Working mom Baila Goldstein makes supper work

Job: Office manager

Lives: Lakewood

Family: Husband and myself, plus four kids aged nine to nineteen. On Sundays our married couple comes over.

Time of supper: We eat in shifts

My cooking philosophy

I cook Hungarian style, but I’m very open to finding new recipes that work for my family’s tastebuds. My main sources are Kosher.com, Sarah Lasry, and Busy in Brooklyn. Twice a week I work a full day and come home at seven, so I need to have dinner prepared in advance for those days.

I love to buy

A big four lb bag of Bodek iceberg lettuce every Sunday morning. It lasts in the fridge throughout the week (iceberg lasts better than romaine) and anyone can take for salad whenever.

My favorite supper hack

Because I work every day, I have to be organized. On my late working days, I often put frozen spiced chicken in the oven, using delay start so it goes on 300 at 1 pm. It cooks slowly, and when the kids get home from school, they can just uncover it and raise the oven temperature to crisp it up.

Average time I spend cooking supper

Under an hour. Can be much less, and sometimes I do patchke longer. I actually enjoy cooking!

Favorite supper in this house

Crispy beef made from pepper steak or chopped meat.

If someone’s hungry after supper, they can eat

We don’t do much soup, because if my family eats soup, that’s the end of the meal. But my freezer is stocked with it, and if you’re hungry after supper, you can take a portion of soup from the freezer and heat it. Or take a fruit. (The younger kids sometimes get hungry again and eat more dinner with the older ones. Is that terrible?)

Sunday

Chopped meat pappardelle

I used Trader Joe’s pappardelle lokshen, and made a beef mixture with onions, crushed tomatoes, and a little wine. I like to cook fresh on Sunday because I’m home and my married daughter comes over, so we usually eat Shabbos leftovers on Monday.

Monday

Chicken potato skewers

I used a recipe from Kosher.com with precooked sweet potatoes and potatoes. Because it’s saucy, I served it with a rice pilaff. This week we were out for Shabbos, so I had no leftovers. Found this in my trusty freezer.

Tuesday

Roasted chicken with mashed potatoes

based on a recipe by Sarah Lasry. I precooked white potatoes and put them a pan with garlic and shallots. I drizzled olive oil, then placed chicken bottoms on top and spiced them. When the chicken is done, potatoes get mashed with the onion, garlic, and juices.

Wednesday

Chicken and Cabbage with BBQ101 spice

This is a recipe from Busy in Brooklyn years ago. Trader Joe’s doesn’t make BBQ101 spice blend anymore, so I now make my own: brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.

Thursday

Teriyaki salmon and homemade pizza

with veggie topping options. I bought the dough this time. Sometimes I make from scratch, then I freeze some, and put it into the fridge right before Shabbos for fresh pizza on Motzaei Shabbos.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 971)