How long does it take you to cook for a two day yomtov?

thunderstorm

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 8:30 am

I start weeks in advance. I only cook on Sundays. I spend most of Sunday in the kitchen for 4 weeks before Yom tov. I hope that the amount of food that I’m making is enough for more than just two days and that it will cover Succos as well.

mha3484

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 8:32 am

Prep or cook time. I can prep a lot of stuff in 2-3 hours but there is a lot of time between cooking each thing. My oven is small.

I dont make kugels. My side dishes are on the more basic side. I might make one more patchekdig item for each yomtov. Not for each meal. I also use the instantpot for a lot of my meats so that I free up my oven for sides.

I do some cooking erev yomtov and some on yomtov. I am too tired after work to cook much.

Last edited by mha3484 on Fri, Aug 27 2021, 8:33 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Ultramarine

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 8:41 am

Very quick. Maybe one or two nights. And I have worked full time my whole life. The key is making your menus and buying all the ingredients. Once you have that, just make a list of items to cook. Make sure you have enough fridge and freezer space. The thing is - I have a small-ish family (4 kids) and I usually only have company for one or two of the meals. So we aren’t talking about food for 20. Another problem is that I am not so good with meats. My boys are young-ish and people in my family are thin and don’t eat too much. So if you have a huge family of meat eaters it could be harder I guess or more expensive.

Ema of 5

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 8:46 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

And when do you do it if you're working full time?

I’m working, but I work from home. Usually I work 9-3. I spread it out over about a week. I’ll cook at night, when I’m making dinner, I’ll add a couple of extra things to make on Friday before shabbos….I can’t stand going into chagim tired because I did a cooking marathon.

amother

DarkRed

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 9:33 am

Grocery orders are key for me. Without the time and energy it takes to shop, I can cook. I do a two hour prep stretch twice, after bedtime and that can usually do it. Things that take an hour to an hour and a half get prepped first and cooked then. I get the short things done, especially the on the stove stuff. And then the longer cooks (roasts and the like) go straight in when I get home the next day. I tend to do a sides day and a mains day.

amother

Scarlet

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 9:34 am

I cook on Yom Tov... I prepare like I do for Shabbos on Erev Yom Tov, and make more food on Yom Tov as necessary.

What I do try to do is make a clear menu, and mark off which foods can't be prepared on Yom Tov, so I prioritize those.

I leave on the oven and 2 burners all Yom Tov.

amother

Vermilion

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 10:01 am

I also usually cook in advance. This year different things going on and I’m not going to cook until the Sunday before yt. But I am off on erev yt. Yes I’m cutting down and not going to bake challah or as many desserts as I used to. But if you keep it simple and don’t have large crowds I think two
Days is enough

amother

Clover

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 10:26 am

This year is super easy. With erev Yom tov being Labor Day and erev erev yom
Tov being Sunday. There’s so. Much time to cook that I have to remember to be efficient and not stretch it out. I would love to not be in the kitchen all day.

watergirl

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 10:35 am

I work full time. I make simple meals and start cooking 2 days before. I never make more than one main for each meal and double up what I can. I make one kind of soup. I’ll make a few sides and double those also and same with desserts.

lfab

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 11:33 am

I don't necessarily cook for just a 2 day y"t at a time so can't really guage exactly how long it takes. This time of year, with so much y"t and shabbos in a row, I start by cooking weeks in advance. I'll make bigger items like soup, challah, meats, and baked goods for 3-4 Sundays before Rosh Hashana making 1-2 things each week depending how much time I have. I also double or triple things in making for shabbosim for 3-4 weeks before y"t. So one week I made 3 deli rolls, another 4 noodle kugels, another week some fruit crisps. Each week I used one for that shabbos and the rest go on the freezer for a y"t meal. I also prep double the amount of chicken I need each week for shabbos for a few weeks before y"t and freeze half for y"t (depending on the type of chicken I may cook and freeze or just prep and freeze raw to take out and cook erev y"t). In the week leading up to y"t I try to make at least 1 thing each night if I don't already have enough in the freezer. Anything that needs to be made fresh, like veggie sides and salads, gets cooked the night before y"t or erev y"t itself. It's a lot of work for weeks before but I find it's the only way to get it all done when you work full time and have a house full of kids and want to come into y"t calm and not crazy rushed.

amother

Ginger

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 11:46 am

amother [ Clover ] wrote:

Wow. I felt this year is super hard going from Shabbos to Yom tov all month and kids hardly have school days.

amother

DarkRed

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 1:27 pm

amother [ Clover ] wrote:

I'm pretty stressed about this year. I cook best in large blocks, with nothing else to do. So having my kids around for it is hard. When they're home all day, I can't get anything done, even with DH home too. And they tend to go to bed later on days they were home. So I never rely on Erev Yom Tov even when I'm home, because the kids are too.

amother

Forsythia

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 1:36 pm

What can help is having a meal you can cook on the stove on the day of Yom tov. For instance, during yom tov I will often serve a fun dairy lunch like grilled cheese & tomato soup. Super easy & fairly quick to make. And my kids and guests always love it.

Another idea is something like a beef stew. Just throw ingredients in your slow cooker or stovetop for a few hrs in & an easy lunch or dinner for later.

I also bake/cook stuff ahead of time as my schedule allows. That helps too.

And I also make super easy meals these days. Seriously quesadilla bar, sandwiches, cold cuts, bagels…. Etc. I’ll do for meals to switch it up for yom tov. As long as everyone is fed and I’m not stressed out is what matters in the end.

pause

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 1:44 pm

amother [ Ultramarine ] wrote:

Meats are actually way easier to make than side dishes, soups, and desserts.

When I cook for YT, I start with challos and then once I'm all stocked with them, I do meats. Then I figure that whatever else I don't get to, we're good. Everything after challa and meat is extra because I can make mashed potatoes and fresh salad on YT itself. Fish is easy peasy to do erev YT.

tigerwife

Fri, Aug 27 2021, 2:09 pm

I tend to marathon a day or two erev YT. It leaves me exhausted and maybe a little snappy but I’m not the best at planning ahead. My family is small, though, so it’s not like I have to prep 3 pans of each kugel.