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Please help with shortcuts for yom tov-exhausted!!



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amother
Slategray


 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 6:55 pm
Anybody who has been through or going through particularly difficult circumstances and has found shortcuts for cooking specifically (or keeping your house in order) with financial difficulty-Single mothers, Those working full time with other extenuating circumstances etc. please tell me what you found has been helpful to cope during this stressful time. Tips for cooking, what to cook that keeps it feeling like a yom tov but doesn't make you feel like crying from stress. No gluten please. So many "store bought" items and those type of shortcuts would be out. Please please help as my circumstances have just worn me down and I am desperate for useful tips to keep in simple and in the spirit of yom tov.
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familyfirst




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 6:59 pm
One pot dinners
Chicken and rice
Chicken and potatoes
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familyfirst




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 7:02 pm
One pot dinners
Chicken and rice
Chicken and potatoes
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amother
Ecru


 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 7:03 pm
this is my trick: take produce, put it in the oven at 400, bam, you have a lot of colorful food.

bag of roasted mini potatoes+oil/salt, in the oven, bam
bag of baby carrots+orange juice/salt, int the oven, bam
bag of frozen broccoli/califlower/olive oil, lemon juice, in the oven, bam
hasselback sweet potatoes+oil/salt, in the oven, bam
peeled beets, chopped, oil, lemon juice, salt, bam
rice in the oven plain or with vegetable broth, covered in the oven, bam
same with quinoa
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thunderstorm




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 7:06 pm
I'm a fan of fully loaded soups.
Chicken soup with chicken pieces pulled off the bones, soup veggies, noodles (can be homemade out of potatoe starch , like Pesach egg noodles)

Can you get yourself invited to anyone for a meal or two? Have you asked anyone , such as a neighbor?

As a person that grew up with a single mother who was often stressed out, we ate by our neighbors for at least one Seuda each Yom Tov.
Even random aquaintences and old co workers. My mother accepted all the invitations she got .
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amother
Powderblue


 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 7:20 pm
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 8:24 pm
Would you keep your oven on? Roast simple yummy food before each day meal?

Potatoes and root vegetables seasoned in a pan with meat on top, slathered with olive oil, fresh garlic and generous salt. Serve it all laid out pretty on a big nice china or stoneware platter for day meal.
For night meal shred the leftover meat with BBQ sauce (since no store bought, you can mix together ketchup, honey, some vinegar, mustard, s&p) and bake until heated through. Mash up the leftover potato and heat as well. Plate individually, top with sauteed onion rings, then with shredded beef.

Rice and seasoning in a pan with a whole roaster chicken on top for day meal. Peas & carrots or other small diced veggies can be added to the rice. Serve it laid out nicely on a big china or stoneware platter for day meal.
For night meal stuff hollowed out peppers with leftover rice and cubed chicken. Top with seasoned tomato sauce and bake until bubbly.

Make things exciting by making an activity of making simple desserts with the kids on YT. Have your recipes printed out in advance.

Have the kids set the table really nicely. Maybe each of them could be in charge of one meal. And/or can prepare decorations in advance when they're off from school.

Gmar tov and a gut kvittel!
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amother
Red


 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 9:00 pm
amother wrote:
this is my trick: take produce, put it in the oven at 400, bam, you have a lot of colorful food.

bag of roasted mini potatoes+oil/salt, in the oven, bam
bag of baby carrots+orange juice/salt, int the oven, bam
bag of frozen broccoli/califlower/olive oil, lemon juice, in the oven, bam
hasselback sweet potatoes+oil/salt, in the oven, bam
peeled beets, chopped, oil, lemon juice, salt, bam
rice in the oven plain or with vegetable broth, covered in the oven, bam
same with quinoa
You're cute, love your 'bams!' Great tip!
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sky




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 9:19 pm
I do like the previous poster. Make lots of easy veggies on yom tov.

Frozen green beans also work well using her method.
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amother
Slategray


 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 10:13 pm
ra_mom wrote:
Would you keep your oven on? Roast simple yummy food before each day meal?

Potatoes and root vegetables seasoned in a pan with meat on top, slathered with olive oil, fresh garlic and generous salt. Serve it all laid out pretty on a big nice china or stoneware platter for day meal.
For night meal shred the leftover meat with BBQ sauce (since no store bought, you can mix together ketchup, honey, some vinegar, mustard, s&p) and bake until heated through. Mash up the leftover potato and heat as well. Plate individually, top with sauteed onion rings, then with shredded beef.

Rice and seasoning in a pan with a whole roaster chicken on top for day meal. Peas & carrots or other small diced veggies can be added to the rice. Serve it laid out nicely on a big china or stoneware platter for day meal.
For night meal stuff hollowed out peppers with leftover rice and cubed chicken. Top with seasoned tomato sauce and bake until bubbly.

Make things exciting by making an activity of making simple desserts with the kids on YT. Have your recipes printed out in advance.

Have the kids set the table really nicely. Maybe each of them could be in charge of one meal. And/or can prepare decorations in advance when they're off from school.

Gmar tov and a gut kvittel!


Thanks so much ra mom and to everyone who posted their tips!
What temperature are you thinking in order to cook these foods? As I do leave oven on but usually only on 200 which would not be high enough to cook efficiently. How high do people comfortably leave their ovens on on yom tov as I am hesitant to leave it on full temperature.

I can use prepared sauces just not too many ready made foods are gluten free.
When baking the stuffed peppers do you just put sauce over the filling? Do the peppers end up getting soft?

What kind of meat would you put on top of potatoes and root vegetables in the pan that would be able to cook on yom tov? By shredded you mean pulled apart?

Thank you !!!
Gemar Chasima Tova

Any one else feel free to share as the tips are so helpful
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devash1




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 12 2018, 10:23 pm
My Crock-Pot saves me over and over again. Whatever you put in it comes out moist. I put different things in each time. Sometimes more of a regular cholent sometimes meat and vegetables. For Rosh Hashanah we had a lot of different eating times and the food was hot and ready for whoever wanted it and it took me literally 5 minutes to put up the night before. I even have two of them so I can put soup ingredients into one of them or a different meat recipe. I find you can also use the cheaper cuts of meat in them because it is slow cooked. If you don't have one already it might be too much of an investment although I think a very worthwhile one. I also use it chol hamoed, I put things in it in the morning and we come home to a hot meal whatever time we get home. I am a super simple cook and don't enjoy spending hours in the kitchen.
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ShishKabob




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 13 2018, 8:52 am
When I buy chicken, I put them into a 9 x 13 enough for my family and then into the freezer. In the morning you take it out, or the night before and add rice with veggies and spices, or cut potatoes and string beans and put it in the oven either when you come home or on a low number for as many hours as you need. Supper is much simpler like that.
I check rice in advance and put it into separate bags in the freezer. like that you have a few rice suppers prepared in advance and it's fresh. The hardest part for me is the checking.
Good luck!
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SuperWify




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 13 2018, 9:02 am
-Don’t invite guests first of all so you have zero pressure. Now you just need to figure out what to feed you family

- I would serve on regular plastic plates maybe do a fancy napkin to make things exciting

- I think a crock pot dinner with a side or rice, mashed potatoes or couscous is very filling yummy and can be made over YT if needed. Throw in a protein (chicken, meat, meatballs ect) veggies (potatoes, onions, zucchini, string beans what ever your kids like) and grain if desired (rice, barely, pasta - if doing a grain add a 1 hour before serving and add water so it doesn’t dry out) and spices and flavoring (salt and pepper, garlic, bay leaves, brown sugar, soy sauce, bbq sauce ect)

Get creative and experiment different combinations. The fun part is is that unit always comes out good!
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Stars




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 13 2018, 9:08 am
Huge pot of soup
Roasted veggies
Spice some chicken on the bone and roast that in one big pan with carrots and potatoes
Ice cream can be dessert. With fruit if necessary. Blueberries, cherries.
Buy challah - obviously.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 13 2018, 9:31 am
amother wrote:
Thanks so much ra mom and to everyone who posted their tips!
What temperature are you thinking in order to cook these foods? As I do leave oven on but usually only on 200 which would not be high enough to cook efficiently. How high do people comfortably leave their ovens on on yom tov as I am hesitant to leave it on full temperature.

I can use prepared sauces just not too many ready made foods are gluten free.
When baking the stuffed peppers do you just put sauce over the filling? Do the peppers end up getting soft?

What kind of meat would you put on top of potatoes and root vegetables in the pan that would be able to cook on yom tov? By shredded you mean pulled apart?

Thank you !!!
Gemar Chasima Tova

Any one else feel free to share as the tips are so helpful

I wrote this thinking 350 F, but if you want to keep the oven at 200 F you can still do this, just overnight for the next day meal.

For the potato, you will need to use semi microwaved or canned whole potatoes (raw potatoes won't cook at 200). The roast will come out beautifully overnight surrounded with drained (well seasoned) canned potatoes.

The chicken and rice will also work well at 200 overnight.

Yes I meant pulled beef. Any roast would work but brisket is very easy to work with and easy to shred. Deckle is a similar cheaper yummy cut. I don't love the look of the slices you get with top of the rib, but it's also a delicious cut and since you'll be shredding some anyway, maybe buy that if you're shopping at KRM/Moisha's since they usually have this on a great sale.

The peppers do soften. I don't like them too soft but if you do, just bake for longer (or even start to bake them before filling them).


Last edited by ra_mom on Thu, Sep 13 2018, 9:49 am; edited 1 time in total
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ShishKabob




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 13 2018, 9:42 am
A cheap side dish and delicious is pasta with bread crumbs, aka braizel lokshen.
It freezes well and you can make a lot of it so use it for two or three meals.
You also get rid of your hard extra challah like that.
Rice is also cheap, you can dress it up for yom tov with small dices of sauted colorful peppers.
Mushroom sauce is not expensive to make, you can pour it over a blintz or potato knish.
Again, use it for a few side dishes and dress it up with a sprinkle of Chinese noodles.
Tip, make everything double and freeze double and label it.
Then write your menu and fill in the blank spaces for the sides with one of the options that you prepared in advance.
It's not easy but doable. Think cheap foods and make it in a fancier version but not difficult to make.
Also, take a lukshen kugel recipe or any crumble recipe and bake it in cupcake tins, decorate with a maraschino cherry or anything that you have.
Dessert that is elegant and costs less than ice cream is an easy chocolate cake, put it into individual 2 oz stem cups on sale for $1.00 and then beat whip cream, swirl on top of the cake with colorful sprinkles. If I think of more stuff I'll try to post it.
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 16 2018, 7:22 pm
One tip I got from an experienced baalabusta is that she makes things she can make more of with no extra effort, e.g. rice -- you can make more rice for more people/meals in the same time it takes to make a small batch. You can spice it up differently for variety.

Where I live, they have frozen diced potatoes for cheap (called southern style hashbrowns) which is a lifesaver for me for an easy starch. I dump in a pan with olive oil and seasonings (seasoned salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika) and roast in the oven at the same as whatever veggies I am roasting.

Huge fan of frozen green beans as well.

I seriously made almost all of R"H on erev Y"T except for my challah and roasts. That is 4 meals for 10 people for 3 of the meals, and 12 for another. I just kept on going...on one big sheet pan, I roasted butternut squash, beets (for simanim), and carrots. Separately, with slightly different seasonings, for different dishes. I also had a pan of sweet potatoes and mushrooms that I had mixed together....

I made no kugels for Y"T. I had rice and orzo and roasted potatoes for starches...

Coleslaw bags come in handy for salads or also for dishes when sauteed with onions. Can be a filling for egg rolls if you want to patchka (and it doesn't sound like you do!) or mixed with bow ties, or even just eaten by itself...
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artsy




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 17 2018, 9:11 am
Thank you!
Appreciate all these tips
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amother
Ruby


 

Post Mon, Sep 17 2018, 9:13 am
Best shortcut ever- pretty disposable dishes.
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