Still Working on Getting Back to Basics—A Menu

I thought that I was being SO smart by giving myself a goal list earlier this week. Just to recap my expectations for myself (the red is what I actually got done):

SUNDAY: My list was short and I got it all done!

• Decide on guest list: No one.
• Inventory freezer for things that are already made: I have sweet potato mash, onion kugel, and chopped herring already made and in the freezer. I can pull at least one of those things out to make for Shabbos.
• Put away last week's dishes.

MONDAY: I wrote the post on Monday—so you would think that I had made progress.

• Inventory fridge and pantry for other "freezable" side items—and make at least one thing: Mango soup will be happening later tonight.
  • I did make mango soup… on Tuesday night. At about 11 pm. After I made bows. I think that I may have a bow problem. I can't stop playing with them. It is like bow crack or something. I need a bow intervention.
• Laundry—or maybe not? We will see how the night goes on this one.
  • I thought about the laundry, but didn't actually do any of it.
• Watch 6 episodes of Glee on Netflix. Check and double check! I did this one, no problem.

TUESDAY:

• Leftover laundry. Or at least start the laundry. Yes. I did start the laundry. WOO HOO! That is a half check!
• Clean the bathrooms—l'cvod Shabbos—I will do a quick once over on Friday morning, but I will get the dirty work done tomorrow. Of course I didn't get this done on Tuesday? Why? Yup. My bowdiction. I did the hallway bathroom this evening.
• Mango soup got made!

WEDNESDAY:

• Clean the floors--l'cvod Shabbos—will spot clean on Friday morning. Unless I do it after I post this, not going to happen.
• Change Sheets-- l'cvod Shabbos—I decided that it is nicer to have fresh sheets RIGHT before Shabbos, so I didn't get this done. What?!? Of course that is the reason it didn't get done!!
• Menu—and I will incorporate things that I already have prepared in the freezer. I will try to double up anything that I make on Thursday to freeze.-- HAHAHAH! I GOT ONE!!
  Menu is below!
• Most of the laundry is finally done.

THURSDAY:

• Shop after school drop off—Probably not a problem.
• Cook starting before school pick up.—Probably a problem. I need to pick the van up from the body shop (don't ask) in the morning, so I don't want to set my expectations of myself too high.
• Finish cooking and have kitchen basically clean by 10 pm (this is a MAJOR stretch, by the way… 10 pm is my witching hour. It is the time I go from an efficient-let's-get-it-down-person to a stalling-let's-play-on-the-computer person… so we shall see).—As long as I hide my ribbon box, this shouldn't be a problem. Doing WAY easy this week.

FRIDAY:

• Set the table.
• Spot clean.
• Relax, do my nails, make a bow, read Dr. Suess, or do some other random non-stressful activity (read: NAP!!)

I wouldn't say that this week was a total failure at getting back to basics. I did get my coupon list together for Wal Greens. I made it over to Target with the kiddos. I took my car in to the shop. I made some things for Shabbos BEFORE Thursday. Time to start looking for successes—and also time to start putting less on my plate.

Without further ado, a BASIC menu (and yes, I know I need to post the recipes. I hope to be back to normal with that… um… next month?):

• Challah—Done and frozen
• Chopped Herring—Done and frozen
• Hummus
  -----
• Meatballs—Quick & Kosher—Why? Just because I am really craving some!-- making triple batch—two for Shabbos and one to freeze.
  • Anyone have a good idea re: how to heat these on Shabbos day?*
    • Queen Lieberfolk suggested pulling them from their sauce and putting them on the plata dry. The sauce can sit next to the plata. Will the sauce get warm enough? Will the meatballs dry out?
    • DH thought the crockpot may work. In my experience, ground beef in the crockpot over Shabbos is no bueno.
• Brown Rice
• Onion Kugel—Prepped and frozen.
• Caesar Salad—Quick & Kosher
• Cucumber salad
• Broccoli salad
  -----
• Mango soup over soy ice cream

I want to get back on track this week! Who wants to take away my hot glue gun?


* The laws of heating food on Shabbos are pretty complex. Long story short, one cannot cook on Shabbos. This means that heating up food in a way that may lead to cooking (or look like cooking) is a no-no. Typically, people use a warming tray (called a plata) or a blech, a piece of metal that sits over the burners on the stove, to warm food. There is an issue with putting liquid on either of these warming devices, so my question is about the meatball sauce.

The “I need a reboot” Menu

I hate it when my computer gets the hiccups.  It never fails that I will be in the middle of doing something REALLY important (like watching Top Chef on iTunes) when everything starts to run like there is peanut butter in the hard drive.  Drives me batty.  My cure for the computer hiccups is invariably to hold down the power button until the whole thing turns off and then turn it back on.  I know that rebooting with a hard shutdown isn’t the best way to deal with the problem, but it always seems to do the job!  Well, this week, I need a hard shutdown followed by a reboot.

I am probably trying to put too much on my plate again and I am probably still recovering from a month away, but, those excuses aside, I seem to have a case of the life hiccups.  My internal hard drive is running like there is peanut butter stuck inside.  I can’t seem to get my act together to get my coupon deals arranged (I even went to the grocery store WITHOUT my coupon book and WITHOUT looking at ads earlier this week).  I keep intending to work on my new site, but get sidetracked on a million other things.  I start to reply to one of the 500 emails I got while I was gone and I get um… delayed (read: stuck on Facebook).  Don’t even ask if I have done anything towards Shabbos yet.  I need someone to come and press my power switch until I shut off and then reboot me.  

So, in honor of my inability to get my act together and start cooking earlier AND because it is officially summer in Houston, I give you the “I need a reboot” menu—mostly salads, easy, and refreshing.   I am actually making two meals this week (two DIFFERENT meals, that is) because I am craving this dinner and it doesn’t work well at lunch (chicken dries out).  I will be repurposing many of the components to make up for the extra work of a double menu.

** Recipe links are not posted yet.  Why?  MY BRAIN IS A PEANUT BUTTER FILLED HARD DRIVE.**

Dinner

·         Challah—Done

·         Hot & Sour Soup—Kosher by Design Short on Time

-----

·         Indonesian Chicken

·         Ginger Quinoa

·         Cucumber and cilantro salad

·         Corn Salad—Quick & Kosher

-----

·         Berries

Lunch

In honor of Yom Haatzmaut, this is a seriously Israeli menu.

·         Challah

·         Hummus

·         Egg Salad

·         Chopped Herring (yuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmm)

·         Guacamole

-----

·         Spring Marinated Chicken—Kosher by Design Entertains

·         Onion Kugel

·         Quinoa Salad with Zaatar Dressing

·         Israeli Salad

·         Corn Salad—Quick & Kosher

·         Red Cabbage Salad—Quick & Kosher

-----

·         Lieber-strawberry-shortcake-triffle (doesn’t have the same ring as Lieberkugel, but same idea… Queen Lieberfolk is going to bring dessert).

Tomorrow is shopping day!  Have I made my list?  Um.  No. 

It is late on Thursday night

On a normal week (read: a week when everyone is on schedule and things are running smoothly), I would be posting all sorts of adventures in getting my cooking done at this point.  Needless to say, we are all still a bit off.  No one is sleeping well.  No one is eating well.  And the little Houston "friends"-- and if you don't know the "friends" I am talking about, you have never lived in Houston (maybe one day I will write about the "friends" because they always seem to visit when I am cooking on Thursday night)-- have taken over my house. 

Despite the total exhaustion and invasion of creepy crawlers, I have managed to get some of my Shabbos preparation done.  Most important, a menu:

Challah-- made on Tuesday
Gefilte Fish-- done
Hummus-- done
Israeli salad
-----
Onion Chicken-- Quick & Kosher-- in the oven
Challah Kugel-- Spice & Spirit-- made on Tuesday and frozen.  This is a first in my house.  I had a lot of challah leftover from last week.  I hope it is good!
Broccoli Salad
Quinoa Salad
Green beans
-----
Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cake

This menu is a lot of comfort food.  Maybe the comfort will be a fun nights sleep for the first time since we have been back.

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s SUPER SHABBOS MENU!

I bet you didn't know this, but DS is SUPERMAN. I may have broken some top secret superhero code by publishing that information, so please! Don't tell anyone!
Being that Shabbos is Superson's third birthday on the Jewish calendar and Purim is his third birthday on the English calendar, we thought that is would be nice if SUPERMAN was able to reveal his true identity on Purim. No need to be Clark Kent! Everyone will be dressed up and no one will know that he REALLY IS Superman. The rest of us will be Super, as well. Superbaby, Supermommy [not implying I am anywhere near it], and Super… oh wait… Daddy is going to be Clark Kent… all plan to make an appearance! Teddy, Superson's sidekick/bear/baby/best friend, is getting in on the action, too. He will be dressed as Jimmy Olsen.
I really don't know what is so SUPER about my Shabbos menu. It is mostly a repeat of last week—it is pretty easy to prepare and I am looking for redemption from my failure last week. There will be SUPERMAN cake—and that is SUPER!
Without further ado—*cue theme music* What is that over on my blog? Faster than a kugel is eaten on Friday afternoon! Able to finish cooking with hours to spare! It's a challah! It's a gefilte fish! IT'S SUPERSHABBOS MENU! Do-do-do-da-dooooooo-do-da-do. Do-do-da-do-do, do-da-DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
PS We are eating out for lunch. For dinner, we will be joined by Bubbe—all the way in from Denver! and some friends.

• Challah—DONE
• Hummus—EARLY TOMORROW— will make enough for SUPER M'SHALOCH MANOS (get it… a super food…)
• Tri Colored Gefilte Fish—Kosher Delicious
  ----
• Hot Dogs—Bet you didn't know that Hot Dogs are Superman's favorite food!
• Onion Chicken—Quick & Kosher
• Sweet Corn Pudding—I cut this recipe out from a coupon booklet in Dec… looks YUM. If it tastes good, I will post it.
• Green beans w/ garlic
• Caesar Salad—Quick & Kosher-- the jury is out if I am brave enough to try romaine again (after last week's infestation).
  ----
• Supercake

So, clearly, I am already behind where I was this time last week. That means nothing, though. This week, I will do it!
Some of you are thinking, "Yeah, but what about your Purim seudah?" Well, we go to a massive party at the shul for the seudah every year. So what do I still have to do for the chag? Two capes, cards for my m'shaloch manos (tonight), and put them together (will have to do last minute because food is perishable). We are ALMOST ready!

Stockpiling and Pesach Cleaning: A menu to clear out the house

There is an amazing sale on Cheerios (of all shapes and sizes... Honey Nut, Cinnamon Burst, all of it) at Randalls this week.  This is the type of sale that would have me running to the store and buying as any boxes as I had coupons.  It is the type of sale that would have DH asking, "Um.  Why do we need so much cereal?"  It is the type of sale that would supply my family with Cheerios for the next 3 or 4 months.  As I was circling the ad with my red Sharpie, something occurred to me: Purim is only a week and a half away.  That means that Pesach is only 6 weeks away.  That means that I SHOULD NOT be buying 4 month's worth of Cheerios. 

It also means that I should not be making and freezing for another Shabbos.  Time to start clearing out what we have! 

"Wait!" some of you (that know me well and know my plans) are saying, "Aren't you going to Israel for Pesach?!?"  Hehehe.  Yes, I am.  No cleaning.  No cooking.  A full month in Israel.  I am overjoyed.  BUT I AM LEAVING THE WEEK AFTER PURIM!  AHHH!  Before I go, I need to get everything out of the fridge and, possibly the freezer, as well.*  So, right as I was getting the hang of this "make it early and freeze it" thing, it is time to cook with what we have on hand.  The next three weeks will be "clean out my pantry and fridge" menus.

Here it goes (one menu, two meals):

Challah-- DONE
Guac--DONE
Tricolor Gefilte Fish-- Kosher Delights-- TONIGHT
----
Onion Chicken-- Quick & Kosher-- PREP TONIGHT
Roasted Root Veggies w/ Rosemary
Broc Slaw-- Kosher By Design-- the pink one, I think
Caesar Salad-- Quick & Kosher
Quinoa Salad
----
Apple Pie, deconstructed-- This sounds fancy, but it is just homemade apple sauce, pastry shells, and soy ice cream

Next week: cheerio crusted chicken! 

*There are all sorts of technicalities here that I am not going to get into re: cleaning for Pesach, selling chametz, selling apartments where chametz is located so you [read: I] don't have to clean.  If you are interested, check out Aish.com's Pesach guide.

The "we really need to get you a freezer" menu

My wonderful husband called me from the hospital tonight.

"Guess what?!" Cheerful husband?  On call?  What is wrong?

"What?" Apprehensive about the cheerfulness.

"Favorite Friend is in from Israel!  If I invite him for lunch, will that be too much for you?"

This is why I love my husband.  We really aren't having so many people for lunch.  And this person is a very special friend (that never comes to visit).  Even if it were a lot, I would insist on having him.  But DH will always make sure that it won't be too much.  Now you know why I am putting up with residency.  And it gets better:

"No worries.  Everything is basically made-- just needs to go in the oven straight from the freezer."  I detailed my plans for this Shabbos. 

"Wow.  We really need to get you a real freezer."  Sigh.  I feel understood!  I feel validated!  I feel like I am going to get a freezer!

And so we have the "we really need to get you a freezer" Shabbos menu.  This menu, if successful, will prove that a freezer will be a wise investment-- saving my sanity, making this experiment doable, solving the debt crisis, and achieving world peace. 

We will be having dinner at shul.  For lunch, we will be around 8 and 2 3-year olds.  The menu is pretty standard Shabbos fare, but I am not REALLY making anything.  To quote DS's wonderful teacher, "You are cheating."  Maybe.  But I will be so chilled out doing it, that I really won't care. 

Here it goes (and yeah, there is a lot of food.  I am sure some will be cut.):

• Challah-- DONE
•  Queen Lieberfolk (the best downstairs neighbor ever) is donating challah her mother in law made while here post-baby
• Gefilte Fish
• Hummus
• Guacamole-- DONE
• Egg Salad
• -----
• Cholent-- throw together before school on Friday. 
• Debating whether I should put a kishka in.
• I know I said I don't do cholent after January, but I need to make DD some more baby food and she LOVES the stuff.
• Deli Roll-- DONE-- Assembled and ready to bake straight from freezer
• Broccoli Kugel--DONE-- Prepped and ready to bake straight from freezer
• From Spice & Spirit-- Broccoli Kugel #2 with fried onions on top
• Lieberkugel--DONE
• Queen Lieberfolk's MIL was VERY busy cooking when she was here.  They have a lot of potato kugel to eat before Pesach.  Glad to help with the effort (especially because this is VERY SPECIAL potato kugel).
• Broccoli Salad
• Corn & avocado salad
• From Quick & Kosher-- the one with the ume vinegar

-----
Brownies with berries and whipped cream

We are going to have a great crowd this week.  I can't wait!

Menu Menu Menu

I was singing that title to a nice tune suited to a conga line, but you couldn't tell.

As promised, a simple menu this week.  I had planned to have most of the cooking done at this point (I even bought everything that I needed).  Unfortunately, my freezer became full again before I was able to cook much.  Thanks to a mix up at the Nature's Own bakery, next week's batch will not be kosher (check out the HKA website).  I have some extra sandwich bread taking up the space reserved for my meatballs and deli roll.  I also made challah this week so there went all of the extra space.  The picture above is my freezer in its natural state (stuffed to the gills, barely able to stay shut).  Maybe the simple menu will allow me to get to bed at a decent hour tonight?

A Simple Shabbos

Challah-- DONE
Gefilte fish (both meals... it is hot in Houston again... no soup for awhile)
-----
Meatballs-- Quick & Kosher (dinner)/deli roll (lunch)
Quinoa (dinner)/quinoa salad (lunch)
Double Layer Kugel-- components DONE and frozen
Sweet Potato Mash w/ caramelized leeks and apples-- 2008-2009 Jewish Woman's Weekly Planner-- DONE and frozen, but need to caramelize apples and leeks
Broccoli Salad
-----
Strawberry Shortcake

Grocery deals and match-ups will be posted at by FB page shortly.

It is Tuesday already?!

Where did the beginning of the week go?  In my house, the first two days of the week were eaten by the scary monster that appears about twice a week: the CALL MONSTER!  [insert scary music]. 

The CALL MONSTER [scary music] is a peculiar fellow.  He takes otherwise family-oriented spouses and hides them away at his liar (the hospital).  The CALL MONSTER [scary music and screeching] then tortures the otherwise family oriented spouse.  He forces the otherwise family oriented spouse to stay at his liar for 30 hours.  He challenges the otherwise family oriented spouse with difficult social situation among the spouse's patients.  He even limits the spouse's time available to eat.  And just when the spouse thinks that [s]he can get a little rest, the CALL MONSTER [blood curdling cry] pages that 5 new patients are coming.  When the CALL MONSTER [gasp] finally releases the otherwise family oriented spouse, the spouse is basically the walking dead.  The spouse trudges back home, drinks a glass of chocolate milk and falls into bed (scrubs still on). 

Days when the CALL MONSTER [more scary music] visits our house are difficult.  The kids, DS in particular, miss their dad and I miss my husband.  I won't bore you with the heart wrenching things that a 3 year-old can come up with, suffice to say, he knows that Daddy is not home and he is not thrilled with it.  True to toddler form, his loneliness for his father manifests in temper tantrums and other acting out.  Sundays are particularly difficult because (1) there is no school to distract him and (2) because Sunday is "family day", all of his friends are with their families and not available for playdates.  Needless to say, I have my hands full on those days. 

The day after CALL MONSTER can be just as challenging.  When DH gets home (right when school gets out), he needs rest.  Of course, DS wants to play with Daddy.  More tantrums.  More acting out.  And all of this while I am trying to keep the house quiet so that DH will be able to enjoy time with DS when he wakes up.  This week, the day after CALL MONSTER was ALSO a school holiday.  The fun kept coming. 

So, it is Tuesday.  DS is at school.  DH has clinic this afternoon (home at a normal time!).  And I am finally catching my breath.  But wait!  I need to think about Shabbos! 

I know that I need to bake challah this week (I used the last of my matza challah last week).  Given that and given that the CALL MONSTER is coming back to visit on Thursday, I think that simple is best this week.  I have a few ready to assemble, flat and frozen kugels.  I am going to try do freezer experiments today and tomorrow, as well (uncooked, but assembled deli roll and meatballs).  All of that, some gefilte fish and some salads, and I think we are good to go! 

I feel good!  I have a plan!  I have an hour before school is out!  CHALLAH TIME!

PS I am still looking for people that are making 5#s of challah (this week or another week) to help with a major mitzvah.  Please contact me in the comments and let me know if you are up to help.  You don't have to be in Houston.

Gotta get a menu!

Earlier in the week, I wrote about attempting to make some things early and stuffing them into my tiny freezer.  I am happy to report that my tomatillo sauce (for the chicken cholent verde) is all made and frozen (flat and thin!).  On to the rest of my menu!

Two different meals this week.  We are having the sweetest lunch guests (newly returned from exile in Brooklyn), so I wanted to make them some TexMex.  I am taking advantage of a deal on peppers for dinner. I will try to get a Houston Grocer Sales post up at my Facebook page before tomorrow night.

And the menu is...

Dinner
Challah-- MADE
Carrot Soup (Hadassah Holiday Cookbook)-- SHOULD HAVE MADE
----
Stuffed Peppers (Quick & Koshers, but sub quinoa)
Garlic Slaw (California Kosher)
Green Beans with garlic
Roasted Potatoes Lieberkugel (Thank you, Queen Lieberfolk for donating from your freezer!)
----
Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cake

Lunch
Challah-- MADE
Mexifilte Fish
Salsa-- (thank you, Kosher on a Budget, for posting a homemade salsa recipe RIGHT before TexMex Shabbos!)-- MADE
Guac
----
Chicken Cholent Verde-- Sauce-- MADE
Corn Salad
Garlic Slaw (California Kosher)
Mexiquinoa Salad-- Just going to wing it on this one.  Will report back
Best Black Beans
Corn Tortillas
----
Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cake (I don't know how to make empanadas)


What are you eating for Shabbos?

About 10 and a half hours to go

We are all cooked!  I even pre-chopped veggies for salad!  It is a chatzos miracle (considering how much I was playing online tonight)!  I made a few adjustments to my original menu: notably, I made cupcakes instead of brownies (just in case we need a post-chatzos activity).   

On the agenda for tomorrow is some general tidying, cleaning the hallway bathroom, set the table, and floors.  I think I can handle that... if I stay OFF of the computer!

Menu time!

I set myself up for failure yesterday by putting too much on my plate.  Nothing got done.  Today, I set more realistic expectations for myself: get the menu and the shopping list done.  Mission accomplished (and I got a head start on preparing the kitchen for my massive cooking push tomorrow)!

We will be having a quiet Shabbos this week-- just our family for both meals.  While I love having guests, it is so nice to have the family time (especially when DH is on tough months at the hospital).  I know it is comforting to him to have a refuge of a quiet Shabbos when he is so busy and it is comforting to us to have the alone time with him.

So, in the spirit of comforting family time, we are doing a Comfort Food themed Shabbos.  YUM!

TIP: Even if I am having guests, I only cook one meal for Shabbos (with more or less dishes, depending on who is at the table).  Sometimes I will add a deli roll for lunch (if we have guests).  Sometimes I do make cholent (and then I add a protien for dinner).  But, all in all, I serve the same dishes at lunch as I do at dinner.  I can hear you all now, "WHAT?!?  THE SAME MEAL?!? GASP!!"  Maybe it isn't the fanciest, over-the-top, amazing, wow thing to do, but it is efficient (financially and otherwise).  Plus, while everyone else is busy making ANOTHER meal on Friday afternoon, I hope to be reading Dr. Suess.

COMFORT FOOD SHABBOS

Challah
Matza Ball Soup (dinner)/Gefilte Fish (lunch)
-----
Onion Chicken (Quick & Kosher)
Double Layer Kugel: potato/carrot & zucchini
Broccoli Kugel (Spice & Spirit-- I make the second one, but I substitute a fried onion/corn flake mixture for the solo corn flake crumbs)
Caesar Salad (Quick & Kosher)
Roasted Zucchini & Squash
-----
Brownies

Non-cookbook recipes will be posted soon. 

Tip:  Make two of "freezeables" (ie kugel) for next week (or the week after... or the week after... the point is, it is already made!).  This seems obvious, right?  Not in our house.  Here, freezer space is at a premium [more on this in an upcoming post].  Until recently, freezing anything was a joke.  I have started making "just for us" sized portions for our freezer.  These smaller versions are great for quiet Shabboses, like this week, or for bringing as a part of a chesed meal.

Last week, I mentioned that I make my menu with the local ads in front of me (a great way to find deals on veggies, ect).  I was asked if I would mind posting my match-ups/some great deals I noticed on the blog.  While I can't post every sale in Houston, I have posted some amazing-don't-pass-me-up deals (like the $.77 zucchini and squash at Foodarama!) on my Facebook page (Like the FB page!).  Please add any great deals that you find! 

What are you eating for Shabbos?

Shabbos Menu!

DS decided that he wasn't going to nap today.  After he informed his sister of his choice (by screaming), he thought it would be a good idea to help his mommy with the shabbos menu.  We are one step closer to chatzos!

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, we were invited out for dinner.  If I can't do it this week, I am in trouble! 

AND THE MENU IS.... drum roll...

First Course

Challah
Mushroom Pate (2008-2009 Jewish Woman's Weekly Planner)
Salmon Salad

Second Course

Chicken Primavera (Kosher by Design-- Short on Time)
Quinoa Salad with Za-atar Dressing
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with caramelized leeks (2008-2009 Jewish Woman's Weekly Planner)
Avocado Corn Salad (Quick & Kosher)

Dessert

Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cake

A few notes:

1. No Cholent.  We aren't so much a cholent family (maybe because we live in Texas and it is RARELY cold enough to eat cholent?).  It might be cold enough for cholent this week, but we aren't having guests, so no cholent.  
2. Make chatzos AND stay on budget?  Yes.  It is possible.  One way I stay on budget (and still include all of the light, fresh, salads that my family loves) is to make my Shabbos menu with the grocery ads in front of me.  The random, non-local stores always have great produce specials.  This week, for example, zucchini and squash are on sale at Seller Bros for $ .88/lb... so I am making chicken primavera.  Rather than run around to 20 different stores to get cheap produce, I take my ads to Wal Mart.  They will price match-- as long as you have the ad.  Even veggies!  Even from the cheapy stores!  

I will try to post the non-cookbook recipes this evening.

Tomorrow is shopping and cooking day!