Planning for the Chagim, Part 5: Frugal Sukkot Meal Plan

Etrog for Sukkot

Before going to bed last night, I banged out my menu plan for the next two weeks. As you  might remember, I increased my food budget for the month of September to $700, to account for hosting numerous Rosh Hashana and Sukkot meals. As it’s turned out, I also needed to “rob” $65 from the food & household items budget to cover my son’s boy scout uniforms (holy moly, talk about sticker shock.)

To date, including the boy scouts, I have $270 left in my budget. The bad news is I’ve spent more than half our money and we still have two weeks left. The good news is I have all the meat, except hot dogs, that I need for the next two weeks and much of the other household staples. My plan for the remainder of the month is to shop for produce, dairy and a few other odds and ends. Let’s hope we can make it!

For a glimpse at what I’m planning to serve for Sukkot (yom tov and chol ha’moed), feel free to check out my menu plan below. Let me know if there are any recipes you would like, which aren’t already linked to in the plan. (By the way, I’ve also meal planned breakfast and lunch, but I’m just sharing our dinner plans. If you want more info, let me know.)

Monday, September 20
Cauliflower and bok choy (from CSA) stir-fry with tofu and quinoa — I’ll base it loosely off my baked cauliflower and tofu recipe

Tuesday, September 21
Tuna casserole — Don’t ask me why, but my kids love this meal. They beg me to make it like 3x a week. Once a week is about all I can handle. I got a great deal on potato chips at Hen House the other week, so this one will have a crunchy topping, which they really adore!

Wednesday, September 22 – Erev Sukkot
Dinner: “Israeli night” theme

  • Appetizer: potato bourekas (ordered from the KC Kosher Co-Op) and mushroom sauce
  • Main Course: Falafel
  • Sides: Israeli salad, humus and “chips” (aka french fries), served in pita
  • Dessert: fruit salad and garinim (seeds and nuts)

Head count: Cooking for 7 — 4 adults, 3 kids 

Thursday, September 23 – Sukkot Aleph/Bet
Lunch: At friends

Dinner: KC BBQ Theme

  • Appetizer: Tomato/vegetable soup
  • Main Course: BBQ beef sandwiches – cooked in crock pot all day Wednesday. I got a screaming good deal on the meat ($3.99/lb) from my husband’s friend who worked as a mashgiach at a plant in Iowa a few weeks ago.
  • Sides: cole slaw, roasted sweet potato wedges, carrot muffins (frozen during RH cooking), broccoli salad
  • Dessert: Carrot cake with orange frosting (cake is frozen from RH cooking, just need to whip up the frosting)

Head count: Cooking for 11 — 6 adults, 5 kids

Friday, September 24 – Sukkot Bet/Shabbat
Lunch: Potluck with friends in our sukkah. We’re making the main course, which will be my Rosh Hashana brisket recipe, but made with a Denver Deckle cut of beef I got from Golden West Glatt. I will also make enough tomato soup on Thursday to serve again for lunch on Friday.

Head count: Cooking for 15 — 6 adults, 9 kids

Dinner: Scrambled eggs and bagels
We did this on Rosh Hashana, too. After four heavy meals, we were more than happy to eat light at dinner. I’ll just make sure we do eruv tavshilin and then cook up the eggs on Friday afternoon before candle lighting.

Saturday, September 25
Lunch: If we get invited out, great. Otherwise, we’ll have plenty of left-overs. In fact, might invite a few other families over for a “leftover party”.

Sunday, September 26
Invited to friends’ sukkah

Monday, September 27
Dairy dinner in our sukkah with friends – homemade mac-n-cheese with veggies from CSA
Head count: ?

Tuesday, September 28
Invited to friends’ sukkah

Wednesday, September 29 – Erev Shemini Atzeret
Family Night

  • Appetizer: Carrot soup (frozen during RH cooking)
  • Main Course: Spaghetti & Meatballs (sauce and meat frozen during YK Seudah Ma’afsket cooking)
  • Sides: Salad or steam veggies
  • Dessert: Apple pie (frozen during RH cooking) and pareve ice cream (left-over from RH)

Thursday, September 20 – Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah
Lunch: Kid-Friendly BBQ Theme (This is a tradition for chag lunch since we lived in Israel. We leave our grill on and use a match from our pre-existing flame.)

  • Appetizer: Homemade salsa, guacamole, tortilla chips and cut-up veggies (to nosh on while hubby is finishing up the grill)
  • Main course: Hamburgers and hotdogs with buns
  • Sides: Crunchy cole slaw, pasta salad, oven-baked fries, sliced tomatoes and onions, relish
  • Dessert: Chocolate pudding pie and watermelon

Head count: Cooking for 18 — 8 adults, 10 kids

Dinner: Deviled eggs and tuna patties – a little quick protein when everyone gets home from shul and is completely hyped up from the sugar overload

Friday, October 1
Lunch: Invited to friends

Dinner: Leftovers (I expect this will be an early-to-bed night for the kids)

By the way, my plan for challot for the chagim is to ask my husband to make up a few batches of his breadmaker challah and then freeze them (baked, not pre-risen, due to my apple challah freezer fail) to use as needed.

Yikes! That seems like a lot all typed out, but I’m hoping having a detailed plan will keep me sane and under budget! What about you? Have you started planning, shopping for or cooking your Sukkot meals? What’s on your menu? Please share in the comments section!

Photo Credit: StockXChng

P.S. Linking up to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check it out for tons more inspiring meal plans.

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