Frugal shabbos challenge

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Seraph

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 5:40 am

pinktichel wrote:

check out my menus in the shabbos section. I do most of what you suggest. LOL

* I actually don't put any vegies in my soup anymore except carrots and onion and only use necks and wings from my whole chicken.
* I always make tons of salads (only avocado when it's just us, as a treat, cuz they're incredibly expensive, buy iceberg lettuce instead of romaine for my huge crowds, etc), but buy chummus now as when I priced it up, it wasn't much cheaper to make...
* I use gefilte fish rolls (cheapest ones out there) and I slice it thin, egg and bread it and then fry. This way, leftovers freeze incredibly well. I should make the recipe I posted ages ago (cookielady's) cuz those are truly economical and freeze brilliantly...
* I try to make things like carrot muffins, rice or roast potatoes as side dishes cuz they're cheap.
* I also make a pareve cholent as it's more of a side dish and I hate throwing out meat.

For the creamy italian pasta salad, do you use the cheapest noodles you can find?
Flatbread/nish nosh salad- you probably can find cheaper salads

Sesame chicken- do you make it with honey? Because if its with honey, its more expensive.
What is sticky GB?
Sweet potato pie- I try to only make things with sweet potato when its on sale or in season because I find sweet potatoes are generally a lot per kilo and they are very heavy, so you end up probably paying 8 shekel a sweet potato...
Is the ice cream homemade or store bought?

pinktichel

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 5:50 am

Seraph wrote:

pinktichel wrote:

check out my menus in the shabbos section. I do most of what you suggest. LOL

Ok, ok, you caught me!! LOL

* Pasta salad- calls for a lot of vegies but I skip them. Yes, pasta is VERY cheap here.
* flatbread/nish nosh- yes, the ingredients do add up. I'd have some really disappointed ppl if I didn't make it though. Confused

I suppose it's just too bad, right? I have loads of flatbreads and nish nosh crackers upstairs, so I'll have to come up with another hit when I run out of them...
* Sticky GB uses shallots which are expensive, so I substitute with onions and it calls for red and yellow pepper which I usually skip too. It does use some honey, but not too much.
* sweet potato pie- we're only 9 tonight as opposed to 30-50 so it was a treat. I make carrot kugel or a cheap tri layered vegie kugel (posted recipe on this site) when I have a typical shabbos.
* sesame chicken- I just mixed ketchup and brown sugar and sprinkled sesame seeds. It's a bit of a cop out, but uses relatively cheap ingredients and tastes delicious, so who cares?
* ice cream- I confess, although it's not too expensive, it certainly adds up when I feed so many ppl. Dh has suggested a few times that we cut that out.

Btw, Seraph, I appreciate your help. I keep refreshing to see what else ppl have added to the conversation! Good job e/t is done for shabbos except the salad dressings!!

Seraph

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 5:52 am

Thanks! Glad to be of service. Tongue Out

yOungM0mmy

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 6:16 am

Pink Tichel, we also cook for bulk often.

When we do, I do gefilte fish rolls, sliced thin and fried, and then cooked in equal parts tomato sauce and water.

As a garnish for salads, I use flavoured croutons sprinkled over the top - you can use a lot less Wink

I do frozen green beans, approx 1 lb dressed with 4 tbsp soy sauce, sugar and oil (multiply as necessary), and baked covered for about 1/2 hr - 45 mins.

Baked rice 2 cups, with 3 tbsp soup mix, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp oil, 4 cups boiling water, baked covered for 1 hour - so easy, goes far, and tastes great.

I also find, here at least, that the people not used to a traditional Friday Night dinner feel that we serve way too much food. I do first course with maximum 3 dips or just chumous and a green salad, then soup, then 1 protein, 1 starch, and 1 veg, sometimes with a green salad. Desert is homemade cake (ultimate chocolate cake from on here is quick and moist), and then just drizzle the plate with chocolate syrup for effect, and the cake is enough, and I serve tea or coffee with that - most people have had more than enough.

Tamiri

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 6:21 am

Seraph, I commend you on your efforts!

scb88

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 6:34 am

Everything I make is homemade, except for grape juice/wine. I definitely don't splurge beyond our means, but I still make a bakovidike meal. The structure of my meals are usually like this:

Homemade Challah
Either gefilte fish or fish salad
Chicken soup with matzah balls or lukshen
Chicken (usually NOT cutlets)
2 starches
2 vegetables/salads
dessert

by day, after the fish, it's gruenkern cholent - I put in chicken, so that I could put in less meat, and 2-3 side dishes.

shalosh seudos is fish and a bunch of salads.

Seraph, you have great ideas, but I can't see myself doing alot of what you do to scrimp. Kol Hakavod to you though.

drumjj

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 6:50 am

I dont know about where u live pink but where I live things like eggplant cost a fortune in israeli terms about six sheks an eggplant. I am also trying to make cheaper meals. this week its a very cheap one. we are having chicken wings (cheapest cut here) pototoes and some courgettes with tin tomatoes. and dessert well we went to a pick ur own farm and my husband picked ruhbarb which is not my thing but I made a crumble with it. tomorrow is cholent to which I now use the bones of the meat bc its so cheap and potato kugel which I make myself. but where I live eggs are even extrememly expensive. over six sheks for six eggs. bc I like to buy white ones.

pinktichel

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:00 am

drumjj wrote:

that's why I never use eggplants. Shame, cuz I love babaganoush/chatzilim. You buy white eggs locally? I've only seen brown eggs here, so I buy by the case when I do my big shop.

Seraph

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:11 am

pinktichel wrote:

drumjj wrote:

that's why I never use eggplants. Shame, cuz I love babaganoush/chatzilim. You buy white eggs locally? I've only seen brown eggs here, so I buy by the case when I do my big shop.

Are eggplants always expensive, or just when they're not in season?

pinktichel

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:15 am

Seraph wrote:

pinktichel wrote:

drumjj wrote:

that's why I never use eggplants. Shame, cuz I love babaganoush/chatzilim. You buy white eggs locally? I've only seen brown eggs here, so I buy by the case when I do my big shop.

Are eggplants always expensive, or just when they're not in season?

always (well here at least) and they're tiny!

someoneoutthere

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:26 am

כל מזונותיו של אדם קצובים לו...חוץ מהוצאות שבת ויום טוב
I dont spend too much energy thinking about my food for shabbos. If I have the money available (ie. dont need to borrow to make shabbos how I like to) then I dont make more of a cheshbon than- how many people/who are coming and I dont like leftovers.

BeershevaBubby

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:28 am

Any reason you ladies don't use brown eggs?

drumjj

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:31 am

yes bec the ones u have here have so many blood spots in them I feel like its such a waste. I get one out of three in the brown eggs if im lucky

catonmylap

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:35 am

I've been cutting corners where we can, but it's not a cheap week here.

We've got:
wine- 25 shekels/bottle minimum (dh drinks dry red good wines)
challah - store bought (but I bought at the grocery store non-sweet ones)
homemade eggplant with techina
homemade mushroom salad
chumous
leftover store bought salads from last week (cabbage, and eggplant)
tomato toss

apricot chicken (chicken was 10/NIS kilo), will get a second meal out of this.
potatoes with onion
spinach kugel (don't make it that often)
green beans
pecan cookies

For tomorrow:
lasanya (expensive ,but still beats takeout, and should be a least 1 leftover meal)
spreads + cream cheese
cheese cake

for seudah shilshit:
tuna
3 hard boiled eggs

chocolate moose

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:38 am

If we want to be cheap, why are we doing so on the cheshbon of the Shabbos ?

ra_mom

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:40 am

pinktichel wrote:

* ice cream- I confess, although it's not too expensive, it certainly adds up when I feed so many ppl. Dh has suggested a few times that we cut that out.

Pinktichel, I recently came across a great Parve ice cream recipe made from topping, eggs, sugar... it comes out much cheaper than store bought, and it's ridiculously easy. If you want the exact recipe, let me know.

Tamiri

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:47 am

While my family are not big eaters, feeding 4 adults, one teen and 2 other kids costs money. We can't get by with 1 breast or a few chicken wings. 2 chickens are not enough for one Shabbat. I can be frugal and not buy challa or salads but the ingredients cost, the meat costs etc. I don't serve fish so I guess that could be considered a savings (I see a lot of people do serve it, but no one here wants/will eat it).
Chocolate, it's not a matter of being cheap specifically for Shabbat. It's a matter of being frugal all the time, yet being able to make a nice meal for Shabbat without breaking the budget. I have been to very nice frugal meals. No one really cares if you spend more money; all they want is a decent Shabbat meal. What do vegetarians do?

sunshine!

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:52 am

I have to agree with chocolate moose on this one. Anyone ever heard the story of Yosef Moker Shabbos? While I don't believe you have to go into debt making Shabbos, you still need to honor Shabbos with your finest.

Seraph

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:53 am

chocolate moose wrote:

If we want to be cheap, why are we doing so on the cheshbon of the Shabbos ?

As I said, this thread isnt for that. You want to spend a fortune on shabbos, feel free to. This thread is to give chizzuk and ideas of how to make GOOD shabbos good without breaking the bank, as tamiri said.

Seraph

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 7:54 am

sunshine! wrote:

Who said we don't? I definitely dont make 4 course meals during the week...

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