St. Carlo Acutis Nutella Puppy Chow Snack

Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager with a devotion to the Eucharist and to the Blessed Mother, will be canonized soon.  An interesting fact about him is that he was a pet lover and his family had 4 dogs (and 2 cats and a goldfish). He was known to make videos of his dogs. It has been shared that one of his favorite foods was Nutella - the Italian hazelnut chocolate spread. A fun melding of the love of dogs and of Nutella would be to make a hazelnut puppy chow snack.  Very simple to make for a low key celebration of his canonization September 7 or on his feast day which will be October 12. 

Puppy Chow, Muddy Buddies, Reindeer Chow, Muddy Munch - whatever you want to call it, is a delicious and simple snack to make. The traditional variation is made with melted chocolate and peanut butter, but a variation substitutes Nutella (or other hazelnut spread) for the peanut butter. 

Ingredients:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup Nutella hazelnut spread (or peanut butter for classic puppy chow) 

8 cups rice or corn squares cereal 

1 ½-2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:   

Measure cereal squares and add to large bowl (with lid). Melt together the chocolate chips and butter, either in the microwave or on the stove-top in a double boiler, until smooth. Add Nutella and vanilla to melted chocolate mixture and stir until mixed and smooth.  Pour mixture over cereal and toss to coat. Then add powdered sugar.  Place top on the container, shake again until the Nutella Puppy Chow is well coated with sugar and ready to eat.

St. Carlo Acutis, Pray for us!

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St. Agnes Little Lamb Popcorn Snacks

I have seen this idea for sheep-themed birthday parties and thought it would make a nice and simple (and healthy) feast day snack idea of those saints associated with sheep or who have a sheep/lamb as a symbol. This week is the feast of St. Agnes (January 21), who is usually depicted holding a lamb to represent her virginity.

Fill small baggies with popcorn (not ziploc), tie the baggie closed, and tape on paper lamb head using this template or have your children draw their own.  I taped the corners to the back to make sure it retained the rounded shape. Could also just wrap in plastic wrap to make a round shape.

Other saints with lambs/sheep symbol including those who were shepherds:
St. Genevieve (January 3)
Sts. Jacinta and Francisco (February 20)
St. Bernadette (April 16)
St. Drogo (April 16)
Good Shepherd Sunday (4th Sunday Easter Season)
St. Germaine (June 15)
St. John the Baptist (June 24)
St. Joan of Arc (October 21)

*Looks like April 16 is a great day for sheep themed ideas with two different saints associated with sheep. 

St. Agnes, Pray for Us!

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Peruvian Corn Snack for St. Rose Feast Day

St. Rose of Lima, partoness of South America, is celebrated August 23. An idea for a simple snack on the feast of St. Rose (or other Peruvian saints) is the traditional Peruvian cancha, a popular snack made with a special type of large-kerneled corn called maíz chulpe. The dried kernels are tossed with oil and toasted in a hot skillet until they are browned and puffed.Trader Joe's makes their version of this snack - a Giant Peruvian Inca Corn which is very tasty. 

We love snacking on it. Since it is a ready made snack would be really easy to pull out for the feast day as an alternative to making your own. We opted for the ready made Trader Joe's version, but if you want to make the homemade version, it is as easy as popping corn. See recipe for details.

Homemade Cancha

Ingredients

1 cup maíz chulpe (can usually be found at Hispanic grocers)

1-2 tablespoons oil

salt

Directions

Heat oil in large, heavy-bottomed skillet on medium heat. Add the chulpe corn and toss to coat with the oil. Cover and cook, shaking the pan periodically to keep the kernels from burning. The kernels will begin popping (without turning inside out like popcorn) and turn golden brown. Cook until popping subsides, about 5-8 minutes.  Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Salt to taste.

St. Rose of Lima, Pray for us. 

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"Hammer of Heretics" Snack

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua, most frequently called upon as intercessor of all things lost. But the great preacher, St. Anthony was also known as the "Hammer of Heretics" for his exemplary teaching of the truths of the faith among the heretics of his day. He traveled throughout northern Italy and southern France combating abuses in the Church and bringing people back to the faith through his diligent preaching.

While it is short notice (and I apologize for that), I do love a simple way to celebrate the feast day. This simple, but "hard-hitting" snack takes just a few seconds to make - and is easy for the kids to do themselves. And hopefully these common ingredients are even on hand. All you need are pretzel sticks and and cheese sticks (any cheese block could be cut into hammer head blocks as well). Slice a cheese stick into 4ths. Gently insert a pretzel stick into the bottom of the cheese piece to form an edible mini-hammer. [Thinly sliced carrot or celery sticks could be cut as a substitute for the pretzel sticks.]

That is it - enjoy.

St. Anthony, holy friar, Hammer of Heretics, Pray for us.

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Super Simple St. Andrew Snack

This is a really quick and easy snack for the feast of St. Andrew,  the apostle (November 30). More than likely you have ingredients around the house that will work and it takes just a minute to make. Take two straight sticks, like pretzels or celery (or carrots, peppers, cucumber), dab a bit of peanut butter (or cream cheese or other spread) in middle and stick together to form an X shape. That shape is referred to as St. Andrew's cross or Saltire. According to tradition St. Andrew was crucified on a cross of that form (called a crux decussata). 

And don't forget the St. Andrew Novena or Christmas Anticipation Prayer that starts this day also. This beautiful prayer is traditionally recited fifteen times a day until Christmas.

St. Andrew Christmas Novena

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.


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Trail Mix Variations for Rose Themed Saints

Last month I posted an idea for making a trail mix with a rose theme using this candy mold for mini roses.  

St. Elizabeth of Hungary variation which includes grains for the symbol of bread

The mix, which I made for St. Therese's (The Little Rose) feast day, would easily fit a variety of other feast days associated with the theme of roses. There are several saints associated with roses or have rose stories and a few feast days are coming up soon. While all would still have as a base the candy roses, I've compiled some ideas for ingredients which could be added to or substituted for other ingredients in trail mix recipes to make them more fitting symbolically for some of the other "rose" saints.

Our Lady of Guadalupe or St. Juan Diego (December 12, December 9)
Variations to add a Mexican flare:
~pecans - native to Mexico
~pine nuts - from Pinyon trees native to Mexico
~chocolate chips (or cocoa roses in addition to pink/red ones) since cocoa bean domestication originated in Mexico
~dried papaya, mango, or banana

St. Elizabeth of Hungary or St. Elizabeth of Portugal (November 17,  July 5)
Variations which include grains (since both of these saints stories are associated with bread and roses falling from their cloak):
~wheat chex
~rye crisps
~puffed wheat

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (November 18)
Variations associated with the midwest and with the Native American tribe she ministered to:
~dried berries, seeds, and nuts - recalls typical food of the plains tribes
~corn nuts - corn is associated with Kansas where the spent time with the Potawatomi tribe

Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7)
Variations associated with Our Lady because of color or virtue of purity:
~dried blueberries - blue color associated w/ Our Lady
~coconut flakes - color symbolizes purity, Immaculate Conception
~white/light nuts like blanched almonds, cashew, macadamia - purity

St. Rose of Lima (August 23)
Variations to add Peruvian theme:
~dried papaya
~cancha - dried corn (is a Peruvian dried corn snack - recipe - or corn nuts could be used)
~cashew - nut native to S. America

St. Rita of Cascia (May 22)
Variation idea:
~figs or fig pieces (There is an old tradition that associates a miracle of roses and figs with St. Rita.)





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St. Martin de Porres Broomstick Snacks

On November 3, the Church honors and remembers Saint Martin De Porres, the first black saint of the Americas, who would become well known for his humility and help of the poor and in hopeless causes. He is often depicted with a broom, and even affectionately referred to as the "Saint of the Broom," because he considered all work to be sacred, no matter how menial.

These broomstick snacks are often suggested as a snack for Halloween, but I think they make the perfect healthy treat for the feast of St. Martin de Porres. They could be made for Epiphany also as a nod to the legend of La Befana.

The pretzel and cheese broomsticks are very simple to make. Take a cheese stick and cut into thirds. Peel small sections of the cheese portion from the bottom up about 2/3 to make the broom straws. Insert a pretzel stick into the solid end of cheese. Tie a piece string of chive around the broom straws and snip. I would say that step is option of you don't have chives on hand - or you could peel a full length piece of string cheese and use that as a tie.

St. Martin de Porres, Pray for us!

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Our Lady of the Pillar Rice Cake Sticks

Our Lady of the Pillar (Nuestra Señora del Pilar) 

First Marian Shrine 

 Patroness of Spain 

Feast Day: October 12

Our Lady of the Pillar is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary from her appearance to the Apostle James the Greater in 40 AD, as he was praying by the banks of the Ebro River in Spain. He was disheartened with the lack of converts to Christianity.  Mary miraculously appeared before him atop a pillar accompanied by angels. She assured St. James that the people would eventually be converted and their faith would be as strong as the pillar she was standing on. She gave him the pillar as a symbol and a wooden image of herself and instructed him to build a chapel on the spot. The wooden image is enshrined at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza. 

Several years ago, Anne shared a beautiful pillar cake, made from a swiss roll cake which is in the archived posts.  It is lovely. I also had an idea for a simpler, no baking involved pillar for her feast day. These rice cake sticks or rolls, make nice pillars - either on their own or as a place to set an image of Mary (as is included in the above photo). It is a snack idea that provides a fun way to open a conversation about our lady under this title and the symbolism of the pillar.

As an added note: In the United States the feast is also tied to Christopher Columbus and our Columbus Day holiday. When Columbus embarked from Spain on his journey, to find a sailing route to India, he placed the three ships under Mary's patronage. As the weeks dragged on with no land in sight, the sailors grew restless. Columbus' journal indicates he invoked Our Lady under this title, declared that if they did not see land by her feast day they would turn back. On October 12, 1492 the navigators spotted indications of approaching land - one of the islands of the Bahamas.

Our Lady of the Pillar, pray for us!
Nuestra Señora del Pilar, ruega por nosotros!

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Trail (of Roses) Mix for the Little Flower's Feast

This summer I came across this cute candy mold for mini roses. I knew it would be fun for a variety of feast days.  They are cute for decorating cakes or cupcakes or just offering plain to snack on.  But The diminutive size reminded me of chocolate/baking chips and the idea of a rose themed trial mix came to mind. I had seen a Valentine themed trail mix recipe, with reds and whites added to the nuts. Based on St. Therese's shower of roses, I changed it to a "trail of roses".

The mix, which I made for St. Therese's (The Little Rose) feast day, would easily fit a variety of other feast days associated with the theme of roses. These are some saints associated with roses or have rose stories (several of which are upcoming this fall and winter):

St. Rita of Cascia (May 22)

St. Elizabeth/Isabel of Portugal (July 5)

St. Rose of Lima (August 23)

St. Therese  (October 1, traditional October 3)

Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7)

St. Elizabeth of Hungary (November 17)
St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (November 18)

St. Juan Diego (December 9)

Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12)

Trail mix is easy to make and easy to transport, so is a great snack on the go. It is (overall) healthier and an alternative to typical baked or sweet treats for a feast day. I did not use specific measurements, but rather just eyeballed good proportions for each ingredient. Use the ingredients you like and seem fitting for the feast day. I kept it to pinks, whites and lighter colored nuts. The part taking the most time (but still super easy!) was making the candies. Use the manufacturer's instructions. Melt candy melts - I used pink but red or white could be used as well - and pour into molds. Allow time to solidify. It was helpful to place the molds with candy in the freezer for 15 minutes, which allowed the candy to release more easily from the hard plastic molds. 

Trail of Roses Mix

• Dried cranberries
• Coconut flakes, unsweetened
• Rose candy (made with candy molds)
• Peanuts, roasted & salted
• Sunflower seeds, roasted & salted

Other possible ingredients for this theme: dried currants, dried cherries, cashews, sliced or blanched almonds, pine nuts, puffed rice cereal, rice chex

Authors note: I will be putting together some specific additional mix combos for the specific rose feasts and adding those here. 

St. Therese, Pray for us!

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St. Clement's Sweets - Chocolate Sea-Salt Clementines

Pope St. Clement, disciple of St. Peter and St. Paul, is mentioned in Philippians 4:3, "I ask you also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life." He was consecrated a bishop by St. Peter and is listed as the 3rd or 4th pope (depending on listing). He is considered to be the first Apostolic Father of the Church. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Clementines in the name given to the curious religious romance which has come down to us in two forms composed by Pope St. Clement I. The Greek form is preserved only in two Manuscripts and consists of twenty books of homilies. Pope St. Clement was exiled to the Crimea and was martyred in the persecutions of Trajan around 100 AD, being thrown from a ship with an anchor around his neck. He is depicted in papal robes and his primary symbol is the anchor. Among his many patronages are sailors and blacksmiths.

St. Clement's Day was a big celebration in many places, with metal workers and blacksmiths getting the day off. There are many traditions associated with it, including "clementing" or "clemening" - a custom of children going door to door asking for apples or other treats in exchange for singing.

When I learned in my reading about his writings being referred to as Clementine literature, the tasty little citrus fruits immediately came to mind as a great connection to this papal saint.  It is perfect timing as the clementine cuties are just starting to become abundant in the stores - this is the beginning of their peak season - right as we celebrate St. Clement's feast!

Here is a snack idea to make to celebrate his November 23 feast day. The recipe comes from The Food Network blog (contributor Dana Angelo White). It is a tasty, unique blend of sweet and salty, and I have always loved the combination of citrus and chocolate. In addition to the clementine name similarity, the use of the sea salt recalls his connection to the sea, place of his martyrdom and receding sea miracle associated with that. They are so pretty, too. It is a simple snack to prepare so great for a busy day when you want to celebrate the feast but don't have a lot of time. And so easy to make that it is a good cooking with kids project.

Ingredients:
3-4 clementines
2 ounces dark chocolate, shaved
fleur de sel (sea salt)
~amounts can be adjusted as desired

How to:
Peel clementines and separate into sections. Melt chocolate in microwave (or in double boiler). Dip each wedge in chocolate. Set on wax or parchment paper. Sprinkle chocolate with pinch of sea salt flakes while chocolate still soft. Let set to cool and solidify chocolate. Serve when set. Can be placed in the refrigerator to speed the setting of chocolate.

Pope St. Clement, Pray for us!

[NOTE: This year November 23 falls on a Sunday, which also happens to be the Solemnity of Christ the King, so a major feast which takes precedence.  St. Clement could also be recognized in your domestic church or you may opt to celebrate him on a different day this weekend. One other idea I had was that these citrusy chocolate nuggets look a little like succulent jewels - fitting for a royalty - the King of the Universe. ] Pin It

St. George and the Dragon Veggie Platter

With the feast of St. George falling on Easter Wednesday this year, following a weekend filled with Easter and Birthday cakes in our home, I decided to make a Veggie Platter for the feast of St. George instead of a dragon cake or our Saint George Cookies. Our veggie platter was inspired by a couple snake themed veggie trays I found through a google image search, with the addition of some lettuce wings at the suggestion of Charlotte's oldest son.  I thought it turned out great and my children love it! We will devour the dragon this evening with dinner, after reading a couple new books (Saint George & the Dragon by Jim Forrest and The Saint Who Fought the Dragon: The Story of St. George - affiliate links) that one of our boys discovered in his Easter Basket! You can also read The Ballad of St. George by Eliana Murphy over at Shower of Roses.

St. George and the Dragon Veggie Platter

Ingredients:

• Cucumbers - I used 2 for the head and body
• Carrots - I used baby carrots
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Olives - 1 can of black olives
• Lettuce - 2 leaves for Wings
• Veggie Dip of your choice

Directions: 

Using the end of one of the cucumbers and some carrot slices, create a dragon head.

Slice the rest of the cucumbers and shape into a body on a platter, wrapping around the dip bowl.

Add the broccoli, carrots, tomatoes and olives, along with the two leaves of lettuce for the wings.

Happy Feast of St. George! 

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St. Patrick’s Good News Popcorn

This post was submitted by past Catholic Cuisine contributor Lena, from JOY{filled} Family. 

Patrick suffered much in Ireland and there was always the danger that he would be killed, yet the saint kept on preaching about Jesus.….How happy he was to bring the Good News of the true God to the people who once held him a slave. ~Holy Spirit Interactive

My parents used to treat my sis and I to flavored popcorn. There was a small snack shop in the mall that had a variety of flavored popcorn. My favorite was bubblegum. It has been a long time since I’ve enjoyed that yummy treat.

I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to treat my GFG to a childhood novelty of mine.
I made green lemon-lime flavored popcorn, AKA Good News Popcorn, in honor of St. Patrick. The children loved the Good News.

St. Patrick’s – Good News Popcorn

Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 | Difficulty: EASY | Servings: 10

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups Sugar
• 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• ⅔ cups Butter
• 6 quarts Plain Popped Popcorn
• 1.5-2 packages Kool-Aid (without the sugar)

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• Pre-heat the oven to 225 degrees.
• Boil sugar, syrup, and butter together for 3 min.
• On a large, ungreased, baking pan, spread out popped popcorn.
• In a separate bowl, combine the Kool-Aid with baking soda.
• Remove the syrup from the stove. Slowly and carefully stir in the Kool-Aid mixture -- the mixture may ooze.
• Pour sugar mixture over the popped popcorn. Carefully mix all until combined.
• Place the coated popcorn into the oven for 30 min. Stir every 10 minutes.
• Take popcorn out of the oven. Break it apart once it starts to cool.

Enjoy the GOOD NEWS!

Hence, then, I give unwearied thanks to God, who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I can confidently offer Him my soul as a living sacrifice--to Christ my Lord, who saved me out of all my troubles. Thus I can say: `Who am I, O Lord, and to what have Thou called me, Thou who did assist me with such divine power that to-day I constantly exalt and magnify Thy name among the heathens wherever I may be, and not only in good days but also in tribulations?' So indeed I must accept with equanimity whatever befalls me, be it good or evil, and always give thanks to God, who taught me to trust in Him always without hesitation, and who must have heard my prayer so that I, however ignorant I was, in the last days dared to undertake such a holy and wonderful work--thus imitating somehow those who, as the Lord once foretold, would preach His Gospel for a testimony to all nations before the end of the world. So we have seen it, and so it has been fulfilled: indeed, we are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached unto those parts beyond which there lives nobody. 

~ The Confession of St. Patrick, St. Patrick

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Healthy Snacks for St. Valentine's Day

The following recipe was submitted by Jen, from Enter Under My Roof, for the upcoming feast of St. Valentine.  Thank you Jen! 

Normally, when I think of St. Valentine's Day, I get an instant stomach ache at the thought of all the sugar that comes along with it (even if it isn't edible). Luckily, I have an amazing mama friend who brought these adorable healthy tomato heart snacks to a St. Valentine's Day party last year and I've literally been waiting an entire year to break this recipe out! I'm sure this idea is all over Pinterest, but I'll always thank Kristi for bringing these into my life.

This healthy recipe definitely plays up more into the commercial side of St. Valentine's Day (hearts galore) but I promise, there is a spiritual aspect to these as well. By the time you're 3/4 of the way done making them, you'll be praying for patience. Trust me (wink-wink).

While a bit tedious, I really did enjoy making these. Little man was happily playing with dad in the other room, and I relished in the quiet time (get it? tomatoes? relish? ...wait, are there even tomatoes IN relish??). All in all, it took me about :30min to make a dozen of the heart tomatoes, but that's from start to finish and includes the time to gather the supplies, learn my way through a few mistakes, and clean up.

WHAT YOU NEED

• two dozen mini tomatoes (the oval shaped ones...not the round ones)
• one dozen toothpicks
• white labels
• a really sharp knife (I found a steak knife worked better than a kitchen knife. Go figure.)

HOW TO MAKE (recipe makes a dozen tomato hearts)

Select 24 tomatoes, picking them out in pairs. Make sure each pair of tomatoes is about the same size/shape. The more oval shaped, the better.

Slice the corner off the tomato as show in Figure 1 above. I found it helpful to close one eye and visualize half a heart on the side of the knife. You'll look weird if anyone walks into the kitchen while you're doing this, but it'll get you the shape you need. A tip: save your tomato graveyard of leftover corner pieces - you can throw it in the freezer and toss it into your next pasta sauce. Yum!

Repeat the above step 23 more times. Are we having fun yet or what? Remember to keep your tomatoes in pairs. Romantic, no?

Using a toothpick, spear the two tomato halves together as shown in Figure 2 above. I thought it looked cutest if you put the toothpick through on an angle, but get creative and do what you like best.

Let your toothpicks dry. This is important - if you try to stick the arrow ends onto the toothpick you just pushed through the tomatoes, it won't stick...it's too wet. Not that I'm saying this from personal experience or anything...

Using a label, or other paper with a sticky back, cut out a double triangle and two long thin strips as shown in Figure 3 above. Stick them onto the toothpick. You'll actually stick the paper onto itself by folding it in half over the toothpick. This holds it in place.

Repeat the above step 23 more times. Pray for patience. Be thankful you have the time and ability to make cute snacks for your loved ones. Remember what inspired you to do this in the first place.

Voila! You're done. I left mine in the fridge overnight in an egg plate and they held up just fine.

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Saint Felix and the Spider :: Spider Web Snacks

In honor of the memorial of Saint Felix of Nola which is celebrated on January 14th, and inspired by the newly published picture book Saint Felix and the Spider, yesterday afternoon we made Spider Web Snacks.  These delicious sweet and salty snacks were easy to make and so much fun!

Spider Web Snacks

adapted from Mom Endeavors

Ingredients: 

• pret­zel sticks 
• white chocolate/bark candy coat­ing (I used white candy melts)
• milk choco­late (baker’s, candy melts, or chips would prob­a­bly all work)
• raisins
• bag­gie or pas­try bag
• wax or parchment paper

Directions:

Lay out your pret­zels on the wax paper in “star­burst” arrange­ments of 6 or 8 pretzels. (You can place the paper on a cookie sheet for transport stability, but I just made ours on the counter.  The candy melts set up pretty quickly.) 

After melt­ing your white chocolate/bark coat­ing, place in a pastry bag or bag­gie and cut the cor­ner off. Start pip­ing your choco­late in the mid­dle of the pret­zel arrange­ment, mak­ing sure to coat all the pretzels.

Con­tinue pip­ing out­ward around the pret­zels, until you have a web. Then, place two raisins in the mid­dle for the body of the spider.  Melt your milk chocolate and pipe over the raisins. On some of the spiders I used a toothpick to add the legs from the chocolate on the body.  

Note: On the second batch I piped the legs of the spider first before adding the body and these spiders turned out the best.

Let set on the counter, or place in the fridge for a few minutes, until the choco­late is hard.  Gently peel back the wax paper and serve. 

I posted a few additional pictures over at Shower of Roses. 

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Cinnamon Toast St. Martin Snacks

I came up with this idea this morning not intending to blog it but my kids really liked it, so I'm sharing it with you. The story of St. Martin of Tours is that when he was a soldier, he came upon a beggar outside of the city gates who was in need of clothing and warmth. St. Martin, having nothing else to offer, took off his beautiful cloak and cut it in two giving half to the beggar to keep him warm. Later that night, St. Martin had a dream that the beggar man was really Jesus and he was commending St. Martin for his generosity to the angels in Heaven. In honor of that story, I made these cinnamon toast treats to look like gates and cloaks. My oldest daughter commented though that if you turn the gate upside down, it resembles a horseshoe, which is also one of St. Martin's symbols. Either way, it is simple to make.

First, make some cinnamon toast. We like to toast the bread in the toaster, butter it and then sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar.

Then, I used the bottom edge of my cheese grater to cut out a rounded shape to look like a cloak. You could use just a knife though and cut out the shape by hand. 

Now you have a gate and a cloak.

Just serve it up, let the big kids cut the cloak in half themselves or score it for the little ones to tear in half and tell them the story of this most generous saint.

St. Martin of Tours, pray for us!

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Queenship Cheese and Cracker Crown Platter

+Happy Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary+

Sharing a very simple idea to celebrate our most holy mother and Queen of heaven.

Crown Cheese and Crackers

Ingredients:

Mini Babybel cheese

Pita chips or favorite cracker

Tools:

Paring knife

Instructions:

After taking off the wrapping paper, gently carve a crown-shape in the top layer of the wax.  You don't need to press very hard and the wax pops right out, leaving the paper tab in place underneath.

Place on a platter, with crackers, for serving.

If you have a crown-shaped cookie cutter, you could add some fruit!

Father, you have given us the mother of your Son to be our queen and mother.  With the support of her prayers may we come to share the glory of your children in the kingdom of heaven.

(Taken from the Mass of the Queenship of Mary)

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