Yom tov cooking-for those who have time now not later

dbg

Mon, Aug 28 2017, 5:00 pm

For the meat-if I cook it and freeze it, will it still be good? And the rice dishes-only in a sauce or other recipes as well? Did you try quinoa or wheat berries not in a sauce? I'm curious how the grains would be frozen and then seasoned/toppings added without a heavy sauce.

Raisin

Mon, Aug 28 2017, 5:00 pm

Pureed soup
chicken soup - just liquid, not veggies
matza balls
meat roast (I rarely do this though)
meat balls
breaded chicken schnitzle esp if to be heated in a sauce
almost any type of kugel (even potato)
challa
cakes and almost all desserts
rice, orzo etc

mha3484

Mon, Aug 28 2017, 5:18 pm

I have frozen cooked quinoa and cooked rice with no sauce and they reheated beautifully. I bake rice in 9x9 square pans or 9in round and freeze. Just stick it into the oven covered on yomtov until its heated through. My favorite is this recipe from last years mishpacha for this rice with a crumb topping. I also really like this rice from a facebook group that has mayo and chickpeas.

Raisin

Mon, Aug 28 2017, 5:19 pm

dbg wrote:

I do a rice and veggie (carrots and raisins)dish all the time (no sauce) that freezes very well. I imagine quinoa etc would also freeze well but haven't tried it.

thunderstorm

Mon, Aug 28 2017, 5:36 pm

I was working on choosing my menu yesterday. You are not too early at all. The following items I have made in the past and all freeze well:

Challah
Cakes
Soups , all types other than potatoe soup or soups with rice in to as the texture comes out weird after frozen
Prep all poultry dishes and freeze raw ready to bake, fry, cook etc. ( cutlets, chicken legs, Stuffed Capone etc.)
All meats cook in advance and freeze, roasts and steaks all freeze amazingly well if rewarmed in the gravy it cooks in. Just refrigerate the roasts overnight , slice to desired thickness and freeze in slices. I divide it up per meal. I put the gravy in separate containers. Prior to serving I defrost both meat and gravy and reheat them both together, covered. It never fails! Steaks I freeze in the gravy and reheat the same way.
Stuffed cabbage freeze in the sauce and freeze any extra sauce to add to it once defrosted
Potatoe kugel, freeze, just reheat in oven on a low temperature covered for a few hours before serving.
Veggie kugels
Potatoe knishes , if you use flaky dough then freeze the filled knishes raw and bake before serving. If using regular knish dough you can freeze raw or baked.
Pasta dishes freeze ok as well
Cobblers, peach, apple, cranberry etc all freeze nicely
Applesauce and fruit compotes freeze well too
I usually leave the fish dishes, salads and veggie dishes and rice dishes to cook before Yom Tov.

iammom

Mon, Aug 28 2017, 6:15 pm

I don't mean to hijack the post but I usually put onion slices and quartered red potatoes on the bottom of the pan the roast is cooking in so they are yum. Then I have a starch side dish already made for me.
But I if make the roast in advance and freeze, will the red potatoes freeze ok?

thunderstorm

Mon, Aug 28 2017, 6:21 pm

iammom wrote:

I've tried it and was not thrilled with the results. Potatoes change in texture once frozen.

SpottedBanana

Mon, Aug 28 2017, 7:39 pm

Raisin wrote:

I do a rice and veggie (carrots and raisins)dish all the time (no sauce) that freezes very well. I imagine quinoa etc would also freeze well but haven't tried it.

Can you please post the recipe for the rice - carrots - raisins dish? Sounds yum!

PinkFridge

Mon, Aug 28 2017, 8:19 pm

iammom wrote:

Erev yom tov/Shabbos (or the night before) slice and parboil the potatoes. Whenever you use the roast, put them in the pan under the frozen roast and as the roast defrosts and heats up, the potatoes will cook more and soak up the flavor.

ETA: If you slice the roast before freezing, that could get messy. I'd slice the roast and then put it in one of those net bags you see for soup bones or vegetables. Freeze gravy separately. Put the potatoes in the pan. Put roast bag on top. Pour gravy over all, basting as necessary.
I haven't tried this myself but it should work. Or, you could reheat the roast separately with most of the gravy, take a little off and stir into separately cooked potatoes.

Last edited by PinkFridge on Tue, Aug 29 2017, 7:51 am; edited 1 time in total

nw11

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 3:43 am

Cooked cabbage also freezes beautifully.
So does beetroot salad (cooked) although it makes a mess when defrosting so take care. (Assuming you cook your own beetroots, of course.) A friend of mine freezes farfel and swears by it, although I can't personally testify.

Raisin

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 6:04 am

SpottedBanana wrote:

Can you please post the recipe for the rice - carrots - raisins dish? Sounds yum!

Its called Golden persian rice by Evelyn Rose.

250g basmati rice (or other long grain rice)
1 large onion choppeed
1 garlic crushed
3 tbsp oil
700ml chicken or veg stock (I use powder embarrassed

)
1/2 tsp turmeric
125 gr raisins or sultanas
125 gr cashew nuts (I never add these but I'm sure it is good with them)
225gr carrots
2 tsps light brown sugar

rinse rice, saute onion and galric over medium heat for 5 mins until golden. Stir in rice for 2-3 minues. Add stock, turmeric and raisins and cook covered for 20 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is fluffy.

toast cashew nuts in oil until brown. remove from pan and add carrots and sugar and cook for about 10 minutes. Mix nuts and carrots gently into rice.

shevi82

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 6:11 am

I cooked the meat in a pot with sauteed onions, mushrooms and red peppers, spices and water.
It is cooling in the fridge, today I will slice it, pour the gravy on top and freeze in a 9*13 pan.
I always freeze quinoa in bags and it is fine.
Other things to freeze are schnitzel, baked chicken, tzimmes, challah, cake, apple pie.

rowo

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 6:17 am

Compotes, cake, cookies, ice cream, challah, soup, kreplach, some dips, sauces, kugels.
I generally stick to pretty simple recipes for my chicken and meat, so I don't usually make them ahead, but some roasts do really well frozen so I might.
But I plan to make things like pesto, which can be a bit time consuming to make, now.
Depending on time and freezer space, you can go into yom tov with minimal work required on erev yom tov. Just things that need to be made fresh.

Tue, Aug 29 2017, 12:00 pm

I am also trying to cook ahead for YT, as I will be much more limited with time then...
I have been baking challah, kugels, soups (mostly blended, but I'd like to do mushroom barley as well). I plan to do everything else very simply - meat/chicken/salmon, steamed vegetables (green beans, broccoli, etc), rice/orzo, potatoes