Meal Plan for April Week 2

Here's your meal plan for April Week 2! We've got Pork Carnitas, Pressure Cooker Paella, Cheese Quesadillas with Kale, and more!

By
Summer Miller
Summer Miller
Summer Miller
Summer has worked in food media for the past 12 years as a recipe developer, recipe tester, food journalist, essayist, cookbook author, and public speaker. Her work has appeared in Eating Well, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Grit and Edible Communities publications among others. She started working with Simply Recipes in 2017. Her book, New Prairie Kitchen, won the Nebraska Book Award for non-fiction in 2016 and Epicurious noted it as a “Need to Read” cookbook.
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Published April 07, 2018
Summer Miller
April Week 2 Meal Plan

This month, Summer Miller is back, sharing her meal plans for April. Summer is a mom, a full-time food writer, and also helps test the fabulous recipes we bring you every week at Simply Recipes.

Spring can be a fickle friend, especially where I live in Nebraska. One moment the sun is shining and my family has abandoned their boots for flip flops, and then next week it’s snowing and we cry a little inside.

The plus side of all of this is we can marry cozy, rich foods with spring fruits and vegetables. This week’s meal plan provides tasty dinners (and hope for spring), bringing you the best of both worlds regardless of the temperature outside.

  • Carnitas

    Carnitas
    Elise Bauer

    The pork for these carnitas requires several hours of simmering on the stove top, followed by roasting in the oven. Make the meat on Sunday and reheat for a fast and delicious Monday evening meal. Serve them in tacos with all the fixings.

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  • Apricot Chicken

    Apricot Chicken in Bowl With Fork
    Sally Vargas

    Apricots won't fully be in season for another few weeks, but it's been such a long winter without fresh fruit that I'm hoping to score a few early-season apricots to make this recipe! If they haven’t arrived in your part of the world yet, feel free to substitute dried apricots. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

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  • Beef Roulades with Walnut Parsley Pesto

    Beef Roulades with Walnut Parsley Pesto
    Elise Bauer

    As we learned last week, when you roll things up they look fancy! Pesto lends bright fresh flavor to this beef dish while bacon draws you in with its smoky, robust saltiness. If you need to save some time, substitute prosciutto for bacon -- the flavor profile of prosciutto similar bacon, but there’s no need to cook it. Serve with a simple Watercress Salad with Strawberries for some springtime freshness with the meal.

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  • Instant Pot Paella with Chicken and Sausage

    A serving of instant pot paella on a plate
    Coco Morante

    Pressure cookers and Instapots turn recipes that would usually take hours into meals that take minutes. To increase the seafood content of this dish, steam some clams or mussels on the side, and add them in at the end.

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    Continue to 5 of 5 below.

  • "Kale"sadilla

    Kale Quesadilla
    Elise Bauer

    Kale is a cool weather vegetable and should be plentiful this time of year. Quesadillas come together quickly for a light dinner, that leaves you plenty of time to enjoy your Friday night. Quick black beans and rice on the side complete the meal.

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