I want to start cooking for Shabbos earlier in the week..

amother

Cerulean

Thu, May 26 2022, 6:25 am

I bake challah on Tuesday
Fish and kugel on Wednesday
I don’t make soup every week because when I do make soup it lasts for 3 weeks
Soup is totally fine to cook on Wednesday
Thursday is clean and spice chicken
Cook eggs
Prepare Chulent (I put the Chulent pot in the fridge overnight and take out to cook on Friday morning)
Sometimes I make Lukshen kugel
Sometimes cake on Thursday night
Friday is just for baking the prepared pan of chicken and plugging in the crockpot
The only thing I make on Friday is fresh string beans or frozen broccoli
Once in a while I’ll find out I’m having guests and I’ll make franks n blanks on Friday
After everything is done on Friday I fill up my urn and water pitchers.
After having many stressful Fridays I started doing the above. Fridays are so much easier now.

amother

Hyacinth

Thu, May 26 2022, 8:44 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I would like to start cooking for Shabbos earlier, like Wednesday.
I can't seem to come up with any sort of plan, or break down which things make more sense to do early.
What things are more worth it to make in advance?
What things reheat best?
Ie. roasted potatoes not because they are best made fresh. Rice may dry out when reheating for Shabbos.
I like healthy simple foods. Do not like mayo based dips.
What steps for chicken soup or cholent, if any, can be done early?
If anyone does this and can help give me a structure of things I can do on Wednesday, and Thursday-either to cook completely and just reheat late Friday-or things I can start prepping and then put together later (and when).
TIA

I also like simple, fresh food so it's very hard to make much ahead even though I would like to in theory so that my Friday is a little easier. But a few things that are good for making ahead I do in larger batches for the month. I will on a Monday or Tuesday (could even be Sunday -- whenever I have time) make multiple batches of challah dough, enough for a typical month, portion it out and freeze it. I like freezing dough rather than finished challahs because it takes up less freezer space and I still get challah that tastes freshly made for Shabbos. Another week I will do a large baking session of desserts that freeze well. Usually brownies and cookies. The third thing is chicken soup and matza balls. I make two huge pots of chicken soup, strain everything out so it's just broth and freeze in quart size containers. I have plenty for next several weeks. Just defrost, heat and add new veggies as desired. Also good to have a supply in the freezer if someone gets sick. I also will make a big batch of matza balls and portion and freeze those as well. Everything else I am making fresh on Friday, but often I will do some of the prep work on Thursday - slicing and dicing veggies and storing them in containers in the fridge. That definitely speeds up cooking on Friday.

amother

Darkblue

Thu, May 26 2022, 9:05 am

I do not have a problem preparing chicken, potatoes, rice, soup, and fish on Wednesday night. I personally don't taste a difference if it's not fresh. I am just so thankful that I am able to cook in advance. My DH and children have Never said ''Mom- it's not fresh''. Salads I would do Thursday. Cucumber salad, Carrot, corn salad ,egg salad. Vegie salad I do late Friday afternoon. I grew up in a very not picky family. I assume thats why it's not a big deal for us.

amother

Outerspace

Thu, May 26 2022, 12:17 pm

Here's what I've been doing lately:

Shop early in the week and prep my chicken in the pan, then freeze it raw and prepped.
Move it to the fridge on Thursday morning and then pop in the oven on Friday - it will be fresh without any of the patchke! (But you MUST remember to take out with enough time to defrost or you will be eating rubber ducky!).

I roast veges on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesdays I saute the veges I will use for my Sefardi fish and then on Friday just pop the fish on top of veges with seasonings and bake - voila fresh fish!

Soup: Prep the soup veges (except onions and garlic) on wednesday. On Thursday I put up the soup, and then allow it to cool at around supper time. Put the whole pot in the fridge overnight so that I can skim off the fat the next morning... and then put it on the flame again - and add my parsley and dill at that point.

I'm experimenting now with freezing potato kugels, but until now, this is something I've been doing on Friday mornings since my kids really do like a fresh kugel.

Also green beans: I've been parboiling them on Wednesday (while handling all the other veges), and then put them in a sheet pan in the oven on Friday with garlic, ginger, oil and soy sauce - they've been going in at the same time as my kugel.

mra01385

Wed, Jun 01 2022, 8:08 pm

Right now I start cooking the fish, preparing the vegetables for the chicken soup and start challah dough on Thurs nights and do the rest on Friday but it’s very tiring for me to do so much on Friday. I would like to start cooking earlier in the week but then when would I have time to make supper and do laundry, wash dishes, clean up etc. Thursday I just make fish sticks and salmon with a side dish for supper so I have time to start cooking for shabbos.