As I listened to the school announcements one day back in November, my heart began to sink. “First grade boys, kindergarten, and eighth grade boys are out.” “Oh my, now middle school girls are too….”

By the time Sunday rolled around, the whole school was quarantined at home again! Déjà vu from last year! How were we teachers going to entertain our students? They definitely weren’t interested in a regular schedule.

Then i had an idea: How about we have the girls share ideas for easy Shabbos prep? The girls loved it! Every girl came up with a way to make Shabbos prep easy. Some brought in recipes, some suggested games to involve children in cleanup, and some had table-setting ideas.

One idea was particularly interesting: Take Trader Joe’s Vanilla Ice Cream and add in some other ingredients, and voila, you have a new flavor.

I thought to myself: What if everyone brings in a different way to mix up plain old TJ vanilla? Living out of town, many of us serve this humble ice cream as dessert on Shabbos. Yes, we do have other options, but they are more expensive and less flavorful.

The girls rose to the occasion and brought in some amazing mix-ins. We’d love to share them with you and hope you all (in-towners and out-of-towners alike) enjoy!!

—Sara Halpern, seventh grade morah

Choco-PB Ice Cream

Recipe by Chaya Laya S.

• 1 cup Karo syrup
• 1 cup chocolate syrup
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 container TJ vanilla ice cream

Melt Karo syrup, chocolate syrup, and peanut butter in a saucepan. Swirl together and fold sauce into softened ice cream, then refreeze.

Fruity Milkshake

Recipe by Brachi S.

• 1 cup frozen mangoes, defrosted
• ¼ cup frozen peaches, defrosted
• ½ cup TJ vanilla ice cream
• ½ cup milk

Blend frozen fruit together. Add ice cream and milk and blend again. Pour into cups and enjoy!

Very Vanilla Shake

Recipe by Shoham S., adapted from Kids Cooking Made Easy by Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek

• 2 cups ice
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1–1½ cups TJ vanilla ice cream

Blend all ingredients together. Pour into cups and enjoy!