A Week At A Time – Meal ideas

Happy Palm Sunday! We have some tasty dishes this week focusing on Easter and springtime, so let’s enjoy the season with flavorful meals.

Easter is filled with bright colored eggs that are usually filled with chocolate and chewy candies of all shades. I remember our Easter egg hunts with my uncles growing up — it was always a challenge to find where they hid these multi-colored plastic eggs and we were so excited to participate in the fun. The menu on Easter seemed to be based around ham or a roast of some kind, but there were years when my mom prepared fish, either on the grill, or stove top. The side dishes were always the stand-out on the table — usually a big salad, some potatoes or rice depending upon the protein, and deviled eggs of course. The spring air was crisp and always beautiful in California — we could dine outdoors or with the windows open to feel the breeze.

This week let’s start Monday off with a delicious dish of Glazed Pomegrante-Orange Salmon. It’s a delightful choice for Easter and you can prepare a whole filet of use individual pieces, which ever works best for your party size. Tuesday usually means tacos, but I’m focused on Easter week and I think Goat Cheese Broccoli Rice Skillet would work wonders with ham or beef — which ever way you want to go this holiday.

If you really want to mix it up for Easter or on Wednesday, my Skillet Lamb Sausages with Red Curry Lentils is the way to go. The lamb gives a delicate punch of flavor and paired with earthy red lentils — it’s a dish that could easily be served for any holiday. Thursday night is a cinch of a dish with Instant Pot Smoky Pintos with Ham. You could make this on Easter or during the weekend, but an even better idea is to use the ham leftovers after the holiday weekend to create this recipe.

TGIF or good Friday and it’s time for some reflection and a Dilly Deviled Egg or two. These would be great on a buffet on Easter as well, but they’re pretty yummy to make for any night of the week. Saturday’s are for baking an Easter treat like a Carrot Sheet Cake with Brown Butter Frosting. This single layer cake is not too difficult and the frosting…..well. Have a nice week.

Monday