired by @GretchenS’s post in WFD. That’ll mean a vaguely Asian prep for the salmon, which I don’t mind at all.

Tomorrow I have a show at the pricy place, which means a late dinner at home afterwards. Might stock up on MOAR of those fab shu mai today at the Asian market, or be super-decadent and try to grab some roast pork freshly delivered from Chinatown every Thursday, unless I hit my favorite taco place for lunch, whose owner is relocating to the west coast very soon, and I’m afraid the quality will suffer once he is gone. In that case I may have leftover taco/s bc I can’t eat an entire flight w/out my boo.

Saturday I was hoping to catch my GF’s first trio show borrowing my bass & keys, but our pesca buddy just sent out a poker invite for a fairly early evening game. Maybe I can sneak out for a half hour to catch at least part of her set. Our buddy is making shrimp cocktail & salad, with plans to order pizza as the main event.

Sunday is kinda up in the air, but since we haven’t celebrated Sssssspicy Sssssunday in several weeks now, I think it’s high time. Might even be able to sneak salmon into a HAWT as HAIL Thai curry. Ve shall see :smiling_face_with_horns:

Monday I may pick up a roti chicken from Sam’s, but not sure if we’ll have some for an easy dinner, or if I just pick off all the meat for my boo’s lunches & make moar golden stock with the carcass & skin for later use :face_savoring_food:

Tuesday probably tacos or quesadilla.

Wednesday I’m likely to host a screening of Sinners for my gal pals, some of whom haven’t seen it yet & others (myself include) who want to watch it again. Dinner TBD, but could be Detroit-style pizza.

Have a lovely week, fellow HOs, hold your friends & loved ones close & eat all the good tings :black_heart:

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Hi everyone it looks like spring is coming! It has been mostly raining during the last week so it washed away most of the snow. I am looking forward to warm sunny weather and flowers. I went to see a movie last night and during my walk home I passed a favourite flower garden that is no longer covered in snow and the small lights bordering the garden were lit up. The flowers haven’t come to life yet but it won’t be long. After going out a lot lately this weekend will focus on chores so a fridge and freezer clean out is planned for this weekend as well as grocery shopping. This is what is on tap for the upcoming week:

Today: Following my usual Friday tradition, I ordered a take out sandwich from a nearby deli for lunch today. I had a meatball sandwich with extra garlic so it will keep the vampires away :slight_smile: I will have a tomato cucumber salad for dinner.

Saturday: Fridge and freezer clean out day. I will have the linguine with zucchini and mint planned for last Thursday then realized I had a screening with the Ottawa Film Society that day so it is getting bumped to today. Salad tbd.

Sunday: Grocery shopping to a neighbourhood I don’t normally go to. The street I’m going up is my usual route to and from work with a really big grocery store that I pop into on my way home when I need to pick up something I forgot during my weekend grocery shop. I will in fact be grocery shopping today but I will also like to stop into the health food store since I haven’t been in in awhile and I would like to see if they have any interesting new products that would interest me. I would also like to check out a bottle shop up the street that sells an assortment of non alcoholic drinks. I will have a basa fillet livornese which involves poaching it in a tomato sauce with olives and capers and basil. Marousalata on the side.

Monday: Fried cabbage and noodles.

Tuesday: Ginger chicken and rice.

Wednesday: Sausage, squash, some other veggie.

Thursday: Another film society screening so I will tie in dinner with the movie.

Have a nice week everyone.

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Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga.
Breakfast: Gingerbread granola parfaits (just made the granola and can’t stop nibbling, plz send help)
Saturday, April 11: Miso lamb and green bean stir-fry from a back issue of Bon Appetit on British food, rice
Sunday: Cambodian chicken and black pepper stir-fry from Milk Street, rice, Butterkuchen (a thin yeast cake topped with butter, sugar, and almonds–one of DH’s childhood favorites).
Wednesday: Sheet pan sausages and potatoes
Everything else is TBD. I hope everyone has a good week; happy cooking!

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