The Kosher Home

I’m about to tell you an embarrassing confession.   Earlier this week I was dipping cheesecake truffles into melted chocolate. I “invented” a double boiler using a bowl and a pan filled with boiling water to melt the chocolate.  I placed the bowl on top of the pot of hot water and waited till my chocolate melted.   As I waited, I went to finish up other preparations for my recipe.  Washing dishes, I began smelling a mixture between chocolate and plastic.  I turned around, and there was my plastic coated metal bowl melting all over my Calphalon pot.   “Holy Shnikey!”  I ran to remove the bowl from the pan to prevent more damage, but it was stuck.  Literally fused together.  I sulked in my embarrassing mistake and wondered how could this happen?  I am a good chef!  After all, I just graduated culinary school and started working at a hoity-toity restaurant in Manhattan.   While I do have more common sense than this, I made a mistake.  It happens.

Chefs make mistakes.  No chef was born great, they all had to acquire skills.  But, like every position, these skills have shortcomings.   Chefs feel their best when they serve a completely satisfied customer.  Thomas Keller, one of the greatest chefs in America, was quoted as saying “When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about.”  There is no perfection in cooking, or life for that matter, but we can strive for our best and make ourselves and other people happy along the way!

With all the deep stuff out of the way, we can now focus on (more of) my WORST mistakes of all time!  These are skills I have learned by way of mistakes.  I hope to never make them again, and prevent you from ever making them in the future!

1. Don’t Start With a Cold Pan

It’s so disappointing when we “sauté” onions, peppers and mushrooms and they turn out soggy, when were really striving for them to be sweet and caramelized.  We have all been there and I know I’m not alone on this mistake!  This stems from impatience and a need to just “get that job done.”  In order to get those beautifully golden, the pan and oil must be hot before you throw the veggies in.  Drop a touch of water in the pan to just give off a soft sizzle and this is your cue to sauté’ away!

2. Burn Baby, Burn

Getting a pan hot is crucial to the sauté process, but make sure not to get it TOO HOT…

I was home for Sukkot last year and was all ready to show off my awesome culinary skills to my friends and family.  On the menu: braised lamb shanks!  I fired up the stove, which happens to be electric, got my pan smoking hot and added the oil to begin caramelizing my vegetables and lamb.  My sisters and mother were watching me like a star on the Food Network and I was explaining step by step, including making sure the pan is hot.  As I poured the oil into the pan a huge fire ball shot up.  As it burned, my mother ran for the baking soda, I ran for a lid, one of my sisters screamed, and the other one clapped.  The fire, thank G-D, ended up disappearing quickly without the use of the lid or baking soda.  That day I learned, gas stoves are VERY different than electric stoves.

Know how hot your stove, ovens and grills are.  Have you ever made a cake that said it would take 1 hour to bake, but in actuality it took 30 minutes and was unevenly baked?  Your oven is too hot!  Have you ever grilled something that said it would take 3 minutes on each side, but took you 15 minutes on each side?  Your grill is not hot enough.  Knowing these temperatures help you cook safely and correctly and not cause any unwanted, although thrilling entertainment!

3. The Perfect Peak

Flat meringues?  Welcome to the club!  That is until I used this awesome trick.  Start whipping your egg whites and sugar in a separate bowl (not plastic) in a double boiler over hot water.  This takes away the need for cream of tartar or any stabilizer and will make your egg whites nice and fluffy and will keep a stiff peak.  Whip the egg whites till sugar dissolves.  This should take no more than 5 minutes.  Remove bowl from double boiler and continue beating till stiff peaks form.

Stay tuned for part 2, tomorrow, the mistakes never end.

A few years ago my boys were crazy for star wars.  All their costumes were star wars, they loved the light sabers and they watched as many of the movies as they could.  It was no surprise that when my oldest turned five he would want a Star Wars themed party and being the loving mother that I am I obliged.

I was living in the city so space is not easy to come by, but I am lucky that his birthday falls in the Summer and I get to host a large party outside.  There happened to be a small playground across the street from us and so I kept the party simple.  The kids could play in the playground and then we would order pizza and have cake.  Then I thought about a piñata.  We could hang it from the jungle gym and the kids could use a light saber to hit it, so I decided I had to make our own.  I got my five year old involved and we made a paper mache piñata of Darth Vader.

Be aware, it can be messy, but it is also fun.  This is what I did.  I blew up a balloon and put it in a bowl.  I layered the paper mache over the balloon. Just to be safe I made two of these, it takes a few days to dry so you have to give yourself time. When they both worked I realized they were a bit small so I combined them by filling them with the candy and toys (including Jibbitz, tattoos and stickers and only a little candy) and the used more of the paper mache to seal them together.

Then since I am not the most artistic person I used the Star Wars Crepe Paper I ordered online for the party decorations.  I wrapped it around the body and then gave it face that I covered with a Darth Vader mask.  It was very home made, but perfect.  The kids had a blast hitting it with the light saber.  Once it finally opened up I gave the kids their goodie bags to fill up themselves.

For the cake I just put some cupcakes in a circle and put the star wars cupcake ring toppers on and it was a huge success, the only problem was what was I going to do for Akiva’s birthday to top this (He was only 3 so he got a small party, but a cool Yoda Cupcake Cake).

For more info on making your own paper mache pinata click here.

Designer Pamela Jemal made this kitchen not only a functional workspace-but an oasis of glamour.  Contrast creates the drama, and high gloss marries the elements together.

Etched Glass

A new style in the dinette area visually separates cooking and eating spaces.

Blizzard Counters

Stark white counters by Caesarstone allow an interesting backsplash to pop.

Stainless Steel Drawers

Drawer fronts add modernity and allow the appliances to become part of the design and note the gray porcelain floor – completely practical!

Roman Shades

The Roman shades are sheer in the daylight, and opaque at night-for privacy when you want it

Stainless Steel Panel

The sheet of steel behind the grill creates an uninterrupted visual flow between the range and the hood.

Two Islands with a Surprise

An aisle in between makes it easier to get around and the electric mixer pops up out of the island for quick and easy baking.

Photos by Morris Antebi

Design by Pamela Jemal Designs (732-245-5151)

With Shavuos upon us, our menu focus, at least to some extent, is on dairy and pasta dishes, and luscious cheese and crème filled desserts in different shapes and sizes.  To ease meal preparation, great tools are the key.  Join us to  view a collection of cheese tools, some of which  you might not have used in the past.

Did you know that you can get more taste from your favorite cheese with a cheese slicer (also called a cheese plane)?  The Boska Holland cheese slicer is handsome, well-priced, and perfect for semi-hard and hard cheese.

A cheese cleaver is right for cheddar cheese.  For soft cheese, you will want to use a cheese knife that is generally serrated, has holes in it and has a fork end.  Rosle Cheese Set has the slicer, cleaver, and knife.

To grate cheese, the Cuisipro 2-Drum etched rotary grater set comes complete with parmesan and coarse blades. A rotary grater can be used to grate chocolate for a scrumptious chocolate topped dessert.  Of course you can grate on a flat grater, but a rotary grater is both safer and cleaner.  

The Sagaform project pasta server with parmesan grater is a really cool tool.  It is a three in one tool – measure, grate, and serve with the same tool.Transform home cooking into a culinary experience with The Boska Holland Cheese Curler. Eating cheese was never so tasty!

The Trudeau gourmet cheese baker set makes baking cheese simple.  The stoneware cheese plate holds the cheese in place.  The handle makes it easy to remove from the oven.  The lid’s vapor holes conserve flavors better during baking.

To serve cheese in style, wood and bamboo cheese serving sets are very popular.  These sets come complete with a serving board and cheese preparation utensils.

Another option is the JK Adams Slate Slabs that are unique servers perfect for cheese.

For cheese and chocolate lovers, there are many cheese and chocolate fondues to choose from.   Stick to a ceramic fondue.  The metal ones get too hot.

The Kitchen Clique has an extensive selection of tools to help in food preparation as well as serving pieces for presentation that will enhance any holiday table.  Visit the Kitchen Clique at www.kitchenclique.com or visit the store at 3009 Avenue L in Brooklyn 718-692-2260.  The courteous and knowledgeable will be glad to assist you.

My parents were pretty strict with alcohol consumption through my teenage years. The two exceptions were wine during Shabbat meals (though I was limited to one glass) and any cream liqueur. For some reason, Godiva Chocolate and Irish cream liqueurs didn’t count as alcohol, since they were so rich and in my mother’s opinion, you could only drink it in a glass, on ice, at times when you wanted to indulge.

The issue with these creamy libations is that for most Kosher-observing families, opportunities to drink a dairy cocktail are rare, unless the kids are asleep and you have an hour of free time to rest. Thankfully, Shavuot is right around the corner, so here are some ideas for dairy cocktails that I encourage you to try!

For the coffee lovers:

• During dessert, serve coffee with an assortment of liqueurs! Coffee goes great with Godiva chocolate and white chocolate liqueur, Kahlua, Amaretto and a variety of Creamy Liquers. Mix and match, or choose just one to spice up your coffee. Avoid adding in more than 1 ½ ounces total—you don’t want to go overboard.
• Make your own Irish Cream with this recipe inspired from Chef Shaya for a Kosher Irish Cream.

For the kids at heart:

• Chocolate Milk: Have a grown-up version of chocolate milk! Add 2 ounces of chocolate liqueur to 3 ounces of your favorite milk. Alternatively, you can use crème de bananes or white crème de cacao.

• Sundae: Poor 1-2 ounces of any thick cream liqueur over ice cream, and top with a maraschino cherry. Grown-up ice cream sundaes!

For a cold, creamy cocktail:

• Spiked Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Milkshake! (Not for Sabbath/Holiday, but still delicious) In a blender, place 1 cup of ice, 1 ½ ounces cream or whole milk, 2 ounces chocolate liqueur, 1 teaspoon of cream cheese, and a dash of grenadine.
• Spiked Iced Coffee: Fill a tall glass with ice, then add 4 ounces of milk, 1 ½ ounces of coffee (or espresso for an iced latte), and 1 ½ ounces Irish Cream.
• Caramel Freezer: Fill a tall glass with ice, then add 1 ounce each of: Irish Cream, Kahlua, and butterscotch schnapps. Fill the rest of the glass with cold milk.

Yesterday, we learned how to construct a cheese plate.  The basic concept is the same when you are serving cheese as a dessert.  With a few minor changes in accompaniments you will be good to go.  Don’t be afraid to try something new.  Serve a light lunch, salad and quiche and save some room for dessert.

For dessert, one or two cheeses might even be enough.  Brigitte loves to serve Brie with Cherry Jam from Bonne Maman, it is an all natural jam form France that pairs perfectly with the cheese.  You can even serve this on its own for dessert!  Plate it on a small cake plate and it is like the easiest cheesiest cheesecake ever. And don’t forget the champagne!

The Cranberry Pecan Goat Cheese is a perfect dessert cheese, it has just the right amount of sweetness.  Then you can choose one of the harder cheeses, maybe going for the blue or keeping safe with a muenster cheese.  Serve with fresh fruit, like grapes, figs, pears or berries as well as dried fruits, like apricots, pears and cranberries.  Choose sweet caramelized nuts, like Maple Walnuts or Candied Pecans.  You can also serve alongside a selection of gourmet jams and preserves.

Then use this guide to choose the best wine to pair with the cheeses you select.

If you like beer, bring out the Guinness and serve with the Sugar River Beer Cheese to end the meal with an Irish twist.

I can just imagine it now, sitting outside, the kids playing in the yard, grown-ups sitting and relaxing in the shade, wine in one hand, cheese in the other, playing a fun game of Trivial Pursuit.  I love summer!

Coming soon to a table near you: long summer days, outdoor entertaining and Shavuot.  All of these occasions lend themselves to enjoying cheese.  I realize that the concept of a cheese course is fairly new to most Jews having grown up in America with very little kosher cheese to choose, but the time is right.  There has never been more kosher gourmet cheeses available than there are right now. So, even if you don’t think you’re a cheese person, give it a chance, you might surprise yourself.

Now, the question is when to serve this fabulous course, it really is suited equally to appetizer or dessert.  Take your pick, would you rather come home from shul, say Kiddush and sip your wine with cheese and crackers and nuts and olives while waiting for the food to warm up.  Or consider an easy dessert that will satisfy everyone.

Today, we start with the appetizer cheese plate.  Brigitte Mizrahi is the CEO of Anderson International Foods, Inc..  She started the company over 15 years ago and strives to find new cheese to make kosher, new concepts, and serving ideas. It is a life passion.  Brigitte loves great cheeses and all things gourmet!!!!

I spoke to Brigitte to help us understand how to construct our cheese plate.  Brigitte loves to start her meal with a cheese board before they even go to the table.  It is very French to sit and relax with some cheese and crudites, if there are no kids or they are playing in the other room, it can last an hour.  Here are Brigitte’s tips for cheese plate construction:

1.      Choose around 3 types of cheeses that are all different styles.  Just by looking at them you can tell they are different, from blocks, to softer rounds, to different colors.

2.      Try and choose cheeses that come from different milk types, like cow, goat and sheep.  Brigitte notes that sheep’s milk cheese is still harder to come by right now, so it is ok to stick to what is easy to find.

3.      Start with a soft goat cheese, spreads nicely on bread or crackers or even baby peppers.  To kick your goat cheese up a notch, cover it with a pesto and garnish with herbs and crushed nuts.

4.      Then choose a rich and creamy cheese, like Brie, tastes wonderful with some Bonne Maman Cherry Jam on top.

5.      Next, you can choose an aged cheddar or a flavored cheese like an herb pepper jack cheese or even a Swiss.  If you are really adventurous try something a little stronger, like a blue cheese.  Brigitte makes a Blue Marble that is a great starter blue cheese – very mild.

6.      Serve olives, salty nuts and cornichons along with the cheeses and even a bit of honey and jam.

Come back tomorrow for tips on serving cheese for dessert and get more great ideas from Brigitte by liking her on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/NaturalandKosherCheese

I look forward to Shavuos and planning my menu around delicious dairy cuisine. Comforting foods like lasagna, blintzes and cheesecake always draw admiration from friends gathered around our table.

It’s one thing to make homemade blintzes, but who actually makes the cream cheese in the blintz, or, for that matter, the ricotta in the lasagna?

“You did what?” people ask me.

I instantly go from excitement to embarrassingly apologetic because, it takes a lot less time to make ricotta and cream cheese than it takes to go to the store.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese can be made from start to finish in less than half an hour.  Then mix it with some pasta, roasted tomatoes, and shallots for dinner tonight!

The Simplest Cream Cheese Ever the active time is only 3 minutes, but it does have to sit for a few hours to attain the right texture.  Technically, traditional cream cheese is made by adding special starters or cultures to cream. An easier process can be done at home. When whey is slowly strained from yogurt, the result is a thick, spreadable “yogurt cheese” that is just like cream cheese. The strong flavor of this smooth, cream cheese-like schmear, adds a wonderful depth to everything it accompanies. All you need is a quart of yogurt, a strainer, a clean dish towel, a bowl, and you’re in business.

A variety of mix-ins, whether savory (chopped herbs, dried onions, and granulated garlic) or sweet (honey, cinnamon sugar, or pureed berries), can be added to make an endless assortment of homemade cream cheese spreads that will make every bagel addictive.

Reprinted from the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine May/June 2011 – Shavuos Issue

I love cooking with kids. Each summer I spend working at a sleep-away camp teaching girls how to cook. The girls look forward to coming to the cooking activity to create something they made themselves, which gives them a great sense of accomplishment. I encourage them to find their inner chef and use their own creativity. We have made everything from sushi, hot pretzels, brownies, even doughnuts.

Everyone’s favorite activity is making pizza. The dough recipe I use is very basic.  After the dough has risen, the girls then can use a variety of toppings to put on top of their pizza. We use mushrooms, onions, feta cheese, peppers, different spices, tomatoes, olives, even pineapple (very popular in Australia, from where I hail).

During the year when I am home with my own children we have “make your own pizza night”, more fun and cheaper than plain old pizza night.

We start with a basic water, sugar and yeast mixture.  At home I use my kitchen aid because I generally double my recipe and it mixes better when doubled or tripled.

We then add the flour and salt and let the machine mix it together using the dough hook.

Within 2 minutes I have terrific pizza dough, we let it sit for 30 minutes while we get the toppings ready.  (This batch was made with a mix of white and whole wheat flours).

I keep it easy with jarred Marinara from Gefen, my favorite.

My kids throw on a variety of different toppings on top of the sauce, we slide it into a hot oven and 10-15 minutes later, wallah, a hot delicious pizza filled with veggies my kids can’t wait to eat.

What do you like to top your pizza with?

Pizza Dough Recipe

Do your children push away spinach or refuse to eat broccoli? Do they shun the fresh fruit you offer them for snacks and dessert? If you want to inspire your kids to eat healthier, it helps to make their meals and snacks as appealing as possible. All healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables, can be just as tempting as junk food (and ideally more so).

Start by asking your children for a list of their favorite foods (cookies and cake don’t count). Then make an effort to incorporate some of their picks into the daily meals that you prepare. You will be surprised at their responses! They might really enjoy a particular fruit or vegetable they have eaten at a friend’s home or at school. They just were never offered it at your home. Do your children have a soft spot for mashed potatoes? Introduce them to the recipe which uses cauliflower, like Creamy Mashed Cauliflower. They’ll be surprised how good it is!

Do they love after-dinner sweets? Serve them strawberries or banana pieces that they can dip in a little melted dark chocolate. Most importantly, show your kids that you practice what you preach and set a good example by enjoying healthy meals at the dining table along with them. And do make a concerted effort to get any junk food out of the house. Here are more ways to get your kids excited about fruits and vegetables:

• Don’t force your children to eat what’s on their plate. Provide them with small servings of new foods at first, then reintroduce those foods regularly in various ways. Perseverance will pay off.
• Encourage your children to help with meal preparation and cooking. Studies have shown that children will readily try foods if they have helped to prepare them. Let your younger kids do simple tasks like scrambling eggs, making sandwiches, mixing liquids and sauces, and measuring ingredients. Older children can help toss salads and dressings, cut vegetables and fruits, and stir ingredients in a pan.
• Get dipping: Kids love to dip! Serve raw veggies with a low-sugar prepared ranch dressing or hummus. My grandchildren love my Tuna Dip and Mayo Pick Dip. Both recipes can be found in my cookbook, NOT JUST A COOKBOOK.
• Let your children taste the difference between canned, frozen, or fresh veggies (don’t tell them which is which in advance), and let them choose their favorite. In many cases, canned and frozen can be as healthy as fresh.
• Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of melon slices. Kids love experimenting and eating their experiments. They would eat up every piece with the funny shapes they cut out! . I used to give my toddlers a cookie cutter to make shapes out of different varieties of cheeses I offered them. I still do that trick with my grandchildren today!
• One of my all-time favorites to do with children is to teach them how to make a Penguin on Skis out of a hard-boiled egg! I have used this as an activity at some of my children’s birthday parties. Most of the children ate the olives in that recipe for the first time—and loved it!
• Help kids make frozen fruit kebabs using orange slices, melon chunks, berries, bananas, grapes, and kiwi.
• Whenever I have a meeting in my home for my business colleagues, everyone loves the Fruit Dip that I prepare along with my usual spread. Many times, I would often find my children sneaking a taste while I prepared it. That’s when you know it’s a good food choice for your children, too! It is also quite easy to send along as a snack in their cooler lunch bag, with some cut up fruit, in a sealed, airtight, Tupperware container. Enjoy it!

The highlight of the Passover holiday is the Seder. The Seder is a ritual meal at which we read the Haggadah – a book that sets out the order for this Passover meal. (Seder means order).

The Seder plate traditionally has small bowls / plates of the food items used and referenced to in the reading of the Haggadah. These are the items on it:

KARPAS – A vegetable. Jews of Eastern European descent use a potato as green vegetables were not readily available, but generally one uses lettuce or parsley. This vegetable represents the initial flourishing of the Jewish people when they first arrived in Egypt.

ZEROAH – A shank-bone to remind us of the Pascal sacrifice of a lamb. Many people use a chicken bone today, I have always broiled a turkey / chicken neck for my seder plate.

CHAROSET – This mixture of apple, wine and nuts symbolizes the mortar that the Jewish slaves used in their construction of buildings for the Pharoah. There are many different ways of making Charoset – Check out these Charoset Recipes.

MAROR – Bitter Herbs. Traditionally chopped up horseradish is used, although some do use romaine lettuce. This symbolizes the bitterness the Jewish people suffered as slaves. The more you eat, the more bitter it tastes.

CHAZERET – We have always used horseradish – but grated for the Chazeret in comparison to chunks for the maror.

BEITZAH – An egg to commemorate the holiday offering and also to symbolize mourning that we no longer have our Beit Hamikdash. I hard boil a whole bunch of eggs and leave one shelled. I turn on the broiler and broil it together with the shank bone for 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t explode. (Trust me, I speak from experience). The rest of the hard boiled eggs are dipped in salt water and eaten before the Seder meal.

We made it! Now all that’s left to do is cook. I like to put up my soups and mains way ahead of time, so that I can spend the day before Passover working on my side dishes and desserts as they tend to take more time. At least if I know that the mains and soups are taken care of, I can cook the rest with a happy unstressed frame of mind.

Before I start with the individual dishes I chop onions and peel garlic enough for all my recipes. I separate the onions into ziploc baggies that hold a half cup of chopped onions. The snack size baggies are perfect for this. I chop all the veggies and bag them up. It just makes it easier to get all the cooking done. Prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking to ensure you have everything you need. This cuts down on last minute store runs.

Interestingly enough, every year the first dish I put up to cook is compote. To me that’s what gets the house smelling like Pesach.

ACTION: Invest in foil pans with covers and a Sharpie. Mark on each cover what dish it contains and for which meal.

DINNER TONIGHT: Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew – Double the recipe and you’ll have enough left for one of the holiday meals too.

OK. Take a deep breath. You have come this far. Your house is clean. Your shopping has been done. Errands have been taken care of. Give your kitchen a final clean. The steps you followed in Passover Prep – Clean Your Kitchen have paved the way for the final clean. Go over these steps again, paying even more attention to detail, and putting away all your chametz items that don’t need to remain on the counters. We close up our pantry for Passover, selling the contents within, and we put the toaster and the cookie jar and all those items that are out on the counter during the year are stored inside during Passover. Tape up the cabinets that will not be used over Passover.

Once everything is put away you can get to work on the counters and the sinks. I would advise you at this point to consult with your local Rabbi about the correct method of kashering your counters for the holiday. Some people steam their counters, some pour boiling water, some do both AND cover them as well.

Sinks take a little longer to clean and kasher. The way I have been taught (and please check with your rabbi) is that the sinks must be cleaned thoroughly, and must sit for 24 hours without being used. After 24 hours the sinks can be kashered by pouring boiling water over the entire surface. If you are using inserts for your sinks, the sinks still need to be cleaned and kashered.

Before you start covering counters and unpacking Passover boxes, take a moment to look around at your sparkling clean kitchen and know that you have done a great job.

Your kitchen is now ready to start cooking up a Passover storm.

ACTION: Boil up the kettle and enjoy a nice cup of tea, put your feet up and take 10 minutes of peace and quiet to yourself.

DINNER TONIGHT: Now it gets a little tricky to feed everyone. There is no more chametz in the house, but you cannot eat matzah yet. The kosher restaurants are usually over run with people the week before Pesach, but that just adds more stress to the family budget. What can one cook? Here’s a great suggestion: Sausage and peppers. There are some great Kosher for Passover sausages out there – this is a dish everyone can enjoy. You can even crack some eggs in there too, scramble them up.

It’s overwhelming – the amount of Passover goods that are available these days. If you are not careful you can end up spending more than you have budgeted for the holiday. I use a master list every year – and I have found that it really helps me keep my spending to a minimum.

Print it out, take it with you.

Matzah
Matzah Meal
Cake Meal
Chocolate Matzah

Grapejuice
Red Wine
White Wine
Apple Juice
Orange Juice
Lemon Juice
Coffee
Tea
Water

Sugar
Sweetener

Chicken
Brisket
Chopped Meat
Tongue
Gefilte fish
Salmon

Eggs (dozens and dozens)
Potatoes (lbs and lbs)
Carrots
Assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables
Horseradish
Dill
Parsley

Oil (canola is kitniyot)
Salad dressing
Spices
Salt and Pepper
Ketchup
Potato Starch
Pesach cereal for the little kids
Ladyfingers for the little kids
Tuna
Mayonnaise
Juice boxes / water bottles
Potato chips
Cookies
Nuts
Ground Nuts for charoset
Dried Fruit
Pickles
Raisins
Chocolate

Milk
Cheese
Cottage Cheese
Cream Cheese
Yogurt
Butter
Jam
Chocolate spread

Assorted sizes of Ziploc baggies
Aluminum foil
Already separated foil sheets
Saran Wrap
Foil containers and lids
Plastic containers and lids
Sponges for dishes
Dishwashing liquid
Rubber gloves

If you have anything to add, please leave a comment below.

ACTION: Plan your menus before you go shopping.

DINNER TONIGHT: Spinach and Cheddar Frittata with Fries – doesn’t take long but is nutritious and delicious.

It’s been a busy week and I have news for you, it’s only going to get busier next week as Passover approaches. One week left. But we are almost there. Catch up on any steps you missed this past week and it will be put you in good shape for the busiest week of the Jewish year!

ERRANDS  

TACKLE THE BREAKFRONT

SET UP A MINI KITCHEN 

KIDS’ TOYS 

QUICK DINNER: Mexican Potato Omelet - Whip up this simple, tasty omelet tonight. Frozen hash browns are perfect for this dish —just look for a brand with little or no fat. And while the cheese adds some fat, it also provides almost a third of your daily calcium needs.