The first seder is in just 6 days, but I feel as though I’d need about 16 days to be fully ready for Pesach.
Do I feel this way every year? I can’t remember! I’m definitely behind the eight ball this year, though, that’s for sure. Can anyone commiserate? (By the way, if your house is already turned over and you’ve started cooking three days ago, no offense, but please don’t comment! ;-))
Anyway, as I promised last week – when Caroline shared her Easy Pesach Menu Planning method – I am going to share today our meal plan for the week of Pesach. Bear in mind that we have friends coming to visit for the whole chag … and they have 5 kids! Some of my meals aren’t all that creative, but I figure we’re going for quantity over originality.
Monday, April 18, 2011 – 1st Night of Passover
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, fuit
- Lunch: Baked potatoes, cottage cheese, cut-up veggies
- Seder #1 (23 people, including kids):
- All the pre-meal stuff – charoset, etc.,
- Matzah Ball Soup
- Gefilte Fish w/ carrots
- Hard Boiled Eggs w/ salt water
- Brisket
- Quinoa pilaf
- Glazed carrots
- Vegetable kugel x 5 (freeze 2 for 2nd days)
- Chocolate covered strawberries
- “Matzah Crack” (see the comments on the dessert recipe exchange)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 – 2nd Night of Passover
- Breakfast: Oven-baked matzah brie, cut-up fruit
- Lunch: Oven-baked trout, sauteed vegetables, quinoa pilaf
- Seder #2 (14 people, including kids):
- All the pre-meal stuff – charoset, etc.,
- Matzah Ball Soup
- Hard Boiled Eggs w/ salt water
- Stuffed chicken
- Mashed potatoes
- Green salad
- Roasted asparagus
- Chocolate covered matzah
- Fruit salad
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
- Breakfast: fruit, cottage cheese
- Lunch: Left-overs, green salad
- Dinner: matzah with spreads – egg salad, avocado, cream cheese, etc., cut-up veggies
Thursday, April 21, 2011
- Breakfast: coffee cake, eggs, juice
- Lunch: picnic lunch – matzah “sandwiches”, fruit, veggies, potato chips
- Dinner: matzah pizza, fruit salad
Friday, April 22, 2011
- Breakfast: matzah and cream cheese, fruit
- Lunch: left-overs
- Dinner: Spicy Chicken Bake, roasted potatoes, green salad, roasted veggies, Levana’s brownies
Shabbat, April 23, 2011
- Breakfast: coffee cake, hard-boiled eggs, fruit
- Lunch: cold fruit soup, poached salmon, balsamic roasted brussels sprouts, green salad, Levana’s brownies again, cut-up fruit
- Dinner: matzah with spreads – egg salad, avocado, cream cheese, etc., cut-up veggies
Sunday, April 24, 2011
- Breakfast: matzah brie, fruit
- Lunch: left-overs (picnic? Not sure what our plans are for this day)
- Dinner: matzah ball soup, Brisket, vegetable kugel, quinoa pilaf, something from the Smitten Kitchen for dessert (or just some cut-up fruit, if I’m too burned out to do anything else!)
Monday, April 25, 2011
- Breakfast: coffee cake, hard-boiled eggs, fruit
- Lunch: Annual 1st Lunch BBQ (28+ people)
- rib-eye steaks for grown-ups
- hamburgers, hot dogs for kids
- pot-luck side dishes & dessert
- watermelon
- Dinner: either left-overs or I’m winging it! (I may even put my kids to bed first!)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs, matzah with cream cheese, fruit
- Lunch: Matzah lasagna, steamed broccoli
- Pre-dinner snack: Any left-overs that have matzah in them!
- Dinner: ??? probably pasta after we turn the kitchen back over
***
Yikes! That’s a lot of food. No wonder I had to increase my food budget for the month of April. (I just hope I increased it enough!)
So, friends, tell me: What’s on your Passover menu? If you’ve blogged about any of your Pesach menus, please include a link in your comment to the post. I can’t wait to read about what you’re serving!
Hi Mara!
Here is my menu: ( which reminds me I need to figure out an erev yomtov menu:
1st seder ( 10-11 pple )
-seder plate stuff
-Gfish
-matza ball soup
-chicken tyriaki in oven
-Potato Kugel ( I don’t have a recipe for veg kugel that freezes well…care to share yours please?)
-Roasted veggies
-Slush/sorbet ( berries or pineapple)
## Tuesday Lunch ( 13 pple)
-Salamon in oven ( i am not sure of the recipe yet)
-roasted pepper/grilled pepper
-Quinoa
-Israeli Salad
-Mango avocado salad
-Slush/Sorbet…matza cream cheese and jelly available :-))
##Going out the rest of yomtov
##Fri nite:
-Gfish
-MBSoup
-Meat loaf ( from freezer)
-Quinoa
-2 types of salads
-Slush/Sorbet
##Going out shabbos day
I am still not sure about rest of yomtov…I am borrowing some of your ideas and hopefully some of the other posters, this will be be”H the 1st time I am making pesach EVAAAA!!!! We don’t have kids yet so it is just me and Husband 🙂
PS: Could you please share your veggie kugel recipe? I am looking for one that freezes well.
Thanks!
TP – check out the overnight potato kugel recipe on the Kosher Cooking for Ordinary People blog…I made it once…it froze well, was easy to make, and tasted just fine…
This is first year I actually made a menu for the entire 8 days. It felt so good going to the grocery store – which I just did today – and knew exactly what I needed to get. My menu doesn’t look much different from yours. For me menu planning really took the stress out of the holiday. Splurging on cleaning people this Thursday and then turning over the kitchen Saturday night and Sunday!! Hag Sameach, Mara.
Elly
Chag Sameach to you, too, Elly – We were just at Cori’s the other day and she was asking about you! You are missed… by everyone! Glad the planning is making life easier. Enjoy the cleaning people (we’ve got them coming Thursday, too!) xxoo
Your menu looks great! I’m very confused about quinoa this year because here in Baltimore the Star-K has said that it must now bear a “P” on the box and I didn’t see any at our huge grocery store, 7 Mile Market. Are there other kosher certifying agencies that say it does not need a P? Last year apparently they said that Trader Joe’s brand was fine without the P. Any insight??
Nicole: Here is what the CRC sent out in their Pesach alerts from March 28 (http://www.crcweb.org/passover_2011%20alerts.php)
March 28, 2011
The cRc approves the use of whole grain quinoa for Pesach on the following conditions:
* The quinoa is imported exclusively from Bolivia and packed by companies that pack whole grain quinoa exclusively.
While there may be others Sugat, Ancient Harvest and Trader Joe’s are two brands that only import quinoa from Bolivia and only pack whole grain quinoa.
* The quinoa must be carefully inspected by hand before Pesach.
This is done by spreading one layer of quinoa at a time on a board or plate and checked to be sure that there are no other grains or foreign matter mixed in with the quinoa.
This does not apply to Quinoa flour, pasta or any other version of quinoa which are not permitted on Pesach.
* The quinoa must be carefully inspected by hand before Pesach.
Forgot to add: Obviously I am not a halachic authority, so you should consult your LOR (local orthodox rabbi – or rabbi of the denomination of your choice, actually!).
My husband spoke to Rabbi Heber of the Star K and he said that as of now, it may not be used for Pesach. This is because the companies that produce the quinoa started processing it together with other grains. Not sure what that means exactly besides for no side dishes for us 🙁
I live on my own and can be flexible except for the seder (I will be a guest one night) and any other times I have guests, so I’m not planning every meal in advance.
Seder menu:
the usual preliminaries
relish tray with Russian dressing
gefilte fish with carrots
matzah ball soup
chicken baked in balsamic sauce (the old Empire Kosher recipe but with homemade balsamic vinaigrette instead of bottled salad dressing)
roasted vegetables, not the same ones as on the relish tray (thank you for the suggestion)
potato and carrot kugel
fruit salad
cookies
The chicken recipe is convenient for a cook who also leads the seder: put it in the oven when you sit down and it will be ready to take out when you serve the fish.
Shabbat dinner:
cold baked salmon (I’ll cook extra for dinner the day before)
vegetable soup
braised beef
apple-walnut matzah kugel
asparagus
fruit salad
chocolate-chip cake
And here’s what the Orthodox Union says about quinoa (which amounts to, consult your local rabbi):
Quinoa is a plant very similar in appearance to spinach. Commercially, it is not used as an alternate crop, and is never harvested with wheat. It even grows in different climates from those ideal for wheat. Industrially-packaged quinoa is processed on dedicated equipment, with no chance of contamination. However, retail-packaged quinoa may share equipment with chametz grains. Similar to other kinds of kitniyot, quinoa is commonly milled into flour.
Kitniyot is a category with certain ambiguities. Local custom and tradition therefore play an important role in determining what is, and what is not, treated as kitniyot.
Since quinoa was not used in Jewish communities in generations past, we do not have a precedent to refer to. The OU has not taken a position about the use of quinoa on Passover and believes that this decision should be made locally.
I am impressed that you can get the kitchen turned back over on Tuesday night and plan to have pasta. We just fcontinue with another day (or two) of matzah brie until we get it turned over. It is a family tradition.
We did our BIG Costco run last night. Time got away from us and we got to the store with only TEN minutes before they closed. Thank goodness we had a list. So we went running in and only spent $240 (which I thought was fairly good). Had we either not had a list or had a lot more time I am sure the bill would have been much more substantial.
Who are these people with 5 children who think it’s OK to come for all of chag???? Ha ha ha ha ha! 🙂
I know, right?!
Our menu will be *very* simple as I gave birth less than 2 weeks ago! Sedarim are fairly easy (as in, not a lot of food is needed), and so far we are invited out for 2 lunches. Fortunately, my family would be satisfied with plain chicken or hot dogs for a week.
I’ve been thinking of you! Mazal Tov. My kids would think Pesach was beyond awesome if they got to eat hot dogs for a week!
My family always does hard boiled eggs and cold potatoes in salt water, so it made me happy to see it on your seder menu as well!
DH’s family mashes the eggs with a ton of salt water – not like dipping, but rather SWIMMING in it. They call it “egg soup”.
Ha! My DH’s family does that too! I thought it was odd until I tried it and it is pretty tasty.
Mara, I’d love to see your vegetable kugel recipe also!
In addition to the typical sedarim items (we also do the eggs and potatoes), first night for us will include the classics: Brisket (I use Mark Bittman’s recipe from How To Cook Everything – it’s fantastic and easy), Matz Soup, etc. We always have asparagus – a tradition in my husband’s family. Israeli or other salads and lots of fruit are definites in our house to counteract the vast quantity of matza!
We have a friend with her 3 young daughters for the first night, so 5 kids and 3 adults; I’ll be making some child-friendly things for them.
We love quinoa but will save that most likely for 2nd night – we love the “one pot kale and quinoa” that I found on the website http://www.food52.com/ – I make it often! I also make a quinoa salad (served cold) with corn, edamame and cumin/olive oil but some might not find that very KLP….(we eat kitniyot)
Later when we’re eating dairy for shabbat lunch, I’ll make a matza “petit four” 8-layer “cake” for special desert!
I am PUMPED about this one pot Kale and Quinoa. Wasn’t aware of it and totally stealing this wonderful suggestion for my family (probably year round!). p.s. I’m an ashkenazi who always grew up eating kitniyot. Not too proud to admit it. I am looking forward to many healthy “favorite dishes” that also happen to be KFP, like Chicken Marbella, salads, and huge quantities of fresh fruit. Happy pesach. So delighted to find this blog post! M
My plan is done too and looks a lot like yours. I like how you wrote out matzah and cream cheese. The only way we survive Passover breakfast 😉 We go to my parents for the Sedarim so a lot less work for me.
PLEASE tell me about “oven-baked” matzah brie and Matzah Lasagna.
I would be willing to modify my plans for those 🙂
I too would love your vegetable kugel recipe –
I am doing the second seder (for the first time ever!) and am a bit nervous. I have not changed over my kitchen and so it will be a mad rush from Sunday on…no choice! am not changing the kitchen any sooner then necessary!!!
chopped liver/tam tams -hors d’oeuvres
seder plate/charoset
chicken soup/matzoh balls
gefilte fish/carrots
Apricot Soup Nut Chicken (so good we eat all year round!)
tzimmes
farfel kugelettes
roasted asparagas
veg kugel??? (if i get your recipe 🙂 )
sponge cake/strawberries
cookies/brownies
other night meals include:
pesach meatballs
blintze souffle/tuna
chicken with duck sauce
brisket
just a lot of standing and cooking in my kitchen all week – oh vey! I am tired already! My kids exist on tuna and tam tams and matzoh pizza for all lunches and snacks, plus my awesome chocolate chip cookies. not a diet week at all!!!
Since I’m lactose-intolerant, cream cheese doesn’t figure in my plans… the rest of the year I use the tofu-based imitation.
But one of the markets in Monsey (which is nowhere near me, but that’s not the point) now has KLP almond butter. Two brands, in fact: Gefen and Haddar.
I awoke with a start this morning. Some of my seder guests are people I don’t know well, and what if they are vegetarian? I can cope with it but the sooner I know the easier it would be.
Uh….is it bad that I haven’t yet done a thing for Pesach other than get my car cleaned? Haven’t planned a menu, or started cleaning, or anything besides food purchases. And I’m not stressed?
Clearly you are a cooler cucumber than I! As for cleaning, this may be my worst year yet. That’s one thing I miss about my single days – when my house was actually SPOTLESS. Tonight, my house looks like it threw up on itself. I can’t imagine it will get much better in the next 4 days. Ugh.
Can you also share your oven baked matza brie recipe? Sounds good…
Pesach Menus – 2011
Tuesday Lunch
Pesach Rolls
Grilled chicken salad – lettuce, grapes, mayo dressing
Meat Loaf
Mashed Potatoes
Cucumber Salad
Cole Slaw
Dessert
Tuesday Night – Seder II – Pareve ( Sooo excited)
Zucchini Soup – potatoes, leeks, zucchini, cauliflower
Fried flounder – mango, cucumber, scallion (chutney)
Accordian whole baked potatoes w/ garlic margarine
Omelette Roulade – peppers, mushrooms, onions and scallions
Steamed Broccoli
Individual Cheese Cakes – whipped cream cheese, sour crème, farmer cheese, vanilla (Geller magazine)
Ice Cream
Wednesday Lunch
Pesach Rolls & Spreads
Strawberry Rhubarb Soup
Crustless Tuna and Onion Quiche
Lasagne
Green Salad
Sliced Oranges
Coffee Crumb Cake
Friday Night Dinner
Chicken Soup w/ Matzah Balls – parsnip, sweet potato, carrots, dill, celery
Pepper Steak with Pesach noodles
Chicken Cutlets – teriyaki, breaded, sweet & sour
Matzah Farfel & Onions
Bok Choy Salad
Dessert
Shabbos Lunch
Pesach Rolls
Gefilte Fish
Pesach Cholent – kolichel roast, potatoes, onions, kishke
Deli Meat – Turkey, corned beef
Pastrami Quiche – pastrami, olives, eggs
Cranberry Crunch – cranberry sauce, pineapple chunks, chunked apples, topping from crumb cake mix
Cole Slaw
SUNDAY NIGHT – OUT
Monday Lunch
Fruit or Chilled Zucchini Soup
Potato & Cheese Blintzes w/ sour cream
Matzah Lasagne
Hearts of Palm Salad – hearts of palm, cherry tomatoes, onions, parsley
Strawberries, Melon
Cake (cheese, brownies)
Ice Cream
Monday Dinner
Ribs
Hot Dogs – mustard
Hamburgers
Pesach Rolls
French Fries
Pickles
Sour Kraut
Dessert
Tuesday Lunch
Fruit Soup or Chilled Cream of Zucchini Soup
Fried Fish
Cheesy Potatoes
Popcorn Cauliflower
Matza Brie
Fried Onion Quiche – fried onions and scallions
Strawberries & Cream
Cheese Cake & Brownies
Oh my wow – I am moving in with YOU!
Come on down ! It’s really easy preparation – 5 or less ingredients to almost every dish …It’s the shopping that’s the killer !
Someone has Susie Fishbein’s cookbooks too! I love popcorn cauliflower. my husband usually makes it perfectly! We’re doing a potluck seder the first night and it should turn out beautifully. I hope! Love all the cool ideas. I just found this blog and I’m excited to look through the rest of it!
Barbie, I’d love to see recipes for some of these. Specifically Fried Onion Quiche, Crustless Tuna and Onion Quiche, and what are accordion potatoes?
Thanks for all the ideas! I’m so glad we’re not the only ones who don’t go totally over-the-top for every meal. You guys eat a lot like we do, I think.
Soup Nut Chicken
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 pkg soup nuts, crushed
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp margarine
preheat oven to 350 degrees
cut chicken breasts in half
rinse with cold water and dry well with paper towel
combine crushed soup nuts with ginger, garlic powder, salt & pepper
dip chicken in beaten eggs then soup nut mixture
arrange in a single layer in pan
combine preserves, wine & margarine
microwave on high for 5 minutes
pour over chicken and bake for 30 minutes (covered)
then uncover and cook 15 more minutes
Delicious! We eat it all year old even though it is a pesach recipe, because we like it so much! Hope you try it – I think you will like it too!
chag sameach!