What is a basic nice shabbos for when you have a guest

amother

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 2:47 pm

amother [ Lilac ] wrote:

If you’re family is happy and satisfied then that’s all you need.
We don’t go past soup in our house cuz no one eats it. Maybe as the kids get older I’ll have to make a main and side.

So make a a pan of baked chicken.
Can make 1 kugel. Can make a fresh salad (bag of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cut pepper and cucumber add a store bought dressing).

For lunch. Serve fish as well. Make the salad again. Chulent is enough.

Bought challah, dips and dessert are pretty normal.

You don’t need 100 options.

TY!!!

amother

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 2:47 pm

imasinger wrote:

Please please please don't change from your routine!

If you want to make them welcome, you can put some water bottles in their guest room room, be sure it has hangers, etc, and have your kids make a sign for the door.

They would much rather have you relaxed and enjoying the visit, and have a simple Shabbos, than have you exhausted by trying to be fancy in order to help them feel more welcome.

You can always look for prepared things to buy and add if desired.

I really appreciate this. Thank you.

amother

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 2:48 pm

elisheva25 wrote:

Hi,
Ure not dysfunctional, every family has to do what works for them... also whats the point of making food your kids don’t eat ?
You do what works
But I think just to add a drop would be helpful
Fri night
Add any main course & side that’s easy for you
Ex#1 Flanken baked in oven & rice in rice cooker
Ex#2 Some type of chicken & potato dish
For Shabbos day
Add
1. Some type of kugel
2. Basic green salad.... can be checked greens w/Ceasar dressing
For Shalosh seudos
Add
Israeli salad
If you still feel like you might be upto it & have energy ... bake some
Sort of an easy dessert that you can serve after both meals
Done !

Can you tell me how to bake flanken in oven - if it is an easy recipe I'd do it.

amother

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 2:50 pm

cbg wrote:

It’s fine
but if you really want to add something
Night:
Add a brisket super easy and no fail
Some easy simple rice
And a green bagged salad
Day:
Again a big green bagged salad
You can add cherry tomato, sliced heart of Palm, black sliced olives, baby corn, chips all are things that are dump and go with super minimal prep, and bottle dressing

Brisket recipe:
Preheat oven at 350
2nd cut brisket
1 can cranberry sauce, any
1 pkg onion soup mix
Mix and pour on top of brisket
Foil tightly
Bake 30 min per lb (or 45min if serving whole)
Refrigerate overnight
Before Shabbat slice and heat on blech
Until ready to serve
Or you serve it whole which is easier and add the baking time

Baby Spinach salad is another dump and go salad
1 bag baby spinach (pre-checked)
1 can manderine orange
1 bottle honey mustard dressing
Plate spinach on a large serving platter
Place manderine segments on top
Drizzle honey mustard on top
Put more honey mustard dressing seperate on the table

Heart of Palm dump salad
1 can heart of Palm sliced
1 can black olives sliced
1 can corn
1TBSP Mayo
Salt and pepper to taste.

Beets
1 can sliced beets
Cumin to taste
Salt to taste
Tehina in a squeeze bottle
Plate sliced beets sprinkle cumin and salt
Drizzle Tehina

Chickpea salad requires a little more prep or buy veggies pre sliced
1 can chickpea drained
Radish sliced in the food processor or buy sliced
3 colored peppers slice or buy pre sliced
Minced garlic in a jar
Olive oil and salt
Dump, mix, serve

There are yummy soups that come in a carton some with while clean ingredients.
Take advantage of pre- cut and checked veggies at the store.

I think what you need is some (what I call) dump recipes.

Things like kugel and homemade soup take a long time to prep

Wow this is amazing- thank you!!!

amother

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 2:51 pm

watergirl wrote:

a. Am I totally dysfunctional? Are other people like me?

You are normal! You do what works for your family and that's great! If they are happy, enjoy.

b. What can I add in for the guest that is super easy but just makes it a "normal" meal. The wife is super woman and they've come to my house in the past. They're happy to come but I would love to make them feel really welcomed and taken care of.

For guests, you should consider making more. If you would like some examples of "dump and put" chicken, let us know and we won't let you down! Literally dump the chicken in a pan, dump sauce on it (from a bottle) and put it in the chicken. Takes longer to type it out than to do it. For lunch, add a salad and done. No, you can not please everyone, but you can try to make a main course for shabbos dinner, add a prepared kugel from the store, and add a salad for lunch.

Thank you! Can you give me an example of chicken with sauce - which sauce would I use?

watergirl

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 2:56 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Thank you! Can you give me an example of chicken with sauce - which sauce would I use?

I love duck sauce chicken. Literally dump it on the chicken and bake! Simple! Want to get fancy? Add some sliced onions under the chicken. Want to make it "Hawaiian"? Toss in a can of pineapple chunks and sliced red peppers. BOOM - now you're fancy!

BBQ sauce chicken is another easy one. Just buy your favorite bbq sauce and dump it on and put it in the oven!

Here is another thing you can do that I do often and this is literally what my friends request when I make them shabbos food and because of this, my kids call it "bikur cholim chicken" - its a classic and it's so delicious because it is simple (and we tend to forget the simple, so its a treat!). Cut onions. On top of the onions, put chicken. Over that, liberally sprinkle onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Drizzle a touch of canola oil. Bake covered for an hour, then uncover and finish it. I can not tell you how amazing it is.

And this is my secret weapon - McCormick Rotisserie seasoning! Literally just sprinkle over chicken, any kind, and bake.

chanchy123

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 2:59 pm

You are perfectly fine, but for guests I think it’s best to have more variety. However, if you don’t like cooking and it will stress you out I suggest you get one or two take out items to supplement each meal (for example, I hate frying schnitzel but I find that guests generally love it - so I buy a thing of schnitzel from a take out place if I’m having guests). Don’t go overboard, just one or two items - can be the same for both meals.

amother

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 3:02 pm

chanchy123 wrote:

This is such a good idea - I am doing this. TY!

amother

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 3:03 pm

watergirl wrote:

Thank you - what is oven temp. I like when the chicken is falling off the bone soft... TY!

SixOfWands

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 3:05 pm

To start, your family is healthy and happy, so you're obviously not dysfunctional.

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I am married almost 20 years however I don't really like cooking. I work full time and have a 5 kids and I am generally overwhelmed and thus never ever have company. This week we are having a relatives for shabbos who I love dearly. However, I am completely overwhelmed at the thought of having to have an actual nice formal shabbos. My regular shabbos is:
Night:
challa (bought) salmon, soup and chicken from soup, dips and cake (bought).

That should be plenty. Some people don't like salmon, others don't like chicken from soup, but most people will like one or the other. Maybe add a green salad (or other veggie) or an easy chicken dish. Eg -- Six's Insanely Easy Teriyaki Chicken. Throw a bunch of skinless boneless chicken cutlets in a bag. Add 3 T teriyaki sauce, 1 T olive oil, minced garlic and ginger to taste; double if its a lot of cutlets. Marinate a couple of hours, or more, or less. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, turning over once.

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Lunch:
Big cholent with kishka, cold cuts

Again, I'd add something green, like a salad. Or Six's Insanely Easy Quinoa Salad. Make one cup quinoa. When cool, add about 2 cups chopped up spinach, a handful of chopped basil, a diced cucumber, some tomato, a chopped red onion, and 2 diced avocados; dress with 4 T olive oil, 1 T lemon juice, 1 T lime juice, a bit of dijon mustard and some garlic. And offer leftovers from Friday night's chicken to those who want it.

[/quote]

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Shalosh seudos:
fruit, eggs, tuna

Perfect.

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I know this is very bare bones but this is what works for us. I almost never do more. Once in 6 months I'd make a potato or apple kugel. But really that is all.

My question is:
a. Am I totally dysfunctional? Are other people like me?
b. What can I add in for the guest that is super easy but just makes it a "normal" meal. The wife is super woman and they've come to my house in the past. They're happy to come but I would love to make them feel really welcomed and taken care of.

Help!

See above.

If you want to add something, think "farmhouse." Less processed (like a kugel), more fresh and natural. Like cutting up an eggplant and onions, or other veggies, and tossing with a little olive oil and salt, and roasting, instead of making it into a kugel.

motherhood613

Mon, Apr 12 2021, 7:21 pm

You don't sound dysfunctional to me.
If you've found what works for your family, then you're doing something right!

For a nice added touch, you can make sure to have some drinks at the shabbos table (snapple, juice, anything special for shabbos). Also just making the place settings tidy and nice looking is always cute. You can

You can leave mini toiletries along with fresh towels, water bottles, and nosh in the guest room(s).

Having something baked like brownies (even from a mix) or kokosh or rugelach from the bakery out for shabbos morning or to munch on throughout might be a good idea as well.

As for easy ways to spice up the actual seuda, you could make an easy salad (maybe nish nosh, anything with avocado usually goes well by me), deli roll (can be bought), farfel, grilled veggies. For dessert you could buy ice cream and then serve it with something hot (and or chocolate-y). You can also thinly slice apples and arrange them nicely on a plate sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon and sugar.