Snake-Bite Calzone

This past weekend we celebrated my daughter's 8th birthday!   One of the recipes I made was a Snake-Bite Calzone, at the suggestion of Charlotte's daughter!  (Thank you Shortcake!)   I thought I'd post the recipe here, since I'm planning on making another snake dragon calzone (maybe adding a few spikes, wings and feet) for my children to eat slay on today's feast of St. George!  It would also be perfect for the feast of St. Patrick.

Snake-Bite Calzone

adapted from Kraft

Ingredients:

• 1 can (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza dough
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 31 pepperoni, divided
• 1 egg white
• 1 drop each yellow and green food coloring, divided
• 2 manzanilla olives
• 1 cup pizza sauce

Directions: 

Heat oven to 350°F.  Unroll the pizza dough on lightly floured work surface; roll or flatten to 17x10-inch rectangle.

Cut 1 pepperoni slice to resemble a snake's tongue; set aside. Arrange remaining pepperoni slices over dough rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border around all sides.

Combine cheeses. Top pepperoni with spoonfuls of the cheese mixture. 

Roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion, starting at one long side; pinch seams together to seal. Place, seam-side down, in "s" shape on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray to resemble snake.

Insert olives into one end of dough for the snake's eyes. Add pepperoni tongue.

Beat egg white and yellow food coloring lightly with fork; brush about half over dough. Add green food coloring to remaining egg white; brush randomly over dough to resemble a snake's splotched skin.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until golden brown. Meanwhile, heat pizza sauce just until warmed.  Serve the calzone with the pizza sauce.

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Passion Pita Pizzas

The following post was submitted by Lori from Busy with Blessings, sharing the "Passion Pita Pizzas" she created with her children last year on Good Friday. Thank you Lori!

First we took a pita and discussed how the stripes remind us of Our Lord's scourged body and that by His stripes we are healed. We are also thankful that He gives His body to us in the Holy Eucharist to strengthen us along our journey.

We brushed the pita bread with olive oil for He was arrested in the Garden of Olives. (I bake these at 425 for about 5-8 min to get them crispy.)

Next we spread the pizza sauce to represent the blood He shed for us and for all so that sins may be forgiven.

The white cheese and mushrooms were added to represent purity from sin.

We added green bellpepper in the shape of a cross to represent life.

Black Olives were added for His 5 Wounds.

Onions were added last to represent tears shed.

I sprinkled a little more cheese on the top and baked them for about 10 min., keeping an eye on them so they didn't burn.  They are very symbolic and yummy!

Lord by Your Cross and Resurrection You have set us free, You are The Savior of the World!

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St. Peter's Keys (Key Shaped Pretzels)

My family is currently studying The Primacy of Peter with a Papal Unit Study and Lap Book as we say goodbye to our dear Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and prepare to welcome our next Pope!  

Over the past few days we have been focusing on St. Peter, The First Pope.   Tomorrow we will move on to Pope Benedict and other popes from the past, before moving on to learn more about the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Papal Elections, and more!   You can find all the details over on my other blog, Shower of Roses.  

This afternoon for a fun, but still Lenten approved (since we gave up sweets), treat we made St. Peter's Keys out of pretzel dough, inspired by Lacy's Edible Papal Flag.   My children always enjoy creating various traditional symbolic shapes out of bread dough for the feast of St. Joseph, so I knew this would be a hit!

St. Peter's Keys

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 package yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 cups flour
• 1 egg (optional)

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in warm water.  Add the sugar and salt.  Mix in the flour and knead until the dough is smooth.  

Let the children shape the dough into key shapes and place on baking sheet.  

Brush the dough with a beaten egg for a golden finish. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 425˚F for 15 minutes.

Let the children color pictures of our first Pope and Pope Benedict XVI while they enjoy their pretzels and listen to a few chapters about the life of St. Peter, The Man Who Never Died! 

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Cocoa Pebbles Grotto for Our Lady of Lourdes

A number of years ago I shared the recipe and directions for the Our Lady of Lourdes"Fruity Pebbles" Grotto.   We made another version a couple years ago using Cocoa Pebbles, which my children preferred since it looked more like a real grotto to them.  This year they used Cocoa Pebbles once again, and a small statue of Our Lady instead of one of our hand-painted saints.   I've heated some water for some French Vanilla Hot Cocoa to enjoy while we read Bernadette: The Little Girl from Lourdes.

Cocoa Pebbles Grotto 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick Butter 
• 10.5 oz. Marshmallows
• 8 1/2 cups Cocoa Pebbles Cereal

Directions:

Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan and grease lightly.

In a large pan, melt butter. Add marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted.  (We used a bag of leftover pumpkin marshmallows that needed to be used.) 

Add cereal; mix well. (Grease your spoon or spatula before mixing.)

Place cereal mixture into pan. Top with parchment paper and press mixture firmly into pan. Remove parchment and allow mixture to cool.

Before completley cooled (read: still pliable), lift cereal bars from pan using foil handles, and cut into 18 squares (or rectangles). A pizza cutter works well for this task.

Use four squares for the back wall of the grotto and one square cut in half for the floor. Build up the walls with all but four of the remaining squares. Mold three squares into the roof and cut the last square in half to add to the sides of the roof. You may need to play around with it a little bit and trim the edges if you'd like.    Note: As you can see, my children didn't follow the directions exactly this year, but it still turned out cute!  

Place a Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes inside the Grotto.

Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of the Church, 

Pray for us.

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Candlemas Cookies with Drip Plates

‎"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle." ~ St. Francis of Assisi

Traditionally called Candlemas, candles are blessed on this day to help us remember the words of holy Simeon who called the babe in his arms, "A light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of your people, Israel."

For years now our family has been making Candlemas Cookies to celebrate this feast day, and every year they turn out a little differently. The first year we tried our best to balance them on top of a cookie base, one year we inserted them into the middle of Pinwheel Cookies, and last year we made Candlemas Cookie Cupcakes.

This year I decided to try and make our Candlemas Cookies with Drip Plates!   They were so easy to make and turned out great! I think this is my favorite version yet, and it is definitely one of the easiest.

Candlemas Cookies with Drip Plates

Ingredients:

• Pirouette Cookies
• Fudge Stripes Cookies
• Marshmallows 
• Red, Yellow, and Orange Sugar Sprinkles
• White Candy Melts or White Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Prepare the candle flames using marshmallows and sprinkles.   It is easiest to use one mini marshmallow to create two flames, by slicing the marshmallow diagonally and then dipping the exposed sticky center into the sprinkles.  I was out of mini marshmallows, but was able to use just one large marshmallow (cutting corners off at an angle) to create the six flames I needed.  

Melt the white candy melts and stir.   Fill a small baggie with the melted candy and snip off a corner. 

Prepare the cookies by inserting one of the Pirouette Cookies into the hole of one of the Fudge Stripes cookies.  We choose to have the stripes facing downward. 

Squeeze a little of the white candy around the bottom of the hole in the cookie, which will attach the two cookies together once the candy hardens.  

Add white candy drips down the edges of the Pirouette Cookie to create "wax drips."

With a dab of white candy on the top of the cookie, attach the marshmallow "flame."

TIP:  If the white candy hardens inside the baggie before you are finished just pop it back in the microwave.

Hold the cookie for a few minutes to allow the white candy to harden.  

All done!

Don't forget to save the rest of the Pirouettes to make some of Charlotte's St. Blaise's Cookies tomorrow!

Happy Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, 

and Happy Candlemas Day!

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Cookie Cutters Tell the Story of Christmas

Back in November Debbie shared an article with me (over at Shower of Roses) that was written by Iris Hammett in the 1940's titled "Cookie Cutters Tell the Story of Christmas."  We have made Nativity Cookies and Starlight Cookies in the past, but I thought this story would be a fun alternative for this year and we finally had a chance to make them today!   We also spent some time making cookies to go along with a couple more of our Christmas picture books, but I'll post about those later.

Cookie Cutters Tell the Story of Christmas

By Iris Hammett, written in the 1940’s

(Published in the Mansfield News Journal)

"It is a story, as suggested by cookie cutters, which are familiar to the younger generation both for their utilization purpose in shaping sweets and as playthings for toddlers. This is their message as interpreted by Mrs. Iris Hammett."

"The oven is heated, the dough is made, and the kitchen table is spread with an array of cookie cutters. But theses are not just ordinary cookie cutters, for they have a story to tell."

"Three (Seven in our case!) anxious little faces look on with great anticipation of receiving a sweet morsel when it is baked. Their dark eyes glisten as they listen to the story of the Christ child as each cutter tells his part."

"First, we make an angel, for it was an angel who came to Mary and told her that she would have a baby boy and should call his name Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins."

"Second, we make a donkey, for it was a little donkey that Mary rode into Bethlehem where the baby Jesus was to be born."

"Third, we cut a star for the star that shone in the East to guide the Shepherds to where they would find the Baby Jesus. The wise men had seen this star in the East and knew it told of the birth of the Savior."

"Fourth, we cut more angels for the angels who sang Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. The angels also brought the good news to the shepherds as they watched their sheep during the night."

"So we make candy cane cookies to represent the shepherd’s staff."

"Fifth, we make a camel because the wise men traveled over many miles of sandy desert on camels that they might find the young child."

"Then we come to some of the cookie cutters which we can’t find in the Bible, but which have wonderful meaning by which we tell God’s love for us. We make a wreath for it is round and has no end, even as God’s love has no end. He gave to us eternal life which has no end. We think of the wreath being made of evergreen and so we frost it green. The evergreen is a symbol of the eternal life which Christ bought for us on Calvary. Then comes the Christmas tree, again an evergreen tree, the symbol of everlasting life. It stays green winter and summer as no other tree. It tells of the love of Christ which goes on and on, and of the eternal life which he gives us if we believe in him as our Savior. And last of all we make the bells, for the bells ring out the glad news that a savior is born this day in the City of David."

"And so, as we bake our Christmas cookies, we see the story of the Savior's birth and purpose in our lives. What a wonderful way to gather the little ones around and tell them of God’s love for us. As we roll and cut the dough and mold it into shape, we tell over and over the story that never grows old."

"Then breathe a little prayer that we are molding young and pliable lives, minds, and hearts into the right form, that they might come to know and love this Christ that was born on Christmas Day."

"My prayer is that my children shall never forget the cookie cutters and the story they told of Jesus, His birth and purpose."

"Thus we keep Christ in Christmas even with the cookie cutters."

Download and print a copy of Cookie Cutters Tell the Story of Christmas here. 

Recipe:
The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies (Found in the Archives)

Our Cookie Cutters:

Nativity Bake Set

Wilton Holiday 6-Piece Mini Metal Cutter Set

Additional Angel, Tree, and Star Cookie Cutters

Our Christmas Story Picture Books:

The Donkey's Dream

The Nativity

Bethlehem

Additional Christmas Books Can Be Found Here

Wishing you all a very Merry 10th Day of Christmas and a Blessed Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus!

  

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Saint Nicholas Cookies

This year I decided to come up with an alternative to the usual Saint Nicholas Chocolates that I usually make each year.  I prefer to purchase the delicious Lindt Santas, and this year (with them priced at $3.49 each on sale totaling $31.41 for our family of 9) I decided to save the money spend it all on a few new books to add to our collection!  

I ran across an idea to make Santa Cookies with Nutter Butters on Food.com and immediately envisioned how I could adapt them for St. Nicholas.  I even had everything I needed other than a package of cookies... They were fun and easy to make, and I plan to put them each in a clear bag with a small candy cane Bishop's Staff and a few St. Nicholas Chocolate Coins.  I think my kids are going to love them!   

Supplies:

Nutter Butter Cookies

White Candy Melts or White Chocolate Chips, melted

Red Sprinkles

Mini Chocolate Chips

Mini M&M's 

Optional:

White Decorating Frosting

White Bead Sprinkles

Coconut

Dip each end of the cookie into the melted chocolate.  

Sprinkle the top end with Red Sprinkles for the miter.

Dip one side of a mini M&M and the flat side of two mini chocolate chips into the melted chocolate and place on cookie for the eyes and the nose.  

There are a couple options for this next step... I used some white icing to pipe a cross on to the miter.   You can also put some of the melted chocolate into a baggie, snip off the corner, and use that as well.  

I then decided to use some white bead sprinkles to embellish the cross on St. Nicholas's miter.  

I also added some coconut to some of the beards, though not all since a couple of my kids don't like coconut.  I also mixed in some red noses - it's COLD in December, at least in our corner of the country.  

Which way do you like best?  

"O Saint of love, be a guide for us in our lives, we pray, that we may create joy for each other, as you have done for so many."

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