Recipes for Lent ~ From the Archives

We adore Thee O Christ, and we praise Thee,
Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Shrove Tuesday:

• Quick and Easy Mardi Gras King Cake (You can see the miniature version here.)
• King Cake for Epiphany
• King Cake for Mardi Gras
• Shrove Tuesday Pancakes
• Shrove Tuesday? Fat Tuesday? Mardi Gras?... Pancake Tuesday! 
• Irish Potato Pancakes
• A Shrove Tuesday Treat: Filhoses!
• Mardi Gras Cupcakes
• Shove Tuesday - Pancake Day! (Buttermilk Pancakes and Fruit Platter)
• Cookie Masks for Mardi Gras
• Pre Ash Wednesday Dust Cake
• Mardi Gras Beignets

 

Ash Wednesday:

• Ash Wednesday Beans
• Restorative Vegetable Broth

Prayer for Ash Wednesday

Lord, protect us in our struggle against evil. As we begin the discipline of Lent, make this season holy by our self-denial. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Breads for Days of Abstinence:

• Fasting Bread for Lent
• "I am the Bread of Life..." (Artisan Bread)
• Pretzels
• 100% Whole Wheat Pretzels
• Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday (See Good Friday for Various Recipes)

Meatless Meals for Days of Abstinence:
(Information on Fast & Abstinence)

• Chicken Broth on Fridays:  Yes or No?
• A Few Thoughts for Lent
• Lenten Taco's or Tostadas
• Fish Tacos for Friday
• Cheese Enchiladas
• Fish Fajitas
• Meatless Meals for Lent Using Beans
• El Paso Pilaf ~ A Meatless Meal for Days of Abstinence

• Meatless Lasagna and Shrimp Creole
• Meatless Meal from Grace Before Meals
• Mahi Mahi- Meatless recipe for Lent week 1
• Shrimp Pasta

• Ember Days and Autumnal Fasting (Includes Recipe for Mom's Vegetable Bean Soup and Spinach Pie)
• St. Anthony of the Desert Soup
• Interesting Ember Day Food (Tempura and Tart in Ymbre Day)
• Split Pea Soup
• Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole

• Meatless Meals :: Crustless Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
• Meatless Meals :: Salmon and Rice Casserole
• Meatless Meals :: A Simple fish recipe for Fridays
• Meatless Meals :: Grilled Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa
• Meatless Meals :: Salmon Chowder
• Meatless Meals :: Rigatoni with Tuna and Sun-dried Tomatoes
• Meatless Meals :: Turkish Spinach and Lentil Soup
• Meatless Meals :: Zucchini and Sweet Potato Frittata 

• Meatless Fridays: Falafel
• Meatless Meals: Three Sisters Stew
• Fry-Less Fish Recipes for Lent

• Simple Meals for Lent: Tehri (from India)
• Simple Meals for Lent: Ifisashi (from Zambia)
• Simple Meals for Lent: Casamiento (from El Salvador)
• Simple Meals for Lent: Vegetable Spring Rolls (from Vietnam)
• Simple Meals for Lent: Vary amin'anana (from Madagascar)
  
  

Lenten Desserts

• Lenten Chocolate Cake

Laetare Sunday (4th Sunday of Lent):

• Simnel Cake for Laetare Sunday 
• Laetare Sundaes

Passion Sunday (5th Sunday of Lent):

• Passion Fruit Cheesecake for Passion Sunday

Palm Sunday:

• Carling and Fig Sunday
• Fig Bibles and Palm Sundaes
• Tomato, Avocado, and Hearts of Palm Salad

Holy Week:

• Planning the Menu for Holy Week

Holy Thursday:

• Holy Thursday in the Home
• Teatime Suggestions for Lent and Easter
• A Lenten Tea on Holy Thursday (pictures 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012)
• Judases
• Holy Thursday Unleavened Bread

Good Friday:

• Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday
• Hot Cross Buns - A History
• Hot Cross Buns (A Bread-maker Recipe)
• Hot Crossed Buns
• Pretzels
• Chocolate Crown of Thorns (make during Holy Week for Easter Sunday) 
• Good Friday Meal - Tomato Bisque
• Teatime Suggestions for Lent and Easter
• A Lenten Tea on Good Friday (pictures 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012)

Holy Saturday:

• Easter Story Cookies ~ Resurrection Cookies (pictures here and here)
• Resurrection Rolls

May you all have a Blessed and Holy Lent!

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Heart of St. Valentine Egg Toast

..."Man looks at how someone appears on the outside.  But I look at what is in the heart."

~1 Sam. 16:7~

It works!

We have been SO excited about trying this idea that we found in one of our children cookbooks.  We finally gave it a whirl this morning and it works!  

This was a fun idea for St. Valentine's Day and the heart would be perfect for the Sacred Heart of Jesus or Immaculate Heart of Mary feast days.

Pick your cookie cutter and imagine the FUN while having a healthy breakfast...We want to try a clover for St. Patrick's Day!  You could also use anything that might fit an egg...Maybe a flower for St. Therese, a fleur de lis for Marian feast days, Mardis Gras, etc., etc!  The best part...It's a "piece of cake" toast!

Ingredients:

Larger size whole wheat bread

Cooking spray

Margarine

Eggs

Cookie cutter of choice

Step 1.

Spray a cookie sheet generously with non-stick cooking spray.  Lay out your toast and spread a light coat of margarine across the toast.  Use a cookie cutter to cut out the shape of your choice. 
Note:  If you would like your toast a little extra crispy, try toasting it lightly prior to this step! 

Step 2.

Crack the egg into a shallow saucer first!

Then slide the egg over into the hole from the saucer...Ours just slid right in place so easily!

Step 3.

Bake for 7 minutes at 400 degrees for slightly runny...Our family's favorite.  Bake A little longer if you like your eggs with no runny yoke.  Scoop them off the cookie sheet with a spatula, directly on to your plate.  Do not attempt to flip them over.

They turned out so cute and fun!

(And they didn't stick a bit:)

Share the love!

"Today it is your turn and my turn to love one another as Jesus loved us.  Do not be afraid to say yes to Jesus."~(Blessed) Mother Teresa of Calcutta~


A little side note...If you are looking for an easy way to remember the love that Jesus first had for us, you can easily convert plain heart cookies into Sacred Hearts with a little brown icing.

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St. Valentine's Day Cocoa with Sprinkles

This isn't really a recipe, more of just a fun tip for decorating glasses for St. Valentine's Day Cocoa. I already posted about it at Shower of Roses, but I thought I'd go ahead and share it here too.

Supplies:

Glass Coffee Mugs (mine are very similar to these ones, though handpainted by a friend)
White Chocolate Chips or Candy Melts, melted
Sprinkles
Your Favorite Hot Cocoa or Coffee Drink
Whipped Cream (I made mine in a couple minutes with some heavy cream, my iSi Easy Whip and some Chocolate Liquid Stevia) 

Directions:

Dip the rims of the coffee mugs into the melted chocolate.
Dip again into a bowl of sprinkles, coating the rim of the mug.
Let sit for a minute or two to harden.
Fill mug with hot cocoa.
Top with whipped cream and additional sprinkles.

*As Sarah mentioned in the comments at Shower of Roses, these could easily be modified for St. Patrick's Day using green sprinkles, or for Christmas uisng red/green... the options are endless!

I hope you all have a very happy feast of St. Valentine!

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St. Valentine’s Sweet Pizza

 

SAINT VALENTINE

Priest and Martyr

~~~

Here is a yummy and semi healthy treat.

I found my inspiration from here.

Last year I used a boxed brownie mix and skipped on the suggested cream cheese spread.

This year I’m following a recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes found at Elana’s Pantry.  I’m also using her Vegan Chocolate Frosting.  It has quickly become a family favorite.  These cupcakes even passed the test for extended family who despises coconut flour and loves sugar.  

ENJOY this Sweet Treat with your loved ones on St. Valentine’s Day!

~~~

Recipe: Chocolate Cake/Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 min. | Cook Time: 15 min.| Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6-8 Cupcakes or 1 - 8in round cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• /4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup agave nectar

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• In a med. bowl, mix coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.
• In a large bowl, mix eggs, oil, and agave.
• Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  Mix well.
• Grease cake pan with coconut oil or line cupcake pan with 1/4 cup of batter
• Bake at 375 ° for 10-15 minutes or until middle is set.
• Cool and cover with icing and heart-strawberries.

NOTES:

I recommend that you adjust the amount of agave nectar to suit your taste.  This was a bit sweet for me. 

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Recipe: Chocolate Icing

Prep Time: -- | Cook Time: 25 min.| Difficulty: Easy | Servings: enough frosting to lightly frost 2 dozen cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and grapeseed oil.
• In a large bowl, mix eggs, oil, and agave.
• Stir in agave, vanilla and salt.
• Place frosting in freezer for 15 minutes to chill and thicken.
• Remove from freezer and whip frosting until it is thick and fluffy.
• Frost cake

NOTES:

“This gluten-free, dairy free and creamy chocolate frosting” fools everyone who tries it.  Sparkles and dad even ate the frosting in its solid state.  I love the sea salt!

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Love Berries

INGREDIENTS

• strawberries

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• remove the stem by cutting a small triangle into the top of the strawberry
• slice strawberry in half – horizontally

NOTES:

Best with fresh strawberries. Pin It

St. Valentine’s Healthy Heart Breakfast

“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” –1Jn 4:16

SAINT VALENTINE

Priest and Martyr

February 14 -  feast of St. Valentine in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

SIMPLE / RED

During the persecution under Emperor Claudius II, Valentine, a zealous priest in Rome, ministered boldly to the martyr. He was arrested and taken before the prefect, who made tempting offers to induce him to apostatize. Finding that he was wasting his breath, the prefect condemned Valentine to death. The beheading took place on February 14, about the year 270. The true follower of Christ ignores worldly caution when he is called upon to bear witness to Jesus. "The inclination of the flesh is death, but the inclination of the spirit, life and peace" (Rom. 8:6)

~~~

St. Valentine is my family’s patron saint for 2012.  We are trying to find simple ways to celebrate.  This is the first, complete year for my family’s radical diet change.  That mean’s no more traditional sweet treats for us.  (Don’t worry, we are not deprived and we do eat!)

We start the day with a healthy serving of protein, usually eggs and bacon.  Here is our take for St. Valentine’s Breakfast – Egg cupcake, heart bacon, and love berries.

I’ve listed more St. Valentine’s resources here.

St. Valentine ~ ora pro nobis

~~~

Recipe: St. Valentine’s Health Heart Breakfast

Egg Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 min. | Cook Time: 18 min.| Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 18-20 Egg Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 10-12 eggs 
• cooked meat (optional)
• 1 green onion
• 1-2 zucchini
• 2-3 cups spinach
• red & yellow bell peppers
• olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• Grease muffin pan with olive oil
• Scramble eggs in bowl
• Use the food processor to finely chop spinach, zucchini, bell peppers and green onion. (Do not purify mixture.)
• Add the mixture to the scrambled eggs.   Mix well and season to taste.
• Fill the muffin pan with 1/4 cup of the egg mixture. 
• Bake for 18-25 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle. – DO NOT OVERCOOK.

NOTES:

The kids love this version of eggs.  It’s perfect for breakfast on-the-go.  We use it for our Sunday breakfast since we have an hour drive to Mass.  You could also make these the night before and re-heat.

Dad likes to garnish his egg cupcakes with salsa.  I prefer guacamole.

I pictured another version of eggs - soft boiled egg and plain egg cupcakes.  Soft boiled egg – break the egg into a greased cupcake pan, season, and bake for 8-10 min. Plain Egg Cupcake – follow the directions above sans veggies.

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Heart Bacon

INGREDIENTS

• bacon

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• fold two pieces of bacon into a heart shape
• cook in a George Forman Grill or oven.

NOTES:

This shaped bacon works better in a George Forman Grill.

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Love Berries

INGREDIENTS

• strawberries

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• remove the stem by cutting a small triangle into the top of the strawberry
• slice strawberry in half – horizontally

NOTES:

I often use frozen berries.  Defrost the berries. 

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Candlemas Cupcakes

For our Candlemas Luncheon this year, I modified the Candlemas Cookies and made Candlemas Cupcakes instead!  It wasn't planned, but when I realized that I had forgotten to purchase the cookies for the base of the Edible Candles, and since our little guy really doesn't like the car, I made do with what I already had in the cupboard.  They may not be quite as cute, but they sure were so much easier!   I also just used some melted white chocolate to attach the marshmallow and create the "drips" on the candles.

I then used the leftover melted white chocolate to coat some strawberries, for our "Pure Hearts" inspired by some yogurt covered strawberries I happened to see on Pinterest.   After the chocolate had hardened we cut them in half to reveal the "heart."  I made them while juggling a cranky 6 week old, and they ddn't turn out nearly as pretty as I remember, but my children loved them! 

~ Our 2012 Menu ~

Water

Pure White Punch

Pure Hearts

Piercing Swords with Cheese Cubes

Candlemas Cupcakes

Turtledove Sandwiches

Holy Simeon's Arms (Pretzels)

Anna the Prophetess Black Olives

(Here are links to our 2010 and 2011 Candlemas Celebrations.)

Happy Feast of the Presentation!

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