Recipes for Easter ~ From the Archives

Blessing for Easter Food

Prayer Source: Family Customs: Easter to Pentecost

O Lord, who hast blessed five loaves in the desert, Graciously give us bread for life's needs. Almighty God, let not Thy gifts lead us to sin. Let not the goblet of sparkling wine induce us to misdeeds. While we enjoy our feast, let us also in charity remember All those who suffer want and hunger. May not the pleasure of the body stifle the inspirations Of Thy Holy Spirit, O Lord.

Easter:

• Festive Easter Breads and Cheese: Paska and Pascha
• Staples of our Feast Day Celebrations Part One: Bread
• Staples of our Feast Day Celebrations Part Two: Wine  
• Living Easter Grass

• Monkey Bread Cross
• Lamb of God (Rolls)
• Lamb Cupcakes
• A Simple Lamb Cake for Easter
• A Little Lamb for Easter

• Easter Story Cookies ~ Resurrection Cookies
• Resurrection Rolls
• Teatime Suggestions for Lent and Easter
• A Joyous Easter Tea (pictures here)

• Celebrating Easter ~ Share your pictures and recipes!

The 50 Days of Easter ~ The Good Shepherd's Garden Party: 

Charlotte and I are putting together a series of weekly menu's for celebrating the 50 days of Easter.

We will be posting a Mr. Linky here at Catholic Cuisine for any of you who would like to share photos from your own* Good Shepherd's Garden Parties.

You can read all the details here.

• Week One ~ The Good Shepherd's Pasture (Download here.) 
• Week Two ~ Welcome to the Lord's Table (Download here.)
• Week Three ~ The Heaven's Tell God's Glory (Download here.)
• Week Four ~ The Wind and Sea Obey Him (Coming soon...)
• Week Five ~ The Gardener Plants Paradise (Coming soon...)
• Week Six ~ Oh, What a Beautiful City! (Coming soon...)
• Week Seven ~ The Heavenly Zoo (Coming soon...)

*Please feel free to modify our plans to suit your family!

• The Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week One (Mr. Linky)
• The Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week Two (Mr. Linky)
• The Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week Three (Mr. Linky)
• The Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week Four (Mr. Linky)
• The Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week Five (Mr. Linky)
• The Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week Six (Mr. Linky)
• The Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week Seven (Mr. Linky)

Divine Mercy Sunday:

• Divine Mercy Sunday
• Strawberry-Coconut Tres Leche Trifle 
• A Cake for Divine Mercy Sunday
• A Cake in Honor of the Image of Divine Mercy
• Divine Mercy Pancakes
• Divine Mercy Rice Krispie Treat
• Divine Mercy Cheesecake

Ascension:

• Ascension Pancakes
• A Fluffy Cloud Dessert
• Feast of the Ascension (Picnic Menu)

Pentecost:

• Holy Ghost Sopas
• Twelve Fruit Salad
• Menu Ideas for Pentecost Sunday
• Staples of our Feast Day Celebrations Part One: Bread
• Staples of our Feast Day Celebrations Part Two: Wine  
• Happy Birthday Church! (Red Velvet Cake)
• Flames of Pentecost Cupcakes
• Confirmation Party Foods
• A Cake for Pentecost

Novena for Easter

O Divine Saviour, who rose from the dead on that first glorious Easter morn, grant that I may rise from my sins and so live as to see You, glorious and immortal, in heaven. Lord, I am nothing, but, although nothing, I adore You.

Strawberry-Coconut Tres Leches Trifle

I've had a number of requests for the recipe for the Strawberry Trifle we made for the feast of St. Joseph.  There really wasn't any particular significance to why we included it on our St. Joseph Altar, other than the fact that my girls were finishing up "S" week and it was a great way to use some Sliced Strawberries!

It would be a great addition to upcoming Easter celebrations, and since it is based on the flavors in a popular Mexican cake, it would be great dessert to make in honor of any of the Mexican Saints. 

Strawberry-Coconut Tres Leches Trifle

Adapted from Pampered Chef's 2010 Season's Best Cookbook

1 lb fresh strawberries, divided
One 16-oz frozen pound cake*, thawed
(*The recipe called for 3 packages of Ladyfingers.)
1 can sweetened condensed milk, divided
1 can (14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk, divided
1 container (8 oz) sour cream
1 container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg (3.3 oz) coconut cream* instant pudding and pie filling 
(*The recipe called for vanilla.)
1 tsp Cinnamon

1. Set aside one strawberry for garnish. Hull remaining strawberries and slice. Set aside.

2. Trim Pound cake and dice into 1-in. cubes. Set aside. Whisk together 1/2 cup of the condensed milk, 2/3 cup of the coconut milk and sour cream. Add cake and toss gently.

3. Attach open star tip to Pampered Chef's Easy Accent® Decorator. Fill with 1 cup of the whipped topping. Combine pudding mix and remaining coconut milk; whisk until thickened. Add remaining condensed milk and cinnamon; whisk until incorporated. Fold in remaining whipped topping.

4. To assemble, place half of the pound cake mixture into Trifle Bowl; top with half of the strawberries. Spread half of the pudding mixture over strawberries. Repeat layers one time. Pipe whipped topping over top; garnish with strawberry fan.

5.  Enjoy!  Oh, and be sure to share! ;)

Update:  I just read on Colleen's blog, Footprints on the Fridge, that she is planning to serve this dessert on Sunday night, Palm Sunday.  She says that they will have "passionfruit juice (since this Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday)..." and this trifle "... which we will use to symbolize that even though we are saddened that Christ had to shed His blood for us (the red), we are filled with gratitude that by His sacrifice, we are washed clean (the white)."  Isn't that perfect?!  Thank you for sharing your creativity with all of us Colleen!

Fig Bibles and Palm Sundaes

A couple weeks ago I decorated some Fig Newtons to look like Bibles/Books and placed them on top of cupcakes as a snack for my Little Flowers Girl's Club.

Those little cookies got me thinking about Palm Sunday (Palm Sunday is also known as Fig Sunday since tradition says that Jesus ate figs after entering Jerusalem.) and planning the following dessert to serve my family.

(Update: You can find step-by-step pictures for creating the Bible Cookies here.) 

Fig Bibles and Palm Sundaes

Shopping List:

Fig Newtons
Cookie Icing
Coconut Ice Cream
(Or ice cream of choice. I choose coconut, since coconuts also grow on palm trees... Our favorite is Coconut Bliss.)
Whipped Cream
Chocolate or Caramel Syrup
Maraschino Cherries

Place a scoop (or two) of ice cream in each serving dish. Drizzle syrup over the ice cream.  Place a small dollop of whipped cream over each scoop and top with a cherry. Serve with Decorated Fig Newtons.


Here is a picture of the "Palm Sundaes" made by Sara at A Shower of Roses.  I love the Palm Frond Cookies she cut out to go with the Sundaes!

Meatless Meals :: Turkish Spinach and Lentil Soup

Last month I was blessed with being the very thankful recipient of a whole bunch of dinners made by a local Little Flower Girl's Club as a service project!    One of the dinners was this lentil soup, which was very delicious.  I was able to get the recipe from my friend Kathleen so I could make it again, and then share the recipe here at Catholic Cuisine.  Enjoy!

Turkish Spinach and Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup dried lentils
5 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup raw bulghur
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
pinch of dried rosemary (or to taste)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups stemmed, cleaned, and coarsely chopped fresh spinach
chopped fresh parsley


Directions:

Rinse the lentils. Bring them to a boil in the salted stock. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy soup pot. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, cayenne , bay leaves, and raw bulghur. Stir the mixture on medium heat until the onions and bulghur are lightly browned.

Mix in the parsley and tomatoes. When the tomatoes begin to give up their juice, gently stir in the tomato paste.

Pour the lentils and their liquid into the soup pot with the onions and bulghur. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes. Add the rosemary, salt, and pepper to taste. If the lentils and bulghur have absorbed too much liquid, add more stock, water, or tomato juice. Remove the bay leaves.

Just before serving, stir in the fresh spinach and let it wilt in the hot soup. Garnish with more fresh parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Passion Fruit Cheesecake for Passion Sunday (repost)

Since the 3rd Century, today (5th Sunday in Lent) has been known as Passion Sunday.

Passion Fruit Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons nuts, finely chopped
6 ounces butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling
1 1/2 pound cream cheese
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup passion fruit puree.

Directions:

Make crust by combining dry ingredients in a large bowl. Melt butter and add to dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. When incorporated, press evenly into nine-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.Combine cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add corn starch and blend. Add eggs and mix thoroughly, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and sour cream. Mix until smooth and fold in passion fruit puree. Pour batter into a springform pan and bake at 300 degrees for approximately one hour and thirty minutes, or until set. Cool slowly and completely refrigerate for several hours.

Meatless Meals :: Rigatoni with Tuna and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Here is another recipe I served my family a couple weeks ago. It was quite easy to make and enjoyed by everyone. The recipe serves 4, so I doubled it for my family.

Rigatoni with Tuna and Sun-dried Tomatoes

adapted from Pampered Chef's 29 minutes to Dinner

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked rigatoni pasta
2 oz Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 pouch chunk light tuna (I substituted with canned albacore)

Directions:

1. Bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, grate cheese. Pat tomatoes dry using paper towels. Chop tomatoes and parsley. Cut lemon into wedges; set aside.

3. Heat oil, pressed garlic and pepper flakes in skillet over medium-high heat 1-2 minutes or until garlic turns golden (do not allow to burn). Immediately stir in tuna and tomatoes; cook 2-3 minutes or until tomatoes are tender. Add pasta, half of the parsley and half of the cheese to Skillet; toss gently.

4. To serve, divide pasta among serving plates. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and Parmesan. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

St. Joseph Altar Blog Fest

The 1st Annual St. Joseph Altar Blog Fest is taking place over at The Virtual Saint Joseph Altar.  Be sure to head on over to check out all the beautiful Altars that have been set up in honor of this beloved Saint. 

Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, Pray for us! 

Meatless Meals :: Salmon Chowder

This recipe for Salmon Chowder, perfect for the remaining days of Lenten Fasting and Abstinence, was submitted by my friend Jacinta.   Thank you Jacinta!

Salmon Chowder

1 (7 1/2-ounce) can salmon
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
2 cups chicken broth
(substitute with vegetable broth during lent)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup broccoli
1 (13-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (10-ounce) package frozen corn kernels, thawed
Minced parsley

1. Drain and flake salmon, reserving liquid.

2. Saute onions, celery and garlic in butter. Add potatoes, carrots, reserved salmon liquid, chicken broth and seasonings. Simmer, covered, 20 minutes, or until vegetables are nearly tender.

3. Add broccoli and cook 5 minutes. Add flaked salmon, evaporated milk and corn; heat thoroughly. Sprinkle with minced parsley to serve.

Note: I like to chop all the vegetables (except the corn) with the Pampered Chef chopper so they are all small and uniform.

Makes 6 servings

Saint Patrick's Day Peppermint Candy Shake

Here is a fun and yummy "green" drink I like to serve on the feast of St. Patrick, and sneak a bit of spinach into my children at the same time! ;)

Saint Patrick's Day 
Peppermint Candy Shake 

2 cups vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup spinach (optional) 
1/2 cup Peppermint Patties

♣ Place candy pieces and place into the freezer for 15 minutes.
♣ Blend milk and spinach until smooth.
♣ Add vanilla ice cream and candy and blend on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Stir with a spoon and blend for 30 more seconds.
♣ Repeat until desired consistency is reached.
♣ Top with whipped cream.

I hope you all have a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Fish Fajitas

This post was written by past Catholic Cuisine contributor Amy.

One of our new favorite Lenten meals is Fish Fajitas.  Thought I would share this with you.  The recipe is not very exact because it really depends on how many people you are feeding.

Tilapia
White Wine
Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
Assorted Peppers
Onion
Cheddar Cheese, grated
Sour Cream

I just got the packaged tilapia from Costco and cooked it according to package directions except lightly sprinkling equal amounts of wine and lemon juice. For about 6 fish filets I used probably 1/8 a cup of each. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile slice peppers and onions thinly and fry in a little bit of oil.

When fish is done, flake it up.

We like these served on homemade tortillas, you can find the recipe here: Whole Wheat Tortillas
It is all pretty easy and very yummy! Even my little ones will eat it! Ok, ok... they do pull off the peppers and onions, but they eat the fish!

Update: I forgot to add (thank you PNG for reminding me) that this is so simple to add your favorite spices too. My kids like it mild, so i didn't add anything special other than the ones listed above. Also I would have had salsa on they too, but we were out!

St. Patrick's Beans

This recipe for baked beans, a traditional Irish side dish, was submitted by Janet, from ADD Honey Bee.  Thank you Janet!

The kids love these beans.  They have molasses and brown sugar in them which is probably why. We've renamed Boston Baked Beans, St. Patrick's Beans, my recipe varies a bit from the original to eliminate food allergens. It is vegetarian, nightshade free, casein and gluten free. We serve this with boiled cabbage and turnips. I've also made Irish Soda bread, but the kids can't have it and us not having it is a sacrifice. I use a Crock Pot and don't soak the beans. I was one of those folks who used to get fussy about non-Irish celebrating a wonderful saint by partying until they puked, but now I'm happy to sign a petition to make St. Patrick's Day a national holiday, even if it is sponsored by a beer company. Wouldn't it be wonderful if a Catholic Saint was honored with a national holiday? I think of a wonderful opportunity to evangelize Christians and non-Christians world wide about this wonderful Catholic, not just Christian, saint.

St. Patrick's Beans

Ingredients:

1 pound dry Navy Beans (Great Northern will work, but we like Navy better)
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup molasses (we like Grandma's Molasses best, blackstrap is too strong)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 tablespoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper (McCormick has a smoked black pepper that tastes great in these beans)


Directions:

Rinse and pick the stones out of the beans, put in a crock pot with the chopped onion, molasses, brown sugar and dry mustard. DO NOT ADD THE SALT.

Cover with water and cook on high for 4-6 hours. Avoid taking the lid off the pot or stirring too much. If you need to add more water, make sure it is boiling hot.

When the beans are tender, add the salt and pepper and serve.

Saint Patrick's Shamrock Cupcake Bouquet

This food/craft recipe was submitted by Victoria, from Designer Pastry, for publication here at Catholic Cuisine.  I think it is such a cute idea!  Victoria made the Shamrocks on her cupcake bouquet with Fondant, but they could be made many different ways. Thank you Victoria!

Here is a picture of one of the Cupcake Bouquets our family bakery, Designer Pastry, put together for Saint Patrick's Feast Day. We used a small festive container, found at Michaels, and topped it with a green foam ball that we cut to size and attached gourmet cupcakes that we arranged like you would for a floral arrangement.

On this cupcake bouquet, we made Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes. You can use any brownie batter, but I suggest making one with Dutch processed Cocoa, which has a much richer flavor than the typical Hershey's Cocoa. Then, after pouring about 1 heaping tablespoon of the brownie batter into standard muffin cups, place in one peppermint patty (York will do just fine) and then cover with additional brownie batter. After cooling cupcakes on a cooling racking, ice them with white buttercream frosting. Use green gel paste color to tint fondant and use a shamrock cookie cutter to cut out shamrocks to be set upon the white buttercream. We cut off the shamrock stem to make it look a little more like a shamrock bouquet.

Other uses for those St. Nicholas Cookie Cutters!

Do any of you happen to have the St. Nicholas Cookie Cutters?   I purchased a set last year and wanted to take a second to point out how well they work for various other feast days as well!

For the St. Patrick Cookies pictured above, we used our favorite sugar cookie recipe, the "Small Nick" cookie cutter (as well as Wilton's Shamrock), painted them with a thin green icing (plus sprinkles on the shamrocks), and piped on chocolate decorating icing for his miter and staff.   Didn't they turn out cute?! 

Basically the St. Nicholas cookie cutters could be used to represent any Pope or Bishop! 

Using the same recipe linked above we have also made cookies, in honor of Pope Benedict XVI, using the "Austrian I" cookie cutter, a Dove/Bird Cookie Cutter, and a cat cookie cutter to go along with the great picture books:  Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told By a Cat and Max and Benedict: A Bird's Eye View of the Pope's Daily Life.  These would be great to make on his birthday, which is coming up next month on April 16th.

Sweet Shamrock Pretzels

Here is another fun and easy shamrock snack, inspired by Family Fun, for St. Patrick's Day.  We recently made these during "P" week and plan to make them again on the 17th!  

Ingredients:

• Canned refrigerated bread stick dough (we used Pillsbury Original Breadsticks)
• Colored sugar (we colored our own, using a couple drops of green food coloring)
• Cinnamon

Instructions:

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat it with cooking spray.

To create the clover shape, mold 3 sections of bread sticks into hearts and press them together as shown. Attach a small stem, decorate (with a sprinkling of colored sugar and cinnamon), bake according to the package directions, and serve.

Shamrock Toasties

This recipe is from originally from Family Fun and would be a fun snack to serve on March 17th, the Feast of St. Patrick.

Ingredients:

Green Pepper
Cheddar Cheese
English Muffins

To make one, slice a green pepper crosswise near the pointed end to get a small, three-lobed shamrock shape. (If your pepper has four lobes, you've got a lucky clover instead.) Cut a small slice for a stem.

Toast half an English muffin, then top it with a slice of Cheddar and the pepper shamrock. Place the muffin on a tray, then broil it in a toaster oven until the cheese is melted.