Easy Erev Shabbat Meals - Winter

Here are 10 of our family favorites that are really easy to make right from oour family recipes book! They are "unique" and tasty, which makes them special for Shabbat, while still being easy for momma to make! Now its like you just came over for Erev Shabbat at our place. See how the Internet makes the world a little smaller. :-)

Whiley Potatoes
When I was a girl in Michigan, there was a small take out resturant that was famous for thier Baked Potatoes. They were HUGE and they piled toppings on them. Our family favorite was the Whiley Potatoe. My mom learned how to copy it and I still do today, it now one of our family favorites. I wonder if that resturant is still in business today??? I like to serve it wiht a salad.

Preheat the oven to 375F

1. Scrub a batch of Russet Potatoes and prick them with a fork all around the potato. Rub potaoes down generaously with oil (I like olive oil) and sprinkle generously with course sea salt. Put on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour give or take depending on the size of the taters(or until fork tender).

2. Chop an onion small and saute it in a hot skillet with some oil. When the onion becomes translucent add 1-3 pounds of ground beef (depending on the size of your family and how many taters you are making) and brown. Drizzle beef with Worchestershire Sauce, than add a can or two of Cream of Mushroom Soup* mix well. Keep warm until time to serve.

3. When the tater come our split them, and generously pour meat sauce over top and put a generous amount of shredded cheddar on top.


**Most Commercial Cream of Mushroom Soup have additives and preservative in them...please be conscious of what you my buy or make your own. If you go with a can, I recommend Amy's Cream of Mushroom Soup. It is semi condensed, not like most which is fully condensed. If you use theother kind you might want to add a glurg of milk to your skillet.


Tex-Mex Chicken (Crock)
This is delicious served over rice, with corn chips, or cornbread or with tortillas. Also very tasty over salad like a taco salad, with chips and sour cream. It is so so so easy! Also good to serve with shredded chaddar and sour cream.


1 bag of frozen corn
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
2C of Salsa (16 oz jar)
6 boneless breasts


Put all ingrediants in the crock, cook on low 7-8 hours or low 5 hours. You an even put frozen chicken in the crock and it is ready at the same time!


(This is also something I like for our main mid-day meal on Shabbat.)


Stuffed Red Pepper Soup
1 pound of gr beef
2 qrt water (8 cups)
1 qrt tom juice (or tom sauce)
3 sweet red bell peppers, chopped
1 1/2C Chili Sauce
1C uncooked brown rice
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp browning sauce (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced

In a large pot, brown beef, add remaining ingrediants and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 1 hour or until rice is tender.

Makes 1 gallon of soup.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
My husband grunts with manly satifaction when I make my meat sauce and it is SO easy! The key is my premade Italian Sausage Seasoning Mix! I just brown a couple pounds of ground beef and add the seasonings and pour canned (or jar) organic tomatoes sauce over it and heat through. This can be done over spaghetti (my preference) or mixed in a casserole dish to be heated later as a make-ahead dish. You must try it! We are hooked!


Salmon w/Pineapple Sauce
This is the recipe that put Salmon on the map for my family. They never liked it before. They LOVE this recipe and it opened the doors for me to prepare it in other ways as time went on.

1 Salmon Side

Marinade: 1T Maple Syrup, 1T Teriyaki Sauce(I Like Soy Vay), 1T Pinapple Juice, 1 tsp (+) Fresh Ginger

Sauce: 1C Pineapple chuncks, 1tsp honey, 1/2-1tsp salt

1. Mix Marinade
2. Put Salmon in Gallon Ziplock or shallow pan and pour marinade in- let sit for 1-24 hours.
3. Prepare sauce by cooking all ingrediants in a small saucepan on low for about 5 minutes.
4. Bake, broil or grill Salmon about 3-4 minutes on each side. (I have never flipped mine)

Lemon Coconut Chicken
Preheat 375F

6-8 pieces of chicken
4T butter
1/2C Shredded Coconut
3/4C finely Crushes Wheat Crackers (or bread crumbs)
1-1 1/2tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dr. ginger
2 eggs

In 9x13 pan, melt butter in oven. Remove from oven when melted. In a shallow dish mix together coconut, crackers, zest, salt and ginger. In another shallow dish - beat eggs. Dredge each piece of chicken in egg, than pressinto crumbs to coat. Arrange breaded chicken into the 9x13 pan on top of the melted butter in a single layer. Bake 1 hour - turning over at the 30 minute mark.

Day Ahead Dijon Chicken
(We double this for our family.)

4 boneless pieces of chicken
1/2C honey
1/2C dijon mustard
1T curry
2T Soy Sauce (or Braggs Liquid Aminos)

Mix all 4 sauce ingrediants into a 2 qrt baking dish. Add meat, coat well, cover and refridgerate overnight. Bake covered @ 350 for 1 hour (or 375 for a little less). Uncover and and baste with saucein the pan and cook (uncovered) for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve over buttered rice with sauce spooned over top.

Baked Apricot Chicken
3T + 1T of Apricot Preserves
2T Prepared Mustard
1T Honey
1/2C Bread Crumbs or Crushed Corn Flakes
2T Flour
4-5 Boneless Chicken
1/2 tsp garlic powder

preheat oven 375F and grease baking dish.

Combine 3T preserves, mustard, honey, crumbs, and flour and mix well. (It is thick) Set aside.

Arrange Chicken in a the pan, sprinkle with garlic powder and spread 1T arpicot preserves on top. Now spread, the apricot mixture on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Turn broiler on High for 1 minute to crisp before removing from the oven.

Recipe Serves 4 (We double it)

Marinated Beef
This can be used in so many ways. Served over rice with steamed peas or broccoli. Tossed into pasta with steamed green beans or serve over a salad. Can be served, warm, room temp or cold (on salad). We've used it all these ways! You marinate it ahead, so it helps releave the pressure on Erev too! You can use nay thins strips of beef. I have sliced up a serlion roat thinly and prepard it this way too. I have even made jerkey with this marinade!

2-3 lbs of beef, sliced into thin strips
3/4C olive oil
1/2C soy Sauce (or Bragg's Liquid Aminos)
1/4C honey
2T apple cider vinegar
1/2 onion, chopped (or dried onion flakes to taste)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2tsp dr. ginger (2 T Fresh)

Mix sauce together and pour over beefin shallow dish, make sure all is covered and let sit in fridge for 1-2 days.

White Chili (Crock)
This is a staple meal in our home in the winter. I always serve it to company. It is so easy but so good!

3- 15 oz cans of great northern beans, drained
8 oz chicken breast, shredded
1C onions, chopped
1 1/2C red bell peppers (about 2-3 peppers)
1 small can of chopped gr. chilies
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp gr cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dr oregano
2 qrts of chicken broth

Sour Cream, tortilla chips and shredded cheddar to garnish while serving.

1. Combine first 10 ingrediants in crock.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours

Forget to defrost your chicken? Its OK...essemble this dish with frozen meat and cook as usual! Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheddar and chips crushed on top.

If you try any of my recipes, please come back and comment on them...It will inspire me to post more!

May You Be Blessed as You Enter Into His Rest!

May your Erev Dinners be filled with love, laughter and satified bellies!