I think it's a little ironic that this is the week I chose for a "no guests" week! We have just been inundated with guests for the last month, and I felt I needed a little break. A chance for a really quiet, no pressure Shabbat.
Just us.
So what's on a "just us" menu?
Challah
Vegetable soup
Whatever already prepared chicken I pull out of the freezer
Carrot Kugel (from the freezer)
Spicy Roast Potatoes
Mushroom-Barley Stew in the crock pot for lunch
Make your own Salad
Fruit, brownies, or whatever my kids bake tomorrow
Pretty simple, no frills. Hopefully we'll have a simple, fun Friday and Shabbat!
What's on your menu? Are you having guests?
I'm so excited to bring you my favorite tips, deals, great things to know and do for your life in Israel or for when you visit Israel! (please note: this blog contains affiliate links)
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wednesday night - November 9, 2011
How about a one pot meal?
Lentil, Rice, and Butternut Squash Stew, served with Pitot on the side.
Here's my stew, but you can change it up and be as creative as you'd like:
Onions, Garlic, Red peppers, Carrots, Potatoes, and Butternut Squash - diced and sauteed in olive oil. Add lentils and rice (sorted and rinsed), vegetable stock and spices to taste (I used salt, pepper, and oregano. I happen to think that oregano complements lentils and rice really well.) The quantities are so arbitrary, depending on the size of your pot. I used a rather large pot for this stew and used 1-2 onions, 2 cloves of garlic, whatever sliced carrots and peppers were in my fridge from earlier in the day, 2 potatoes, 1 butternut squash, 1/3 of bag of rice, and 1/2 a bag of lentils.
Lentil, Rice, and Butternut Squash Stew, served with Pitot on the side.
Here's my stew, but you can change it up and be as creative as you'd like:
Onions, Garlic, Red peppers, Carrots, Potatoes, and Butternut Squash - diced and sauteed in olive oil. Add lentils and rice (sorted and rinsed), vegetable stock and spices to taste (I used salt, pepper, and oregano. I happen to think that oregano complements lentils and rice really well.) The quantities are so arbitrary, depending on the size of your pot. I used a rather large pot for this stew and used 1-2 onions, 2 cloves of garlic, whatever sliced carrots and peppers were in my fridge from earlier in the day, 2 potatoes, 1 butternut squash, 1/3 of bag of rice, and 1/2 a bag of lentils.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Back to Posting Menus! Nov. 8, 2011
I've taken quite a long break from posting, but now I'm trying to get my life back in order, and that includes finding time to plan (and blog about) menus!
This week I'm back to trying to minimize the shopping (but can't pass up Mega's special - 2NIS/kg for avocados, pomelit, and bananas, so I'm going to have to get there tomorrow!)... I peeked into my freezer and realized that there's enough in there to keep us going for a while.
Here are some foods we made this week using the items already in the freezer, fridge, and pantry:
Red Lentil Soup - saute 1 small onion and 1 clove garlic in olive oil. when soft, add water, red lentils (sorted and rinsed), salt and pepper (optional: juice of a lemon. I like it lemony but my finicky family disagrees. You can always add lemon to the bowl!). This soup is my go to soup when we are all cold and I hadn't planned soup, as red lentils cook so quickly it can be ready to serve in about 15 minutes!
Chinese Vegetable Soup - this soup starts the same way most of my soups do: saute onion and garlic in olive oil. (you can also saute fresh sliced ginger with the onion and garlic, if you don't have any, you can use the dried ground version, just add toward the end of the cooking process) when soft, add your choice of vegetables - I used mushrooms, broccoli stalks (peeled and thinly sliced), carrots (scrubbed and thinly sliced), and snow peas (still had some in the freezer from when they were buy 2 get 1 free at Shufersal). You can also use bok choy, celery, and any other vegetables you have around that seem like they'd fit. saute it all. then add soy sauce and rice vinegar. Allow to simmer for 10 min. Add water to desired level. Add pepper (and ginger) to taste. garnish with green onion, if you have some!
Pasta with creamy sauce (I cheated and used up the leftover garlic and dill cream cheese as the basis of this sauce)
Pasta with tomato sauce
Baked Potatoes
Steamed Broccoli
Make your own Salad
Fruit Salad
These foods came together in different combinations to make several nights worth of suppers!
What have you been making?
This week I'm back to trying to minimize the shopping (but can't pass up Mega's special - 2NIS/kg for avocados, pomelit, and bananas, so I'm going to have to get there tomorrow!)... I peeked into my freezer and realized that there's enough in there to keep us going for a while.
Here are some foods we made this week using the items already in the freezer, fridge, and pantry:
Red Lentil Soup - saute 1 small onion and 1 clove garlic in olive oil. when soft, add water, red lentils (sorted and rinsed), salt and pepper (optional: juice of a lemon. I like it lemony but my finicky family disagrees. You can always add lemon to the bowl!). This soup is my go to soup when we are all cold and I hadn't planned soup, as red lentils cook so quickly it can be ready to serve in about 15 minutes!
Chinese Vegetable Soup - this soup starts the same way most of my soups do: saute onion and garlic in olive oil. (you can also saute fresh sliced ginger with the onion and garlic, if you don't have any, you can use the dried ground version, just add toward the end of the cooking process) when soft, add your choice of vegetables - I used mushrooms, broccoli stalks (peeled and thinly sliced), carrots (scrubbed and thinly sliced), and snow peas (still had some in the freezer from when they were buy 2 get 1 free at Shufersal). You can also use bok choy, celery, and any other vegetables you have around that seem like they'd fit. saute it all. then add soy sauce and rice vinegar. Allow to simmer for 10 min. Add water to desired level. Add pepper (and ginger) to taste. garnish with green onion, if you have some!
Pasta with creamy sauce (I cheated and used up the leftover garlic and dill cream cheese as the basis of this sauce)
Pasta with tomato sauce
Baked Potatoes
Steamed Broccoli
Make your own Salad
Fruit Salad
These foods came together in different combinations to make several nights worth of suppers!
What have you been making?
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Tuesday Night, Oct. 4, 2011
Another crazy day, and I pushed off the supermarket run until tomorrow!
Here's what we came up with for supper tonight:
Potato Bourekas
Pitot with Red Lentil Sloppy Joes
Avocado
Rice with Broccoli (and soy sauce)
Here's what we came up with for supper tonight:
Potato Bourekas
Pitot with Red Lentil Sloppy Joes
Avocado
Rice with Broccoli (and soy sauce)
Monday, September 26, 2011
Getting Ready for Rosh Hashana!
Right now, I'm a little apple-obsessed.
First, I made apple kugel. I make a really simple version: First, thinly slice 6 good-size apples (I used a mix of green and red, and sliced them very thinly in the food processor). I sprinkled lemon juice over the apples, my attempt at stopping the inevitable oxidation. Pile them into a large baking pan. Then I pour the following batter over the top of the apples - 1 c. whole wheat flour, 1/2 c. oil, 1/2 c. sugar, and 3-4 T. ground flaxseed steeped in 1 c. of very hot water.
Bake at 350 F for about 1 hour.
Then I made apple crisp. Four of them. One got eaten tonight, so 3 are in the freezer for use as needed. I still have another 15 or so apples, so I'll probably make something else appley tomorrow. I am torn between more apple crisp and apple bread...
I've only sort of planned my menus. Here's a list of foods I am making, and we'll construct meals out of it. About half of our meals will be pareve or dairy.
Pareve Foods
Honey Challah
apples and honey (we'll offer 3 kinds of apples)
Chinese-style mushroom soup (this is a slightly complicated recipe, but a favorite. Saute white parts of 6-12 scallions, 4 cloves of garlic, and some finely diced ginger in olive oil. when lightly browned, add sliced mushrooms and reduce. Add teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, and some white wine (if desired) - sorry I just guess the quantities - and simmer for at least 10 min. Add soup stock (I use vegetable stock) and bring to a boil. Then add black pepper and chopped scallion greens to taste.)
Butternut Squash soup (I think I blogged this recipe a few weeks ago)
Potato Kugel
Apple Kugel
Carrot Kugel
Israeli salad, Cut Vegetables
Roasted Ratatouille
Rice
Tofu (marinated in soy sauce, and stir fried)
Chick peas sauteed with other vegetables (peppers, onions, garlic, potatoes, with ground black pepper, salt, cinnamon, and ginger)
Some sort of red lentil dish
Meat Foods
Pomegranate Chicken
Baked Breaded Chicken (served with a honey/ginger dipping sauce)
Dairy Foods
Broccoli Puff (Broccoli and Cheese Casserole)
Spinach Quiche (with Feta cheese if I remember to get some)
Lasagna
Pasta with Cheese (SOME of my children are picky and won't eat lasagna...)
Phew! I think that's enough!
Oh, Desserts:
Apple Crisp
Honey Cake
Chocolate Chip Squares
Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
Fresh Fruit
First, I made apple kugel. I make a really simple version: First, thinly slice 6 good-size apples (I used a mix of green and red, and sliced them very thinly in the food processor). I sprinkled lemon juice over the apples, my attempt at stopping the inevitable oxidation. Pile them into a large baking pan. Then I pour the following batter over the top of the apples - 1 c. whole wheat flour, 1/2 c. oil, 1/2 c. sugar, and 3-4 T. ground flaxseed steeped in 1 c. of very hot water.
Then I made apple crisp. Four of them. One got eaten tonight, so 3 are in the freezer for use as needed. I still have another 15 or so apples, so I'll probably make something else appley tomorrow. I am torn between more apple crisp and apple bread...
I've only sort of planned my menus. Here's a list of foods I am making, and we'll construct meals out of it. About half of our meals will be pareve or dairy.
Pareve Foods
Honey Challah
apples and honey (we'll offer 3 kinds of apples)
Chinese-style mushroom soup (this is a slightly complicated recipe, but a favorite. Saute white parts of 6-12 scallions, 4 cloves of garlic, and some finely diced ginger in olive oil. when lightly browned, add sliced mushrooms and reduce. Add teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, and some white wine (if desired) - sorry I just guess the quantities - and simmer for at least 10 min. Add soup stock (I use vegetable stock) and bring to a boil. Then add black pepper and chopped scallion greens to taste.)
Butternut Squash soup (I think I blogged this recipe a few weeks ago)
Potato Kugel
Apple Kugel
Carrot Kugel
Israeli salad, Cut Vegetables
Roasted Ratatouille
Rice
Tofu (marinated in soy sauce, and stir fried)
Chick peas sauteed with other vegetables (peppers, onions, garlic, potatoes, with ground black pepper, salt, cinnamon, and ginger)
Some sort of red lentil dish
Meat Foods
Pomegranate Chicken
Baked Breaded Chicken (served with a honey/ginger dipping sauce)
Dairy Foods
Broccoli Puff (Broccoli and Cheese Casserole)
Spinach Quiche (with Feta cheese if I remember to get some)
Lasagna
Pasta with Cheese (SOME of my children are picky and won't eat lasagna...)
Phew! I think that's enough!
Oh, Desserts:
Apple Crisp
Honey Cake
Chocolate Chip Squares
Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
Fresh Fruit
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday, Sept 18, 2011
My cupboard is bare!
Help!
I couldn't find anything to make for supper after a slightly busy day, so here's what I scrounged up...
Whole wheat spaghetti
Tomato, red lentil, and vegetable sauce (kind of like my sloppy joes from last week)
Mango (found some for 3 NIS/kilo. must use them before they are mushy!)
Help!
I couldn't find anything to make for supper after a slightly busy day, so here's what I scrounged up...
Whole wheat spaghetti
Tomato, red lentil, and vegetable sauce (kind of like my sloppy joes from last week)
Mango (found some for 3 NIS/kilo. must use them before they are mushy!)
Friday, September 16, 2011
Shabbat Parashat Ki Tavo, Sept 16-17
This has been a really busy week for us, and I only got around to thinking about Shabbat on Friday morning!
So here goes:
Homemade Challah - from the freezer
Butternut Squash soup
Chicken marinated (and baked) in BBQ sauce
Spicy Roasted Potato Wedges (mix olive oil, mustard, spices and salt to taste, coat potatoes with this mixture, and roast in the oven at 425 till done)
Roasted Kishuim (with olive oil, salt, and pepper)
Roasted Eggplants and Tomatoes (served cold)
Something with chick peas, since I cooked some up this morning!
Vegetable sticks - Cucumbers, Carrots, and Peppers
Fruit for dessert
So here goes:
Homemade Challah - from the freezer
Butternut Squash soup
Chicken marinated (and baked) in BBQ sauce
Spicy Roasted Potato Wedges (mix olive oil, mustard, spices and salt to taste, coat potatoes with this mixture, and roast in the oven at 425 till done)
Roasted Kishuim (with olive oil, salt, and pepper)
Roasted Eggplants and Tomatoes (served cold)
Something with chick peas, since I cooked some up this morning!
Vegetable sticks - Cucumbers, Carrots, and Peppers
Fruit for dessert
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday night, Sept 13, 2011
I haven't been posting so much because I still haven't really stocked my pantry very well! And I'm slightly overwhelmed... but I still need to get back to meal planning. No one has been happy with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches lately (we've been resorting to that FAR too often)!
So tonight I'm trying to get back to some bit of meal planning. Please bear in mind that my pantry is kind of bare (purposely, really, since I have to figure out how to keep the ants out of it. I was not happy to discover them there...)!
Here goes!
Lentil based sloppy joes (no real recipe, I just improvised this time. I used lots of onion, garlic, red pepper, tomatoes, and red lentils, tomato juice (had some in the fridge to use up), spices, water)
Pitot and Baguettes (some members of the family prefer one over the other, so we're serving both)
Steamed corn
Oatmeal Bread (really cake like) - the kids didn't finish off the pot of oatmeal this morning so I turned it into a treat for tonight!
So tonight I'm trying to get back to some bit of meal planning. Please bear in mind that my pantry is kind of bare (purposely, really, since I have to figure out how to keep the ants out of it. I was not happy to discover them there...)!
Here goes!
Lentil based sloppy joes (no real recipe, I just improvised this time. I used lots of onion, garlic, red pepper, tomatoes, and red lentils, tomato juice (had some in the fridge to use up), spices, water)
Pitot and Baguettes (some members of the family prefer one over the other, so we're serving both)
Steamed corn
Oatmeal Bread (really cake like) - the kids didn't finish off the pot of oatmeal this morning so I turned it into a treat for tonight!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Frugal Musings Monday
Every so often it makes sense to check in with your life and see if you are actually meeting your goal of frugal living, or if you could do better. Every family makes their own decisions about what areas they are going to splurge on. Of course, this is only feasible if you have the money for the splurge. If you don't have the budget for it, it would be irresponsible to splurge!
Right now, we splurge on housing, but we try to be frugal with everything else. We homeschool 4 children and we decided we didn't want to be crowded into a small apartment. We felt a yard was so important to our lifestyle; so that's where we splurge. Everything else we try to be as frugal as we can. HOWEVER this year is becoming decidedly UNFRUGAL! Between moving (money, money, money), getting settled into a new house, unpacking, etc (no time to cook = money, money spent), not knowing where the best deals in my new neighborhood are, a Bar Mitzvah (serious money), and family and friends coming to stay with us for a day here, a shabbat here, a week or two there, I feel like I have lost the ability to be frugal. And organized.
I need some inspiration!
So please share your best tips - whether or not it's frugal. If it helps my household run better, or makes it easier to have guests, it may be enough to justify. And if you have an awesome, frugal source for bulk grocery delivery that will deliver in my neck of the woods (near Haifa), please share. I can't run to the store all the time only to discover they are OUT of whole wheat pasta (or whatever item I really was counting on) AGAIN...
Right now, we splurge on housing, but we try to be frugal with everything else. We homeschool 4 children and we decided we didn't want to be crowded into a small apartment. We felt a yard was so important to our lifestyle; so that's where we splurge. Everything else we try to be as frugal as we can. HOWEVER this year is becoming decidedly UNFRUGAL! Between moving (money, money, money), getting settled into a new house, unpacking, etc (no time to cook = money, money spent), not knowing where the best deals in my new neighborhood are, a Bar Mitzvah (serious money), and family and friends coming to stay with us for a day here, a shabbat here, a week or two there, I feel like I have lost the ability to be frugal. And organized.
I need some inspiration!
So please share your best tips - whether or not it's frugal. If it helps my household run better, or makes it easier to have guests, it may be enough to justify. And if you have an awesome, frugal source for bulk grocery delivery that will deliver in my neck of the woods (near Haifa), please share. I can't run to the store all the time only to discover they are OUT of whole wheat pasta (or whatever item I really was counting on) AGAIN...
Friday, September 9, 2011
Shabbat Parshat Ki Tetze, Sept 9-10, 2011
I can't quite believe it's almost Shabbat again. The week flew by, and I'm not really sure how that happened!
Despite the fact that I can't quite believe it, I have to plan a Shabbat menu again. And, it's the last Shabbat before my biggest little boy becomes a Bar Mitzvah. It's all just a bit TOO much for me to absorb...
Here's the plan:
Vegetable soup
Potato Kugel
Chicken (maybe with pineapple?)
Tofu in some sort of sauce (same kind as the chicken?)
Make-your-own-salad
Baked sweet potatoes
Vegetarian cholent for Shabbat Lunch
Chocolate chip squares for dessert
What's on your menu?
Despite the fact that I can't quite believe it, I have to plan a Shabbat menu again. And, it's the last Shabbat before my biggest little boy becomes a Bar Mitzvah. It's all just a bit TOO much for me to absorb...
Here's the plan:
Vegetable soup
Potato Kugel
Chicken (maybe with pineapple?)
Tofu in some sort of sauce (same kind as the chicken?)
Make-your-own-salad
Baked sweet potatoes
Vegetarian cholent for Shabbat Lunch
Chocolate chip squares for dessert
What's on your menu?
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