Simplifying Yom Tov Prep - clearinghouse

PinkFridge

Fri, Oct 02 2009, 10:24 am

Look guys, we have to pull this off again next week. I thought that maybe we could have a clearinghouse for all your best tips, easy recipes, etc. It may be helpful to present thoughts in bullet points, or outlines, e.g.

EASY SALAD RECIPES

KUGELS

DESSERT SUGGESTIONS

I don't have much to contribute now, have to get back upstairs but I hope this takes off ;-)
A wonderful yom tov to all, full of good food and enough clean laundry!

NotInNJMommy

Fri, Oct 02 2009, 10:34 am

I make different variations on the same thing for my salad and chicken. Use same basic process for each, but maybe different seasonings, etc. and I keep lots of staples for flavorings/sauces/dressings around the house so I don't have to do any special shopping.

Mrs Bissli

Fri, Oct 02 2009, 11:37 am

EASY PREP
* This is not recipe-specific, but I finally figured out that, since I use loads of sauteed onions for pretty much everything (er aside from salads and dessert) it makes more sense to chop about 10 onions at the same time. Depending on how much time I have, I either keep them in a ziplock bag (keeps ok for 2-3 days in the fridge) or sautee the whole thing.

zigi

Fri, Oct 02 2009, 11:40 am

take out!

lol! if I don't start soon I will have to do this

think one pot meals like stir fry where you throw a bunch of things in togeher and like notinnj... said if you have a bunch of sauces in your pantry its very easy to do to get a variety.

also have frozen veggies that are all cut up and ready to go.

dessert stock up on sorbet so if you don't have time to patchke you will have something to serve

Raisin

Fri, Oct 02 2009, 12:50 pm

my sister told me she makes lemon meringue pie filling but skips the meringue topping and it is delicious. You can use premade graham or regular pie crusts for this. the filling is pretty easy to make and uses no unusual ingredients.

pecan

Fri, Oct 02 2009, 1:31 pm

Raisin, Don't bother making desert. You can either buy desert or just cut up cantalope, honeydew, berries and put whipped cream on top.

spinkles

Fri, Oct 02 2009, 2:01 pm

(Bissli, you might want to check with your Rav about leaving cut onions overnight. Not sure if it's halachah or minhag....)

I made a ton of chicken breast cut into chunks, dipped in batter, & fried. Then for Yom Tov I have different bottled sauces--an orange ginger, a teriyaki, and sweet and sour, that I'll add to the chicken (along with sauteed peppers and other veg) to serve over rice. Tastes different each meal even though it's essentially the same food.

PinkFridge

Fri, Oct 02 2009, 4:13 pm

Thanks everyone!
Over chol hamoed I hope to organize my thoughts. I'm focused on SALADS now. Some categories:
Instant - e.g. three bean salad already prepped or cans + Italian salad; California type blend + mushrooms + baby corn, etc. in Italian salad; bagged salad
Marinated - which you can make in advance

Problem I've thought of: money. So many of the more convenient salads and recipes cost. One I'll share a recipe for is red cabbage with green olives in a cumin dressing. You CAN shred your own cabbage, and do it WELL in advance. I hope to include a few recipes you can partially or totally prep early, to save money and time.

Bon both appetit and yom tov!

realeez

Fri, Oct 02 2009, 4:37 pm

think about how much food you really need and will really end up eating and cook based on that!