March Meal Plan Week 3

The Week 3 meal plan for March is complete with weeknight meal ideas, grocery ingredient lists and side dish ideas. Meal planning is the best way to manage your grocery budget.

This family dinner meal plan includes 7 main dish recipe ideas complete with the grocery list to make them and side dish suggestions. Scroll all the way down for a list of desserts to make at home.

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More Meal Plans for winter

About the meal plan

This meal plan will serve 4. Some recipes will serve more than four depending on your portion sizes.
It’s a meal plan for one week of dinner ideas.
Some recipes are intended to create premeditated leftovers, like casseroles or large pots of soup. This saves on the budget.
It is understood that you have common ingredients in your pantry such as salt and pepper so those are not included in the ingredient lists.
Some recipes will call for ingredients that can be used in multiple recipes for the week. Such as a head of lettuce can be used to make side salads with a small amount also portioned for tacos. A bag of carrots can be used for multiple dishes in one week to avoid waste.
There are 7 dinner ideas each week, in no particular order.
Scroll down for the recipe links.
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March Meal Plan Week 3

All recipes are linked at the bottom of this article. Side dish suggestions are not required, cook your favorite family sides. The grocery list for each entrée includes the ingredients required for that recipe.

1. Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage

This Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe is a one-pot meal with only 6 ingredients. It’s an easy Crockpot recipe that makes a hearty one-pot meal. Popularly cooked for St. Patrick’s Day but great any time.

Grocery Tip

FYI, Corned Beef will be reduced at the grocery store the day after St. Patrick’s day. Grab a couple and freeze them for later.

Side Dishes

Your side dishes are part of the recipe; cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

Grocery List

1 corned beef brisket about 4 pounds
3 medium russet potatoes peeled and cut
4 carrots sliced into bite size pieces
1 head cabbage chopped or cut into wedges
Salt & Pepper to taste

Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage with only six ingredients. Easy Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe — Corned Beef, Cabbage, Carrots and Potatoes

2. Sausage and Veggies Sheet Pan Meal

Make this simple and easy Sausage and Veggies Sheet Pan meal for a quick and tasty dinner any day of the week. Chopped Smoked sausage with Yams, Red onions and Sunchokes creates a fiber rich and tastefully delicious weeknight meal. The best part is the easy clean-up.

Side Dishes

One of the great things about a sheet pan dinner is that it is a complete meal. No side dishes to cook. Serve your choice of bread on the side; cornbread, biscuits or rolls.

Grocery List

1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp crushed Thyme
2-3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Large Yam
About 2 lbs. Sunchokes
1 Med. Red Onion
2 lbs. Smoked Sausage

Sausage and vegetable sheet pan meal — Sausage and Vegetables Sheet Pan Dinner

3. Grilled Herb-Rubbed Pork Chops

These Herb-Rubbed Pork Chops are smothered in fresh herbs and cooked until tender and juicy. Cook your bone-in pork chops on the grill or in a skillet on the stovetop. Ready to eat in about 20 minutes.

Use a stovetop griddle like this to cook these pork chops if you don’t want to grill outside.

Side Dishes

Let’s have easy side dishes to compliment those juicy pork chops. Basil Grilled Tomatoes so you get more fresh herbs and canned Italian beans are great side dishes for this meal.

Grocery List

4 thick-cut bone-in pork chops, about 1” thick
2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
6-8 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 stems fresh rosemary, leaves stripped from stems and crushed
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, crushed with fingers
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 Tbsp. Sea salt

Also see; 15 Cooking Herbs You Can Easily Grow At Home

Grilled Pork Chops rubbed with fresh herbs. Bone in. Easy summer grilling recipe for a quick weeknight meal. #grilledporkchops #porkchops #summergrilling — Herb Rubbed Grilled Pork Chops bone-in

4. Stovetop Grilled Easy Chicken Parmigiana

This simple and easy recipe for Chicken Parm is easy on the budget and a nice treat for a weeknight meal. There are only six simple ingredients to this home cooked Italian dinner. You do not need major cooking skills to make Chicken parm. This recipe is proof.

Side Dishes

Make this copycat Olive Garden Salad recipe and serve breadsticks from the frozen food section. Whip up this easy recipe for Italian Butter to dip the breadsticks in and you have a restaurant quality dinner in no time on a budget.

Grocery List

6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 Jar Ragu Homestyle Roasted Garlic sauce
2 packs of dry Italian dressing mix
1 Cup Italian dressing
½ Cup Shredded Parmesan
12 oz. Linguine noodles, cooked and drained.

Easy Chicken Parmigiana Recipe — Chicken Parmigiana

5. Minestrone Soup Gluten Free Version with Quinoa and White Beans

A classic Minestrone soup recipe that has been adapted with white beans and quinoa for a gluten-free diet. Soup made from scratch is the best. A great late winter recipe.

Side Dishes

This hearty soup recipe pairs well with our Classic Caesar Salad with homemade croutons and made-from-scratch Caesar dressing.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
2 large celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
6 Cups. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 14-oz. can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
2 14-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
½ Cup white quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 large bay leaves
3” chunk Parmesan cheese rind
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
3 Cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
¼ Cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1-2 oz. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Two bowls of Minestrone soup with grated Parmesan cheese on top — Minestrone soup

6. Homemade Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

Make this Southern sandwich spread without ever turning on the stove. A blend of cheeses flavored filled with flavor and made creamy with mayonnaise. No cream cheese in this recipe.

Tip

Use Pimento cheese as a topping for burgers and hotdogs too.

Side Dish

Serve your family’s favorite potato chips on the side with a pickle spear. This is a good day to make one of the easy dessert recipes listed below.

Grocery List

1½ cups mayonnaise (Duke’s)
1 (4-oz.) jar diced pimiento, drained
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp. onion powder
⅛ tsp. ground red pepper
1 (8-oz.) block extra-sharp Cheddar cheese,shredded
1 (8-oz.) block sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Homemade Pimento Cheese recipe. Easy recipe for making homemade pimento cheese spread.How to make pimento cheese from scratch. — Homemade Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

7. Easy Homemade Three Meat Pizza

This Homemade Three Meat Pizza comes together in minutes and is ready to eat in under an hour. We used fresh mushrooms and Roma tomatoes for that extra burst of favor.

Side Dish

Pizza night means no need to cook side dishes. However, if you have more potato chips left over from sandwich night, serve those. You could also make a small side salad.