PHOTO CREDIT: JDCC
I’ve got a confession to make. (Hangs head in shame.) I haven’t had a menu plan this week.
And you know what happens when I don’t menu plan. Fortunately this time, we didn’t blow our budget, but I will admit to making some extremely uninspired meals (tuna casserole was the highlight, just to give you a mental picture).
I think I’m in a such a post-RH fog that I just couldn’t get up the oomph to get back into the kitchen.
But cook again, I must, since Sukkot is right around the corner. So I finally sat down late last night and made a menu plan for Sukkot. We are hosting quite a bit, but also enjoying several meals in friends’ sukkot. I hope it will be a nice balance, and that I won’t be up until 3 a.m. on Tuesday night getting everything prepped!
(You’ll also notice a lot less MEAT than in my Rosh Hashana menu plan. I learned from my mistake!)
Erev Sukkot – Out at friends, bring Orzo Salad with Dried Cranerries and Caramelized Almonds (from Simply Southern Cookbook)
Sukkot lunch – Guests at our house (6 adults, 12 kids)
- Arugala, Leek and Potato Soup
- Pot Roast (Kobe beef from our freezer) – Alton Brown recipe
- Roasted potatoes with rosemary
- Apricot couscous salad, reprised from Rosh Hashana
- Squash pie (must get the recipe from our 1st Night Rosh Hashana hosts – it was incredible!)
- Green salad with pomegranate dressing (from leftover pomegranate molasses)
- Dessert: Carrot cake with orange frosting, cowboy cookies (from Simply Southern), fresh fruit
Second day Sukkot dinner – Guests at our house (5 adults, 6 kids)
- Carrot, apple, ginger soup, reprised from Rosh Hashana
- Cheese and spinach enchiladas
- Spanish rice
- Black beans
- Guacamole
- Green salad with pomegranate dressing
- Dessert: Hot apple cider, ginger snap cookies, fresh fruit
Sukkot lunch, second day – Guests at our house (7 adults, 11 kids)
- Dips and homemade pita (eggplant, hummus, tehina), Moroccan carrot salad, jicama and cilantro salad
- Thai Spiced Cilantro Chicken
- Kzitzot (for the kids)
- Sesame Noodles
- Oven-baked sweet potato fries
- Green salad
- Dessert: Hot Apple Cider, Smitten Kitchen’s Honey Cake, more Cowboy cookies
Fri night dinner – home alone – left-overs
Sat lunch – No plans yet! (If we end up being home alone, I’ll make some tilapia that I have in the freezer with left-over sides)
Sat seudah shlishit – easy, breasy in the Sukkah (eggs, tuna, yogurt)
Sun lunch – out for kids Sukkot program at old age home
Sun dinner – at friend’s
Mon dinner – Stuffed shells, salad and garlic bread
Tues dinner – Scrambled eggs and toast (seriously, that’s all I’ll be able to handle; I’ve got to cook again that night!)
Wed dinner (It’s chag! Again!) – home alone
- Pizza & pasta bar
- Green salad
- Make-your-own sundaes
Thurs lunch – Guests at our house (5 adults, 5 kids, 2 teenagers)
- Apple parsnip soup from Joy of Kosher (thanks, Caroline!)
- Salmon with Pistachio, Basil and Mint Butter (from Simply Southern)
- Zucchini and Carrot Terrine (from S.S.)
- Simple rice pilaf
- Potato gratin (maybe not?)
- Dessert: Peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream
Thurs dinner – bagels and cream cheese before hakafot
Friday lunch – at friends
Fri dinner – Collapse, remember at the last minute we need to make Shabbat, shmear some hummus on a piece of challah and call it a meal (is this an acceptable plan?!)
Sat lunch – at friends
As for challot, I’ll definitely be braiding some more four-strand challot and making a few easy pull-apart apple challot as well. But I’m also feeling very inspired by the challah toppings and fillings Busy in Brooklyn blogged about recently.
So, tell me: What’s on your menu plan for this Sukkot? Have you also been in a post-Rosh Hashana stupor? Anyone else doing less meat and more fish and dairy in their menus?
I’ve succeeded in being invited out every lunch meal except that very last shabbos. I look forward to being in your sukkah! I remember last year we had to come in due to the rain, hopefully it’ll be beautiful this year!
Oh gosh that’s right! Let’s hope for this beautiful rain-free weather to hold a few more days!
Yes, to the post Rosh Hashana stupor. And yes to less meat more dairy.
Wow, I’m impressed you are hosting 3 back to back meals (2 in 1 day)! I hope you have a Chag Sameach, and enjoy all your company 🙂
By the way, as for the challahs, my family’s new favorite is when I make double chocolate chip challah! The dough is chocolate, and then I put chocolate chips in when I shape it. I also made cinnamon apple challah for Rosh Hashannah (inspired by your blog) and that was a hit as well 🙂
How do you make chocolate dough? My middle one would be ALL over that!
Thanks for the video on four strand round challah braiding. Our challot on Rosh Hashana were beautiful!
YAY! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 (Seriously, that Orthonomics was making Kosher on a Budget braids has me smiling from ear to ear!!!)
We don’t have a sukkah so I told my husband that if we’re not going out (and only one meal so far), we’re having bread and cheese (brie, but still) for all our Yom Tov meals, because it’ll be easy to transport to our shul’s sukkah.
I love Brie! Sounds perfect to me 🙂
Love the braiding video – I am bringing all the challot to my sister in law’s for chag and this has inspired me to make my own (also, the savings).
Yay, I hope it goes smoothly for you! It’s really quite simple.
So glad you are making good use of your Simply Southern cookbook! I look forward to your post-Yom Tov report on how the recipes turn out. Hopefully this post will get me motivated to get my act together for Sukkot meal planning, too.
I’m glad I’m not in the only RH-induced haze over here. I had my plans for getting the house ready, getting ready for sleepover guests, and guests for meals…but no menu plan. I’m still finishing it up, but I did the bulk of it yesterday along with my shopping list and cooking plan.
We did a Friday dairy meal for RH, and that’s the plan for each 3 day Yom Tov coming up. Plus a lot of dairy during the week to counteract the meat frenzy that is Tishrei!
I actually made my Succos menu plan on Tzom Gedaliah because I was paranoid about not being able to get all the cooking done in time. (Since my in-laws and best friend will all be arriving within the next few days, that means less time in the kitchen, job(s) aside.)
After mapping out 30 dishes in 6 meals (hoping for some restaurant action on chol hamoed!!), I was too menu-ed out to make a plan for the week. We did okay, though. No chance of ordering in pizza when you live on a yishuv!
My Succos meanu plan: http://morequicheplease.com/archives/622
Do you make all the courses separately for each meal? I didn’t notice repeats. Also, what will you do with leftovers?
I have two meals planned for left-overs…and a standing date with friends for the Sunday after yomtov for a left-overs clean-out!
Also, desserts repeat and a few items are actually repeats from my RH meal – so I will just have to pull those out of the freezer (carrot soup, carrot cake… a few mores, I think, too.)
Now I see! Thanks for explaining.
yes to the rosh hashana stupor and blahs. feel unmotivated to hit the kitchen and believe or not not hungry! i’m going completely light and doing soups and salads, no one was hungry meal after meal!
Ha! This is TOTALLY my plan!