Share your yom tov cooking shortcuts!

amother

Sun, May 24 2020, 7:00 pm

I made ugly challah balls and I don't care!

I baked challah for shabbos and yom tov today (I freeze them) and I just couldn't bear having to make nice braids (I think I made 14 loaves?). So time consuming!

So, someone on here said they make ballies and just line them up (I did 1,2,2,1) and when they rise and bake it looks like braids.

They dont look like braids, but it does look like...some attempt at shaping challah. I dont care! It was a great shortcut!

PinkFridge

Sun, May 24 2020, 7:07 pm

I'm sure they're beautiful. I admire anyone who can do more than 4.

I sliced chicken cutlets thin, froze on sheets, popped in bags. Working fast, I can coat them in my baking coating, freeze again the same way, take out to bake as needed.

I hope to make pepper steak tomorrow for Shabbos night and freeze.

You can make cholent any day of the week minus potatoes, freeze, take out erev Shabbos and add potatoes. I use the crockpot bags. I haven't tried using the same one twice; I use a different one for Shabbos.

amother

Ecru

Sun, May 24 2020, 7:08 pm

Bought penne sauce in a jar instead of making from scratch and mixing with heavy cream to make a yummy sauce
Bought vanilla ice cream and mixing with a jar of lotus butter - lotus ice cream in minutes

amother

Seafoam

Sun, May 24 2020, 7:10 pm

Gourmet Glatt has yummy cheesecake on sale for $11.99. I don't have stock in either company, but it's a great shortcut!

lamplighter

Sun, May 24 2020, 7:29 pm

amother [ Ecru ] wrote:

Bought vanilla ice cream and mixing with a jar of lotus butter - lotus ice cream in minutes

Pour that into a pie shell and its lotus ice cream pie Smile

Frumme

Sun, May 24 2020, 7:32 pm

PinkFridge wrote:

You can make cholent any day of the week minus potatoes, freeze, take out erev Shabbos and add potatoes. I use the crockpot bags. I haven't tried using the same one twice; I use a different one for Shabbos.

Do you precook the cholent or you freeze all the ingredients together raw?

lamplighter

Sun, May 24 2020, 7:36 pm

Make a lot of roasted veggies.
Use them as a side dish, another meal over greens as a fresh salad and another meal mixed with a grain (quinoa, rice, orzo).
Make salmon cubes. One meal serve as is, another meal in sushi salad or in a cesear style salad, another meal on a kabob over pasta. (Same with grilled chicken cutlets).
Bake cookies. serve as is or with ice cream between 2 ask ice cream sandwhiches.
Make mash potatoes use some as is and some in puff pastry as knishes.

you get the idea......

Last edited by lamplighter on Sun, May 24 2020, 10:23 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Ecru

Sun, May 24 2020, 8:13 pm

lamplighter wrote:

Pour that into a pie shell and its lotus ice cream pie Smile

Yum! Did you ever try that?

amother

Copper

Sun, May 24 2020, 8:18 pm

OP, I do round challos for all yomim tovim (I.e., Shavuos too). Much quicker than braiding and even quicker than using balls. Adopt that minhag as a coking shortcut?

sky

Sun, May 24 2020, 8:54 pm

Side dishes: roasted frozen veggies with spices
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- sugar snap peas with canned mushrooms and baby corn
- green beans

Penne with marinara sauce and cream
Bought blintzes

Too late for this but I froze whatever I made this past Shabbos for my Friday night yom tov meal.

Oven baked sesame chicken

jflower

Sun, May 24 2020, 9:08 pm

Frumme wrote:

Do you precook the cholent or you freeze all the ingredients together raw?

I cook the chulent and then freeze in containers. To thaw, I put in the microwave (power level 7) then transfer to a pot and add a bit of water. Can't tell that it's been frozen.

amother

Blue

Sun, May 24 2020, 9:25 pm

For shavuos, I do “flower” challah.
In round pan, one ball in the middle and balls around. Top middle section with poppy seeds and petals with sesame seeds.

Very exciting and saves lots of work

Tiredwithjust2

Sun, May 24 2020, 9:28 pm

Shhh don’t tell my family but I’m serving roasts that were left over and frozen from Pesach!

thunderstorm

Sun, May 24 2020, 9:32 pm

amother [ Blue ] wrote:

For shavuos, I do “flower” challah.
In round pan, one ball in the middle and balls around. Top middle section with poppy seeds and petals with sesame seeds.

Very exciting and saves lots of work

Apparently I’ve done that in the passed. But I didn’t remember and when I took my braided challos out of the oven my son was horrified that I didn’t make them in the shape of flowers like I used to!

lamplighter

Sun, May 24 2020, 10:23 pm

amother [ Ecru ] wrote:

Yum! Did you ever try that?

yes. easy and delicious.

giselle

Sun, May 24 2020, 10:25 pm

amother [ Copper ] wrote:

OP, I do round challos for all yomim tovim (I.e., Shavuos too). Much quicker than braiding and even quicker than using balls. Adopt that minhag as a coking shortcut?

You can even do this for shabbos Wink