This is a hard week to plan, prep, and cook for. Shortened weeks for the Jewish holidays compacts the available time. Throwing a fast day (Yom Kippur) into the middle of it makes it even more complicated. While this week is a crunch week due to the Jewish holidays, it definitely happens at other times of the year, too.
Our trick for managing crunch weeks is to make sure that we’ve been cooking up double batches of freezable foods to pull out when there just isn’t enough time to cook. Making double batches isn’t all that tricky (it’s manageable math after all) and often requires the same number of dirty pots and pans. Simple sides like rice, frozen French fries, and pre-cut veggies (think baby carrots) help round things out.
I’ve marked this week’s menu with what is coming from the freezer to help you spot the repeats.
Sunday – Nachos – this is the second time that I’ve made my own queso and it’s making cooking nachos much more fun.
Monday – Everything but the bagel spice salmon (another yummy recipe from Dinner Done, roasted Brussel sprouts, pumpkin noodle kugel, corn on the cob Tuesday – Schwarma sheet pan turkey, Israeli salad, pita, fries, cranberry-apple kugel
Wednesday – We tend toward dairy meals for the start of Yom Kippur. Simple pasta dishes with some fake meat provide a mixture of carbohydrates and protein that can make fasting easier. Pasta fagioli (I’ve never had it at the Olive Garden, but this looked like a good twist on an old household favorite), mac and cheese, garlic bread, Gatorade (not my favorite beverage, but the extra electrolytes don’t hurt).
Thursday – Bagels, lox, blintz soufflé
Friday – Hot and sour soup, roast broccoli, miso and apricot turkey, honey rice
Saturday – Kebabs, Persian rice, cut veggies
