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Short backstory! Today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and patron saint of Catholic schools. This saint is an important one for me because he is the patron of my Alma Mater where I received my Bachelors degree in Education & Theology and my Masters degree in Theology. After struggling through a year, for several reasons, at the University of Houston I transferred to the University of St. Thomas, Houston. I was undecided on what I was going to officially focus my degree and future plans on because I was studying for a pre-dental degree at UH but felt ambivalent towards it after transferring out. I had also never attended a Catholic school before so I was completely unsure of what to expect. Theology and philosophy were a part of the core curriculum, like it is at any good Catholic school, and after entering into those classes I was completely and utterly in love. I never even thought that it was possible to love a subject in that way after my very difficult High school experience. In fact I remember telling God very loudly during my High school years that I would NEVER be a teacher, EVER! I'm shaking my head now with a smirk as I happily finish out my 8th year in Catholic schools. I have always been a student at heart, I love to learn, to do work, research, organize, color code, study, read, but somewhere in late Junior High and Highschool I felt that drain out. It wasn't fun or engaging, most teachers didn't know us or care to know us, nothing seemed to have real meaning! So I felt completely rejuvenated by being at a Catholic university, my entire self was engaged from the curriculum, to the community, to the life of faith that I encountered there. It was due to those experiences that I came to life again as a student and wanted other students to have those experiences too. Over the years I have taught in a wide range of places to every and all age between 3 and 18, but this is what led me to know, love, and dedicate myself to Catholic education. 4 Reasons Why I Love Teaching at Catholic Schools 1. Teaching the whole person. My educational philosophy from its earliest days of formation has and still does believe in an authentic commitment to teaching the entire person, body, mind, & soul. What good is the intellectual life if it doesn't serve in nurturing our spiritual life and enabling us to act as people of God? While my subject inherently lends itself to this, it is the goal of all subjects within Catholic schools. I often remind my students to think of this when they go to their Mathematics, Science, History, & English classes. Everything that they learn there enables them to see more clearly and intimately who God is, and what He has done to bring us beauty, truth, & goodness. As Catholic school educators we recognize that each and every student has an eternal soul & end, and that we have been entrusted to nurture that for the good of their salvation. 2. Sharing Our Love for Christ Jesus Christ is at the center of everything that we do and we don't have to be afraid of that. I grew up in public schools and some of my students have come from public schools, and we can attest to the frustration and drama that can ensue from talking about Christ. This is an educational environment where we can discuss Truth and foster opportunities for students to integrate their faith into their lifestyles. Being able to have this amongst teachers who have committed themselves to promoting this, and peers who are mostly like-minded is of the upmost importance. Catholic schools provide students with a space, a part from the noise of the world, where they can ask questions and strengthen their relationship with God in order to go back into the world and live courageously. In addition to that I am privileged with the opportunity to pray with and for my students, we receive the sacraments together weekly, & I get experience more about who they are on retreats. 3. Mission Driven Catholic schools are mission driven, depending on the order or community on which they were founded this gives them clear goals and purpose. I know when I go to work that I'm not just striving to achieve my own classroom goals, curriculum benchmarks, & test scores. While all of this is good and important, it is also directed towards something greater and creates unity amongst everyone! The mission of the school that I work at right now is "to prepare the hearts and minds of students to serve God and others." That means that from the administration to the faculty and staff, we are all striving towards providing that to our students and we’re are all, students included, at the service of God. This is a humbling reminder that no matter what your role is or how much you get paid, we are all striving in our own little way to build up the Kingdom. 4. Authentic Community Catholic schools tend to be a community that feels more like family, in fact I frequently see people's families. Their spouses and children are at mass with us, occasionally a precious little one will be at a morning meeting, families show up to extra curricular activities. This might be strange if you worked in another profession, but not here. In fact when I see these things it tells me that we are supporting one another in our vocations and that we see our faculty and staff as whole persons to love and support as well. There seems to be a genuine and true desire amongst colleagues to see the good in the other and to offer support in life's highs and lows. In addition to that are the parents who I must sing the praises of because they act alongside of us as a team. These are people who have invested in their child's learning in more ways than just financially; spiritually, physically, and emotionally. They are there by our side when we need them, they hold their children accountable with high expectations, & they are seeking the same academic and spiritual goals that we desire for them. What more could you ask for? So today on this wonderful feast day I will go to adoration to pray for my students, they need it, and not because they are crazy silly (because they are) but because they are being faced with a lot. Today we learned about the moral act and applied that to several scenarios and I'd like to say two things... 1) you're welcome, being a moral ethics teacher is something else, you wouldn't believe the scenarios they come up with, absolutely hilarious & 2) these kids are smart and courageous. Praise God! I'm blessed beyond all measure. Peace & Good, +Steffani

If you haven't used CS Lewis with your kids this Easter Season to talk about Jesus' sacrifice and the victory of his redemption, then check out some of these resources. When I get the opportunity to use literature to teach theological messages I can't resist, especially CS Lewis. His writings carry profound Christian themes, messages, and lessons that make them always relevant and intruing for adults and children alike. In particular, The Chronicles of Narnia is the perfect series for even a wide age range, you can adapt these resources to use with older elementary students all the way to lower highschool ages. Its whimsical appeal to the imagination, yet relatable explanations of truths is really great read for the whole family. One book in particular that I enjoyed using when I taught underclassmen several years ago was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. You might think that a sophomore in Highschool would not be interested but that could not be further from the truth. In fact, many of them, who had never seen or read this story before, were excitedly pointing out all of the connections to Christ. You know those "A-HA" moments that your kids have when their eyes light up and they just seem to get it? This story inspired quite a bit of that and it was very rewarding to experience. I thought for sure they would have already known that Aslan was the Christ figure, but much to my surprise, they did not! Oops, Spoiler Alert, sorry! The crucifixion can be a difficult topic to discuss, especially with children. We love Jesus, it’s almost unfathomable to even try to imagine that He would have to endure such a violent, cruel, gruesome death. But then to talk about it and explain it makes it that much more challenging. This allegorical story makes it possible for children, and even young teenagers, to not only understand what Christ endured but even more so why he endured it. It acts as a primer for learning about the passion, death, and resurrection of Our Lord through relatable characters and story telling. Below are some resources to get you going, reading the book is a must in my opinion but the movie is an added bonus! Ancient Faith Radio has the audiobook for free in the link below. This is perfect for car rides, snack time, or quiet reading time. https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/series/the_chronicles_of_narnia I thought it would be lots of fun to host a Tea with Mr. Tumnus! Have a tea party with the children and discuss some of their favorite parts of the book. (If you scroll down I have a PDF attached that has great questions to ask if you aren't comfortable making them up on your own.) You could talk about their favorite characters and see if they are picking up on the imagery of Aslan or the faith of the Pevensie children. If you like to cook or make treats with your kids try this delicious looking recipe by The Spruce Eats for Turkish Delights! https://www.thespruceeats.com/turkish-delight-521388 Image: The Spruce Eats Coloring pages can also go along with any activity for younger children to bring the story to life and give them more silent reading activities. Here is a resource that has several ready to print! https://educationalcoloringpages.com/the_chronicles_of_narnia.html There are also these printable paper dolls of Lucy with different outfits that can be colored and used as an after reading activity. I love the nostalgia of a paper doll, I hope you do too! http://www.thelionscall.com/crafts/lucy-printable-paper-doll/ Image: The Lion's Call This PDF by Lasting Thumbprints has a study guide that I really like and I believe to be easily adaptable for varying ages. Hopefully these can act as a starting point for you to potentially create questions to engage your children. In addition to that it also has character charts, a comic strip activity, and writing prompts. If you are doing this at home with older children, junior high or lower highschool, this would be a wonderful opportunity to use Scripture. There are so many parallels between the story and the Bible that you could use this to discuss matters of faith with them. Here are are a few themes that stand out to get you going! 1. Betrayal & Forgiveness 2. God's Love 3. Christian Identity & Inesecurity 4. Good & Evil 5. Courage 6. Friendship 7. Trust 8. Temptations 9. Sacrifice 10. Salvation For more check out this link from Catholic Exchange! https://catholicexchange.com/lessons-lewis-lion-witch-wardrobe With older children you could also use this link below to enjoy some trivia together! Prizes are always a bonus. https://www.funtrivia.com/en/Movies/Lion-the-Witch-and-the-Wardrobe-The-18278_4.html Something that I find to be of great importance in nurturing the minds of children and young people is their ability to imagine. With the internet and technology always at their finger tips this is quickly, steadily, and positively deminishing. I'm sure you remember when you were a child and your parents would tell you to just go play outside. If your outside was anything like mine there wasn't a whole lot going on out there. We would make up worlds, languages, songs, stories, and adventures that all came from our fanciful desire to play! I see this lacking in so many children because there is this need to be entertained instead of discover. This is a part of why I love this series so much, because it shows you through the eyes of children the fantasy and wonder that is to be experienced. I would highly recommend as an activity to have your children write their own fantasy, create a world with their own characters and concepts. I believe it is in these moments that we get to see the hearts and minds of our children, what they question and ponder. You could also have them create their own Narnia Map or map for their own imaginative world! Image: Narnia.com If you start his endeavor let me know how it goes, I would love to hear about it. You don't have to use all of the resources, you can mix and match to fit the needs and interests of your family. Even if it comes down to watching the movie as a family with a big bowl of popcorn and talking about it afterwards, then we have started turning the wheels. The goal here is to have our domestic church engage the meaning of the Easter season and what better way to do that then with C.S.Lewis, tea, turkish delights, and the resurrection of Jesus!

So, you're managing our classes at home now? Don’t worry, I’m going to do my best to help you use the tools and tricks of a lightly seasoned teacher as well as some pointers I got from the home school community. You are in a hybrid situation, so I think that you are going to see the best of both worlds manifest right inside of your home. The curriculum is already done for you, assignments and activities are made by professional educators, discussion remains challenging, and grading is done for you. Now you get to collaborate with us on creating the environment at home that we usually do for your children at school. The beauty in this is that schooling can be done at your pace and there is more time for family, now it’s just about adjusting. Throughout each of the 10 tips I have underlined words that emphasize, what I like to call "virtuous leadership" traits, which I try to teach and nurture within my classroom. Keep these things in mind and integrate some of the family virtues that you would like to focus on. In my class I strive to teach the whole person, body, mind, and soul, I find that this is the best and ONLY way to learn anything when receiving a Catholic education whether that be in a school or at home. Here are 10 Tips for Creating Optimal School Success From Home! 1. Get dressed! Don’t be a lazy bone, just because the kids are at home doesn’t mean they don’t have things to accomplish. Getting dressed is a physical routine for us that tells our brains, we are ready to go for the day. 2. Create a schedule! This is what makes the school day go with fluidity and structure, we know what is expected of us and how to partake in the varying requirements of the day. While the timing of the day may not be as precise, your child still needs to know what they are going to do each day so that things don’t pile up. Here is what I recommend doing. a. Set a time which you will wake up every day. b. Get dressed and eat breakfast. c. Log on to the learning system that your teacher has instructed. d. Check each class to keep track of new procedures, notes, lectures, power points, assignments, and assessments. e. Create a schedule/calendar/to do list for the tasks that need to be accomplished with due dates. f. Prioritize how you will accomplish it all each day. g. Make contact with teachers with some sort of regularity so they know you are active online and aware of what is being asked of you. 3. Make your own work desk! At school the students come into my classroom and know where their work space is, this routine is just as necessary at home too. A space that your child can call their own that has all of the things they need to accomplish educational tasks. The great thing about this is that at home, they can actually be creative with their desk space and personalize it. I know that I feel more motivated by having a bright and cheery place to do my daily work and my students often tell me how much they love my room because the windows are open and the room is decorated. 4. Learn about your learning style! Not everyone is going to be great at online learning. One of the best things I did for myself as a lifelong student was assess how I learn best. I try to do this with every student at the beginning of the year so that I can vary up how a lesson or activities will be delivered. Each learner can help bring the lessons to life for themselves through self-awareness and being proactive. a. Are you an interpersonal learner? Create a group video chat with friends in your class to discuss the lesson. Visual learners may want to draw out graphic organizers, physical learners will probably want the notes printed out, not just on a screen, so they can highlight and write notes on them, and auditory learners can put some beautiful music on in the background...you get the idea! b. Here is the link to assess which learning style best suits you. http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml 5. Educational screen time vs Leisure screen time! Time management is a skill that we strive to teach our students every day. We use technology in class daily but in regulated and focused ways. A learning curve which will have to be taken with a sense of self discipline is using technology for learning and only allowing minimal time for distraction during the hours set aside for schoolwork. We all need little break here and there to check emails, Facebook, or send the text message, but we don’t want to go down the rabbit hole. a. Create screen time standards, you don't have to stand over their shoulder but I highly encourage you to do some monitoring and checking in. b. Set alarms for break times. c. Remove distractions when needed, there are ways on your phone to regulate certain apps. 6. Adjust expectations! The school day at home is not going to look at all like the school day at school and that is OKAY! Allow the students some autonomy in how they plan to get their work done, I just recommend touching base to see what that plan looks like. This type of ownership can be a very good thing for maturation and success, but they need the scaffolding that is usually provided in the classroom. For example, if they wake up and get going at 8:00 am they may be able to accomplish all of their tasks by lunch time depending on what the teachers have prepared. Obviously this will vary from day to day depending on work. 7. Take time for leisure and exercise! Even the school day has time for lunch with friends, socializing in passing periods, and time to exercise. We need this to stay healthy, positive, and joyful. Each child should give themselves permission after having accomplished a few tasks to do something that they like doing. Go outside and get fresh air! Pick up that book you’ve been wanting to, draw a beautiful picture, go on a run, or help mom & dad out around the house… which leads me to my next point. 8. Incorporate chores into the new daily routine! Many home-schooling families have recommended doing this and I’m taking that wisdom to share with you. Let it be a part of their daily responsibilities while being at home, this can be helpful to you and remind them of the role they play within your family. If you have younger children at home have the older kids tutor them or help with work. 9. Prayer is a must! In my class we pray every single day and every couple of weeks we spend time together in the chapel. Encourage this and set time aside to even pray with them. I know what you may be thinking, "my high schooler doesn’t want to pray with me", and I want to emphatically say, yes, they do! I have heard them say that they treasure the time that they do have in prayer with you and desire it when it is not there. They want to know that you believe in Christ too and you are the primary catechist for them so I want to empower you to pray daily with them. It can be an Our Father, rosary, chaplet, or just offering up daily intentions which we so desperately need now anyways. 10. Have fun! I spend every other day with your students on the schedule that we use and your kids are fun, interesting, and thoughtful individuals, as their teacher I just facilitate and mold those opportunities. I hope that you get to have more time to have some of the discussions that I have with them in class because they are powerfully curious. Plan simple but enjoyable things you can do together while at home like family lunches, picnics, small projects, etc. Don’t be afraid of or weary of all this time at home, enjoy your children! I hope that you found this helpful and if you need any resources, discussion topics, or activities for making this time fruitful you know how to get in touch. Keep checking in with me to see ways that you can also bring the Catholic faith into your home for feast days and this season of Lent. Praying for you and your children! Peace & Good, Steffani

I'm really happy to have been asked to put this together and I honestly can't believe that I didn't sooner. I taught upperclassmen Highschool Theology for 8 years and have an abundance of resources that I have collected. Beg, borrow, steal that is what we teachers do to give our students the best experience without having to reinvent the wheel. In the last few years of teaching I tried to integrate some liturgical living (classroom style) type activities and routines into the school day and the students really enjoyed hearing about and experiencing tradition. It was my attempt to plant a seed in hopes that they could carry this home or remember it for later in their lives. Hopefully this gives you some resources to use or inspires you to create your own Catholic culture in the classroom. What I like about these options is that they aren't just for the theology classroom, any school subject can creatively integrate some of them and of course they can be done at home too. Towards the end I have thrown out some more specific things to do at home or to recommend to parents. 1. Create an Art Contest: Pick a symbol of the Immaculate Conception to sketch, paint, mold out of clay, or make a graphic on the computer. The symbols are the crown and monogram; lily; enclosed garden; crown of stars; glass (symbol of purity) lily often placed in a vase of transparent glass; lily of the valley. Immaculate Conception Bartolome Esteban Murillo Oil on Canvas Circa 1670-1680 We might not be Murillo, but he must have started somewhere. I like integrating Sacred Art as a way of elevating our teenagers experience of beauty, showing them the God given gifts of others, and encouraging them to cultivate their own skills to the glory of God. It is also a fruitful way to hand down Catholic culture and inspire a sense of appreciation for tradition. 2. Upperclasmen in Theology can read "Ubi Premum" on the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX or read Pope John Paul II’s General Audience on the Immaculate Conception defined by Pius IX. I have linked both below for convenience. I always assigned Honors Theology these types of reading assignments. If I didn't think I had time to get through the entire thing I would just pull out sections that would highlight the key parts of the message. You can assign small groups varying sections to read and then report to the other groups or have them write about it. Large group reading would work too and I would typically use that time to help teach them to annotate, analyze & synthesize information, and then share connections they are making to other readings or teachings we have discussed. https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius09/p9ubipr2.htm https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/pope-john-paul-ii-12-june-1996-general-audience-8788 3. Take a virtual tour of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. In the current circumstances traveling has been minimized so this is a great way to host a virtual field trip. I like this option because it gives them a real experience of seeing the Basilica when they may or may not ever get to see it in person. If I were doing this I would have the students take the tour and then break them into groups and assign them each different aspects of the Basilica to research. The website has easy sections already made so you could do groups by those categories: liturgy, sacred music, history & heritage, and art & architecture. https://www.nationalshrine.org/virtual-tour/ 4. White Out Day! This is an easy one and more of a "spirit day" type activity that you could do every year. Wear something white to represent Mary’s purity. 5. Give a talk, listen to a video, and/or discuss Theology of the Body. Pope Pius IX's solemn definition, made in 1854, "The most holy Virgin Mary was, in the first moment of her conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin." This means that since the first moment of her existence, Mary was preserved from the sin which we all inherit through Adam and Eve. Today is the perfect opportunity to talk about purity and/or dating. I integrated these kinds of days into my curriculum all the time simply put, because they need it! Teenagers are being bombarded by the culture and social media to look, act, talk, think, and be a certain way that totally contradicts our faith. They need you, they may not act like it, but they need you. Many students told me that I was the only one talking to them about modesty, purity, and dating. I'm not going to say that this was easy, but I created an environment for open and real conversation so that they could ask questions about what our faith teaches and more importantly, why! I know that teenagers can sometimes be scary to talk to about this, they will look at you like you have a third eye and that is okay, because you are teaching them that they are worth more. Most of them have never actually heard those words spoken out loud to them before. Empower their parents as well, they need resources too! I have linked a video that I think might be helpful. These are just a couple of recommendations, but there are so many options out there so browse around. Video One: Avoiding Impurity, Father Mike Schmitz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y2S58hTLqA Video Two: Chastity Advice that Actually Works, Jackie and Bobby Angel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxH6FitDsT0 Video Three (For Parents): Parenting for Purity, Jason Evert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rklmSLI2DY 6. Catholic teen books on purity. If you are using this option in the classroom you could assign it as extra credit like I used to do or you could break open a section and discuss. I know some teachers who were able to break the classes up and a male theology teacher would take the boys and a female teacher would take the girls to discuss topics presented in the books and do a Q&A. I would also recommend you suggest some of these books for parents to have in their homes so that they are easily accessible to teens that are curious for answers. Here are a few books that I would recommend on the topic of purity and dating! (Recommendations will range with regard to where that teen is in their faith.) For Teens 1. The Emotions God Gave You: A Guide for Catholics to Healthy and Holy Living 2. Pure Manhood and Pure Womanhood 3. 33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat In Preparation for Marian Consecration 4. If You Really Loved Me 5. Not Ready for Marriage, Not Ready for Sex For Parents 1. Beyond the Birds and the Bees: Raising Sexually Whole and Holy Kids 2. Protecting Innocence: Parenting, Your Kids, and the Internet 3. How to Talk to Your Teens About Chastity 4. Parenting with Grace 5. Raising Chaste Catholic Men: Practical Advice Mom to Mom 7. Go to Confession. There is no better way to imitate Mary in her sinlessness than to go to confession. Plenty of time to plan ahead. :) 8. Begin your class or end your evening at home in prayer. Here are some suggestions for for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Prayer for the Immaculate Conception Novena for the Immaculate Conception O Immaculate Virgin 9. Make an ALL WHITE dinner! Mary's purity is represented through the color white so set the table with a white cloth, put some white roses on the table, and make a white dinner. Need ideas? Appetizers: White bean dip, rice crackers and herbed cream cheese, or white cheeses; Soups: white winter vegetable soup, white bean fennel soup, potato soup, cream of celery; Main Course: cauliflower and crab ravioli, chicken breasts with white wine sauce, pasta with alfredo sauce; Side Dishes: buttered cauliflower puree, mashed potatoes, white rice, white bread, white corn, rice noodle salad w/ chicken; Dessert: White cake with white icing, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, coconut pie 10. Begin your school with morning prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours or end your day at home with evening prayer. I use the iBreviary for this but you could always use the physical books too. Pick a few ideas and tell me how they go! We have picked what works for us in our home too and are very excited to celebrate our Heavenly Mother as we prepare for the birth of Jesus. We always do the Liturgy of the Hours for Solemnities, but I am going to try doing some white foods, and a white outfit for the day. I hope that your Advent is a blessed one!

Happy Feast of Sts. Aquila and Priscilla! It’s our family name day so we celebrate Aquilamas with either Italian food or treats. Aquila and Priscilla were from Rome and then were exiled to Corinth but our family’s Italian American culture is also something that we like share in. This saintly couple is mentioned several times in the New Testament as being dear friends and helpers of St. Paul. They were all tent makers and were probably converted by him during his ministry. What I find most inspiring about this couple is that they offered their home to others with love and generosity, especially for Mass when house churches were incredibly common. I hope to be like this as well! Our bigger celebration had to be moved to the weekend but this is one of our favorite go-to dinners. Perfect Italian dinner for celebrating any Italian saint! Marinade Time: 30 minutes or more Total Time: 35 minutes Serving Size 6-8 Ingredients 6-8 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs 1 tsp Kosher Salt 1/4 cup Olive Oil 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar 2 tsp Italian Seasoning 1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder 1/2 tsp Black Pepper 1 pint Whole Cherry Tomatoes 2 cups Green Beans 1/2 Onion (Red or White) 1/3 cup Grated Parmesan Chopped Fresh Parsley - optional garnish Put the chicken into a large ziploc bag to marinade. Begin by sprinkling in 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Squish it around in the bag to cover the chicken with the salt more thoroughly. Set the chicken aside and in a medium bowl pour in 1/4 cup olive oil. Then pour in 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar. Now for the seasoning! Sprinkle in the remaining 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Add in 2 tsp Italian seasoning. Now for the 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder, is it just me or does this stuff smell really good? And the last bit, 1/2 tsp black pepper! Whisk it, whisk it good! Sorry, couldn’t resist. 😂 Take your chicken bag and pour in half of the marinade mixture. Gently move the chicken around in the bag so that it is entirely covered. Place in the refrigerator until it‘s ready. While that is resting let’s prep the veggies. You can pick whatever floats your boat, today I did what we had in the fridge. You could also do asparagus, carrots, red onion, mushrooms, or peppers! Cut your choice of veggies into thick pieces. Throw your tomatoes in a separate ziploc bag. Wash and cut the ends off of your green beans. Toss the rest of the vegetables into the ziploc bag and pour in the remaining half of the marinade. Like so! 👇🏻 Move the vegetables around so they are all coated. Place in the refrigerator until it’s time to cook. While we wait for the marinade to prep your oven and sheet pan. Preheat to 425 degrees! Line your baking sheet with cooking spray, parchment paper, or a silicon baking mat. I got this one off of Amazon as you can see. It was suggested at the end of a transaction and I got click happy so here we are, three silicon mats later. Don’t judge! When you’re done with the marinade take out the chicken and lay it out on the sheet pan. Then pour out your veggies and all of the marinade. Note: The vegetables can overlap a bit but don’t let them chicken lay on them. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken has reached 165 degrees in the center. If you’re chicken finishes faster than your vegetables just remove them and pop the sheet pan back in the oven. I like my vegetables to have a little crunch to them but bake them to your own taste. Delicious! Serve with a little bit of the remaining juice, then sprinkle on Parmesan and parsley. Hope you enjoy this tasty dinner, it’s an easy crowd-pleaser. 😊 Sts. Aquila and Priscilla, Pray for Us! Cheers! For more liturgical living recipes you can browse the blog or follow me on FB @HisGirlSunday. 🙏🏻

This week I am making my favorite pizza dough from scratch! We love making this recipe together as a family and it is perfect for the feast day of Italian saints or meatless Fridays. When we took a pilgrimage to Italy we visited A LOT of places but Assisi is on the top of my list. If you ever get the chance to go to Italy, put Assisi on your itinerary. Absolutely breathtaking views, cobblestone roads, adorable little cafes, and all the relics of Sts. Clare and Francis are still engrained in my memory. We also ate a lot of pizza on that trip so this particular meal is in honor of St. Clare. Let's get started, I keep all of these ingredients on hand and I would bet you probably have most, if not all, of these ingredients too! By the way, this recipe is so much fun for little bakers looking to celebrate a feast day. They can easily pour in the ingredients, knead the dough with your help, and sprinkle on their favorite toppings. Not to mention, seeing the dough rise to the top of the bowl can be fun too. Prep Time: 2 hrs 30 min Cook Time: 12-15 Minutes Yields: 2 - 12 inch pizzas The Cast and Crew 1 1/3 Warm water (between 100-100 degrees F) 1 Standard Pack Active Dry Yeast 1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 3/4 Tsp Salt 3 1/2 C. All Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting your hands and the counter Get your stand mixer ready and take the mixing bowl out, you can combine all of your ingredients there. Warm your water for about 15 seconds to get it to the right temperature, use a thermometer to test it. Note: Warm water will cut down on the rise time but you don't want to go over 130 degrees, that will kill the yeast. Pour in 1 1/3 cup warm water. Add in the entire packet of yeast. Sprinkle in 1 tbsp granulated sugar. Adding the sugar will activate the yeast so don't forget it! Whisk the ingredients until they are all combined. Cover it with a clean tea towel and let the yeast mixture rest for 5 minutes. Isn't this towel cute? I received it as a Godmother gift from a good friend of mine that owns a Catholic small business called Saint.ionery. Ora et labora means pray and work, great daily reminder! Alright 5 minutes is up, back to the ingredients. Pour in 2 tbsps olive oil... 3/4 tsp salt... and 3 1/2 cups flour! Make sure that your dough hook is attached and mix on low for about 2-3 minutes or until the dough has pulled away from the sides, like this! Sprinkle the counter and your hands with flour and get ready to knead for about 3-4 minutes. Tips for Kneading Dough Use the heel of your palm to press down into the center of the dough. Turn your dough fold it back and press down into the center. Continue doing this workout until your dough is elastic and smooth and your forearms are bulging, just kidding. Give the dough a little poke, it should slowly spring back up! If it doesn't, keep kneading. Mine was ready after about 4 minutes so now you can spray a bowl with oil, I used Canola Oil but you could also rub the bowl with Olive Oil. Roll the dough around so that it is covered on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it set out on the counter for about 90 minutes. The dough should be doubled in size after this amount of time. Take the plastic wrap off and admire what you have done! While delighting in your big bowl of dough, preheat the oven to 475 and let it heat for about 10-15 minutes while you prepare your pizzas. This is an easy part to get the kids involved in, punching the dough down to get all the air out. Take it out of the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half so you can begin to shape your two pizzas. You can do 12 inch circles on a pizza stone but we do ours on cookie sheets. Note: If you are going to do a pizza stone, preheat it with your oven. On the counter using your hands or a flour dusted rolling pin, begin to shape your dough. I don't worry about making it perfect here, I will do that on the cookie sheet. If you want to get professional with it you can do like I did and shape it by tossing it in the air. Actual footage of me below. Give the cookie sheet an even coat of oil. I poured some on and then used my hand to make sure it was on the sides as well to ensure that the pizza doesn't stick. Transfer the dough from the counter to the cookie sheet and shape it to fit. You can even make a little lip around the edge if you want it to have a crust. I typically don't do this because I'm not much of a crust gal. Now comes the fun part, top with your favorites. You can use marinara or pesto on the bottom, veggies, meats, cheeses, basil, or seasoning. Go to town! Want to know a little secret? I don't put the cheese under the toppings, but on top of them! This makes for delicious cheesy goodness. Our masterpiece is finished and it looks oh so goooooood! Note: We made two pizzas but you can always freeze the dough if you only want to make one. You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. When you are ready to use it let it thaw and rest for about 30 minutes out on the counter before baking. Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to make our day to day life more joyful.

The Feast of the Queenship of Mary is tomorrow and I am going to help you bake a delicious tea party treat! Peter Paul Rubens The Coronation of the Virgin I recently learned that this feast was strategically placed today on the Octave of the Assumption. In the old calendar we would have been partying all week with this as our culminating celebration. These two events, the Assumption and the Coronation of Mary, are intimately related because we believe that once Mary went to Heaven she was crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth. We get this from St. John's vision which he describes in Revelation 12: 1-5! The meaning behind that is better said by Pius XII, "Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God, because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus’ redemptive work, because of her preeminent perfection, and because of her intercessory power." In other words, we understand Mary's queenship through recognizing her intimate role in God's salvific plan. If you want to read more, check out this article, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI gives a beautiful explanation on how the Queenship of Mary points us closer to Jesus! https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-explains-how-marys-queenship-points-to-jesus In honor of our beautiful, Heavenly Queen it would be the perfect liturgical living opportunity to host a tea party . If you are celebrating at home with kids today you could have them color or decorate crowns for Our Lady and place them next to a statue or image of her in your home. You could also do an etiquette lesson, take out your nice table setting, and of course pray for Mary's intercession. Quick note on the pie crust! I made this pie crust for a quiche weeks before making the tarts. I do not have the recipe up for this particular pie crust yet but I will soon. I am not a big fan of heavy crusts, I like mine light and flaky so I tend to use the same pie crust for everything. However, you can easily make this recipe with store bought crust or your own favorite crust recipe. For this recipe, I am just going to focus on the filling and assembling the tarts. Yields: 10-12 Tarts Bake Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes This is my frozen pie crust, I let it thaw and then kept it in the refrigerator so that it could chill. This will make it easier to work with! :) If you are starting this recipe like I am then go ahead and bake the dough once the shells are formed, the filling will be made separately and will not take long. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees! Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out. Don't forget to put a little bit of flour on your rolling pin to prevent sticking. Since we are doing minis grab a muffin or tart tin, cut out the dough, and fill the molds. I just used a water glass with flour along the edge because I don't have a tart cutter or tamper. Prick the bottom of the each tart and put them in the oven at 400 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cream Filling Ingredients 1. 2 3/4 C. Milk 2. 1/4 C. Corn Starch 3. 2/3 C. Sugar 4. 1/8 tsp Salt 5. 4 Egg Yolks 6. 2 tbsp Butter 7. 1 tsp Vanilla Extract Pour 2 3/4 C. milk into a glass bowl. Then add 2/3 C. sugar to the milk. Grab the corn starch and add in 1/4 cup. Add in 4 egg yolks. When I was younger I used to be really bad at cracking eggs without breaking the yolk but look at how far I've come! Then sprinkle in 1/8 tsp salt and whisk everything thoroughly until combined. Pour the ingredients into a microwave safe glass bowl and microwave on HIGH for 7 minutes. I was really surprised when I got this recipe that it was asking me to microwave this! I mean I'm no tart snob but I have never made a dessert like this before. Not only does it turn out tasting really good, it also made this dessert fool proof so that is a win-win in my book! Here's the trick, after microwaving for 3 minutes straight take it out and whisk it every minute thereafter until you've reached your full seven minutes. This helps it smooth and thicken so that reaches the consistency we want. Once microwaved add in 2 tbsp butter. Then measure 1 tsp vanilla and pour that on the mixture. Whisk the butter and vanilla until thoroughly combined and creamy. I was not ready to fill the shells yet because I needed to prep my fruit so the trick to not letting a skin develop across the top of your filling is to place plastic wrap along the top of it. Let it set while you cut the fruit for your tarts. I went with peaches, apples, blueberries, and grapes! Cut up to the sizes that you desire, you can also remove the peach and apple skin according to preference. Spoon the filling into the shells, I didn't worry about smoothing the top as you can see because I covered them in fruit and nobody will see that anyway! Arrange the fruit anyway that you want! You can do a tart with one type of fruit like I did with the grapes or you can make them look fancier by fanning out your apples or peaches. I did a little special something to the apples, I sprinkle cinnamon on top and toss them into the oven so they are warm and soft. Yum, Yum, Yum! Set your table with all the tea fixings: tea pot, sugar bowl, fresh honey, treats, and tea cups with saucers. These tea cups are a family heirloom, I got them from my dad who passed them down to me from my grandmother. I love the delicate floral work on them and they make having tea even more special. I hope you enjoyed making this simple recipe with me, let me know how your tea party goes! Let's close our recipe time together with the perfect prayer for this feast day. Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears! Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Mary, Queen of Heaven, Pray for Us!

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. This is a title given to our Blessed Mother to emphasize the immense pain and suffering that she went through during the life and death of her son, Jesus Christ. I have heard it said that, "a mother is only as happy as her saddest child" and one can only imagine what the depths of that must have been like for Our Lady. This does not only refer to the agony of watching Jesus die a gruesome and public death but several other events throughout his life that she endured as His mother. We call them the Seven Sorrows or Seven Dolors, which is why we see the traditional image of her heart with seven swords piercing it. Seven Swords Piercing the Sorrowful Heart of Mary in the Church of the Holy Cross, Salamanca, Spain The Seven Sorrows The Prophesy of Simeon The Flight to Egypt The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple Meeting Jesus on His Way to Calvary The Crucifixion Jesus' Body Being Removed from the Cross The Burial of Jesus While learning more about this feast day I read that it wasn't in the Roman Missal until 1482, that's more than 200 years after it gained popularity. It was added under the title Our Lady of Compassion not Sorrows, or so it sounds. The Latin roots for the word compassion cum and patior means to suffer with, and no one suffered more with Jesus than His own mother. This is a reminder to myself as well when thinking about what it actually means to show compassion for another person. We imitate Mary when we suffer along side of other people and stand by them with trust in God and love. Today I made Lemon Bars which has become a new favorite for me, yes a little self indulgence. I made a liturgical living lemon connection with the sour taste that for some can even bring tears to their eyes. More than that it reminds me of the sour, bitter discomfort of suffering! Along with these we will be praying the sorrowful mysteries as a family, I hope that you will join along. Prep Time: 10 minutes Bake Time: 32 minutes Yields: 9-16 servings depending on cut The Gang For the Crust 10 Tbsp butter 1 1/2 C. flour 1/2 C & 2 Tbsp powdered sugar 1/4 Tsp salt For the Filling 3 large eggs 1 C. granulated sugar 3 Tbsp flour 1 Tbsp lemon zest 1/3 C. lemon juice 1/2 Tsp. baking powder Picture disclaimer: I am just a regular gal trying to make for a happy home with happy bellies. While I'd like for everything to be "blog" worthy, I find more good in just showing you the way things are. I call this real life and this is what it would look like if you were baking lemon bars next to me. I hope you enjoy! 😉 This is going to be easier than you might think, so once you get all of your ingredients out you can go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take out a bowl and pour in the 1 1/2 cups flour! I like to put the measurements in the descriptions as well because I hate having to scroll up and down while baking. You're Welcome Friends! Then sprinkle in 1/4 Tsp salt to the bowl of flour. Now for the powdered sugar, I highly recommend you don't make this recipe in dark colored clothes! Pour in 1/2 C and 2 Tbsps. Whisk to thoroughly combine all the dry ingredients that you will need for your crust. Next comes my favorite part, the butter, don't use any substitution or you will regret it. This buttery shortbread crust is absolutely delicious and I am not going to let you miss out. Cut 10 Tbsps of butter into smaller squares, this will make it easier to press into the flour mixture. Put the butter into the bowl and cut it into the flour until the mixture is crumbly. You can use a pastry cutter or a good ol' fashion fork! Bring on the workout! Whew! Alright do that until the flour looks like this... 👇🏼 Nice crumbly perfection! Good job, now for the next step. Grease a 9x9 inch pan as you can see this one has been loved on a little bit. Dump the flour mixture into the tin pan and press it to the bottom. You don't have to press it down too much, just lightly enough for it to form a good bottom but no need for smashing it. Anyone else hear "good bottom" and think of the Great British Baking Show? Toss that in the oven for about 15-18 minutes depending on the heat of your particular oven and while that is baking we are going to make the filling. Get another glass bowl and crack in the 3 large eggs. Pour in 1 C. granulated sugar. Sprinkle in 3 Tbsps flour. Zest 1 lemon. This and the fresh lemon juice are very important. I get a lot of compliments on these because of how fresh they taste and that is due to this step and the next. Pour in 1/3 C. lemon juice. Lastly, add in 1/2 tsp baking powder and look at this crazy bowl! Delicioussssssss, just pour it on the crust like this... JUST KIDDING! Whisk all of your ingredients together and THEN pour it on the baked crust. See, I told you this was ridiculously easy. Before I pour in the filling I like to get a quick old school read on the crust just to make sure that it isn't under baked at this point. Of course it is going to get thrown back into the oven so it will bake a little more but we don't want to add filling onto wet dough. My dough was ready after about 16 minutes so I poured the filling on top and baked it for about 18 minutes. I would say a good range would be anywhere between 17-20 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it cool down completely, feel free to just put the whole tin into the refrigerator and let it rest there. Note: Don't dust with powdered sugar until after it has completely cooled. Using a hand sifter I sprinkled the powdered sugar across the top to my liking. I was not happy about the little crack that formed on the top while baking so I cut the lemon bars along that line so that no one but us would ever know the difference. SShhh! Cut into squares or rectangles and serve while cool. Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to celebrate feast days.

On of our Saturday morning traditions is to wake up and eat a nice breakfast and relax for as long as the day will allow us. I look forward to getting my bacon, eggs, and pancakes after a week of hustle and bustle. Since we had leftover homemade pumpkin puree we decided to add that to the pancake recipe that was passed down to us. Anybody else do pumpkin flavored recipes and treats into December? I do! These were so good I thought it would be sinful to not share the love! Prep Time: 10-15 minutes Bake Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Yields: 15-18 small pancakes The Cast and Crew 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 tbsp coconut sugar (you can also use the same measurement of regular sugar) 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 3/4 cup pumpkin puree 2 eggs 3 tbsps melted butter (and more for greasing the skillet) 1 tsp vanilla extract Grab a large glass bowl and measure out 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour. Add in 1 1/2 tsps baking powder. Sprinkle in 1/2 tsp salt. Measure out 1/2 tbsp sugar, as you can see I couldn't find my 1/2 tbsp! Grr... we make do. We have been using Coconut Sugar as a healthier alternative, but you could also use regular sugar at the same measurement, judgment free. Don't forget to put in the delicious spices to give it that holiday flavor. Add 1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon! Next, put in 3/4 tsp baking soda. Back to the spices, measure out 1 tsp ground ginger and add that to the dry mix. Lastly, to give it a little love, add 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Whisk all of your dry ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined and set it aside to make your wet mix. In two separate glass bowls, separate the egg yolk and egg whites! This is a little family secret that has been handed down and will make your pancakes light, fluffy, absolutely delectable. To the bowl of egg yolk, add in 3 tbsps melted butter. Then pour in 3/4 cup pumpkin puree. You can use canned for this but I already had lots of puree from making Thanksgiving pies so I had it fresh. If you are interested in doing that check out my last post, it is so easy! https://www.hisgirlsunday.com/post/perfect-pumpkin-puree Take your beaters and make sure that everything is thoroughly combined. Then you are going to add 1 tsp vanilla extract. Pour in 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, seems like a lot I know but just trust me and keep pouring! Grab a rubber spatula and mix all of the wet ingredients together. Now get someone to hold the camera so you can safely pour all that pumpkin goodness into the flour mixture. I combine by hand with the same spatula, this is the start of that process! Keep on going! Alright, when you have perfectly mixed everything it will look like this, but we have one last thing to do! To give your pancakes that fluffiness that we all want you need to tend to your egg whites. Rinse off the beaters and place them into the egg whites. Set them on medium-high until they begin to look white and foamy like this. Don't stop there! You see those little snowy mountains? That is what you want to see when you raise your beaters up out of the egg whites. That is how you know you are finished! Slide those into the batter and fold them in. Fold, fold, fold! That is key, you don't want to mash the egg whites that you just worked so hard on. This is a close up of my batter with the folded egg whites. It's okay if they aren't entirely covered, you don't want big chunks of egg whites but a little peaking out like this is fine. Cooking Directions: Using some sort of scoop, you can pour them out onto a greased skillet on low to medium heat. I grease with spray canola oil but you can also use butter if your heart desires. Make sure you leave plenty of room between them for the batter to expand. Cook for a minute or two until the batter bubbles around the edges and then flip. This is my finished product with maple syrup and homemade butter courtesy of my mother in law! Yummmmmmm! Voila! Pumpkin pancakes, happy bellies, restful holiday season Saturday mornings. Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to celebrate feast days. Praying for you as we build tradition together!

I learned how to cook from my dad and the Pioneer Woman! I spent a lot of time growing up with my dad in the kitchen trying new recipes. Holiday season was particularly special and I have many memories of coming in the house with those feel good food aromas, staying up late while a meat roasted in the oven, or being outside next to the grill. We rarely ate the same thing twice because he could look at any given recipe and find a way to jazz it up and make it his own. I strive to do that too but I also appreciated the picture by picture recipes of the Pioneer Woman that I ventured into while in college. While we didn't do a lot of cooking for Catholic reasons, I was able to look at both of our family recipes and apply them to special feast days as they related. When I decided to blog these feast day recipes I knew that they had to include pictures for all those that cook like me... "does this look right?" I also appreciate that it feels like we are cooking together, but hopefully while sharing in the joy of Catholic celebrations. One of my all time favorite Christmas Eve traditions is the Feast of Seven Fishes which is a gift that stems from my in laws. To give some context, I grew up on the bay and not far from Louisiana so going fishing and cooking fish was a big part of my family too. It's no surprise that sitting down at this buffet of fish makes my heart flutter a little bit. The tradition has its roots in Southern Italy and is more commonly known as The Vigil (La Vigilia), the midnight birth of Christ. On Christmas Eve, Catholics are to abstain from meat so instead they would feast on fish. There doesn't seem to be consensus on why seven fishes are made, but we could of course connect that with the 7 sacraments, 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit, or 7 as it signifies perfection. Let me just tell you... this tradition is perfection and I really hope that you give it a try. Here was the buffet display and wine table that I pulled together for the party I hosted last year. We had to do it a little earlier than Christmas Eve so we ended up with lots of gorgeous flower arrangements from the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe! You're going to have to forgive the non blog worthy, perfectly touched up photos. The truth is that is just something that I hate spending my time doing, I get antsy and I'd rather be out living than making you think that my life looks perfectly retouched all the time on the internet, so welcome to real life cooking with me. Notes for a successful 7 fishes gathering! Make a few of the menu items cold plates, that way you can prep them the night before. You could also host this pot luck style and have people bring a fish dish. I recommend planning what kinds of fish you want beforehand and assigning so you don't get doubles. Here is the menu that I chose and of course added extra things here and there, fruit and cheese platters, a small side of chicken Parmesan for the folks that can't do that much fish, side salads, and bread. Menu 1. Oyster Cheese Log & Crackers 2. Crab Dip & Bread 3. Smoked Salmon 4. Shrimp Platter 5. Tuna Pasta Salad 6. Lemon Butter Scallops 7. Red Clam Sauce I have made the Oyster Cheese Log two years in a row and it is always a hit as an appetizer with white wine or champagne. You wouldn't necessarily think that when you hear oyster and cheese in the same sentence, but I did have people come up to ask me for the recipe so I feel confident in sharing this with you. List of Ingredients 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened 2 tablespoons steak sauce 1/4 cup Mayonnaise 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 cans (3-3/4 ounces each) smoked oysters, well-drained and chopped 3 cups chopped pecans 3 tablespoons chili powder Minced fresh parsley Here we go! Finely chop 1 small onion and 1 clove of garlic, 2 cloves if you like a little more pizzazz like me. In your mixer combine 3 packages of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons steak sauce, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 small onion, and 1-2 cloves garlic. Give it a twirl. Now for the 2 cans smoked oysters! Peel off the lid and drain into the sink and lay them out on a cutting board. Pat them down very well until they are just barely moist. Chop them up finely and put them into the cream cheese mix that should still be hanging out in your mixer. Then chop up 1 cup of pecans and toss that in there too, now blend! Once it's all nicely mixed in together, dump out your mixture and roll them into two even logs. Give them a little pat and send them on their way to chill in the fridge. Back to the cutting board. Chop the other 2 cups of pecans, sprinkle in 2-3 tablespoons of chili powder, and minced parsley to your liking. Smooth the pecans, chili powder, and parsley out over the cutting board and bring out the chilled logs to be dressed. Roll each one in the mixture, set up a plate, and sprinkle a bit more parsley on top for a job well done! So, so simple and this makes a great appetizer while people are standing around chatting and having a glass of wine. Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to celebrate feast days. Mangia! Mangia! & Merry Christmas Y'all! From His Girl Sunday To you and yours

For the Feast of Seven Fishes this year I was in charge of shrimp and because I love this tradition so much I couldn't help myself and made three different kinds. In the midst of getting a little carried away I went ahead and made one of my family's favorites, bacon wrapped shrimp, which kind of breaks the no meat point of the feast... oops. Mea Culpa x3! I feel that once the bacon hits your lips you will forgive me too. ☺️ The menu this year was absolutely delicious and we teamed up as a family to make it all happen. Sea Bass Asparagus Crab Dip White Clam Sauce Steamed Mussels Seared Scallops Bacon Wrapped Shrimp & Garlic Parmesan Shrimp Cocktail Fried Calamari Here are some picture highlights! Garlic Parmesan Shrimp Cocktail with Marinara Dip Clam Sauce Sea Bass I would highly recommend doing the Feast of Seven Fishes as a potluck style meal, just assign people the fish you want them to bring. You could also do what the Aquila family does and everyone just gather in the kitchen and make a dish. Last year I made the feast for a group at our parish and did it myself! If you are in that situation I would encourage you to choose some cold fish plates to make the night before to help lighten the load. Here is tutorial I did for a cheese log that was a big hit! https://www.hisgirlsunday.com/post/feast-of-seven-fishes-oyster-cheese-log-recipe Prep Time: 15 minutes Bake Time: 12 minutes Broil Time: 3 minutes Yields: 20-25 pieces The Gang 1 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined is preferable 1 package of thick-cut bacon 4 tbsp butter 2 tbsp maple syrup 1 tbsp chili powder toothpicks Directions Start by peeling and deveining the shrimp, as you can see mine are a little on the small side because we are technically out of shrimp season here in Texas. You could also buy peeled and deveined shrimp but my family usually does that by hand so I always go that route. Note: I made as much of the bacon and shrimp as I could but to use the rest I made a meatless option by sautéing the shrimp in lemon, butter, and garlic then topped it with parsley. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil, don't forget the foil or you will be angrily washing that cookie sheet later! If your shrimp are small like mine you can cut the strips of bacon into fourths, if the shrimp are a little larger cut the bacon into thirds. Wrap each piece of shrimp tightly with the bacon pieces and secure them with a toothpick and place them on the foiled baking sheet. In a small bowl you are going to prepare the maple glaze. Start by melting 4 tablespoons of butter in a glass bowl and make sure it is covered with a paper towel. Let's just say it got a little crazy over here and butter went everywhere. Usually I wouldn't complain because I love butter as much as the next southern woman but it was such a pain to clean up. Have a mentioned that I am just a regular ol' wife that enjoys cooking good food but I'm no star baker and that's why I waaayyyy overheat butter? 😂 Pour in 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Then sprinkle in 1 tablespoon chili powder! Stir together and brush about half the mixture over the shrimp. Bake for about 12 minutes or until shrimp is cooked. Then brush again with the butter mixture and broil for 3 minutes to give it that nice crisp texture! Now put the bacon on a pretty dish and watch the shrimp fly off the plate! This is no joke, within minutes of me setting it down they were all gone. I would say that's a success! Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to celebrate feast days. Praying for you as we build tradition together!

This recipe was passed down to us and is a family favorite. It's perfect for cut out cookies that are meant to be decorated, we use this for just about every holiday. As most handed down recipes, it came to us with no directions, so it is basically the Great British Baking Show up in here! After several tries I finally came to perfect it and feel good about sharing with you. I have used this recipe for St. Valentine's Day, Easter, All Hallows' Eve, Christmas, and other special feast days so this one is just great to have on hand year round. Why I love this recipe! The cookies hold their shape. If stored properly, they will stay soft for days. They are soft in the center but have a crisp edge. They are flavorful, hence why I use almond and vanilla extract. The mystery ingredient, cream of tartar, is what gives them a soft and chewy texture. Here are some general tips and tricks for baking the perfect sugar cookie. Use salted butter, this will help balance out the sweetness of the cookie. If you have unsalted on hand like I did, just add a little bit of salt into the recipe. Roll out your dough so that it is roughly 1/4 inch thick, this is how you get that soft center. Don't overwork the dough, when it's overworked it will balloon in the oven and then deflate before you can even decorate them. Chill the dough, you can even chill them again after using the cookie cutters, doing this helps them to keep their shape. Bake on parchment paper or a cookie tray mat, this makes it much easier to transfer your cookies and also allows for a quicker clean up. Prep Time: 25 minutes Bake Time: 8-10 minutes Yields: 18-20 cookies The Ingredients 1 1/2 c. 10x sugar 1 c. butter 1 egg at room temperature 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. almond 2 1/2 c. flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cream tartar 1/2 tsp. salt Begin by putting 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter into the stand mixer. Sprinkle in 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar and cream together. You may have to use a baking spatula to scrape down the edges of the bowl and then continue creaming together. This process is a lot easier if the butter is at room temperature. Add in one room temperature egg to the mixture. Pour in 1/2 tsp almond extract. Then add in 1 tsp vanilla extract. If you can spring for pure vanilla try that, you will get a lot more flavor. Beat together until combined, but don't over do it here. Set your wet mixture aside and put 2 1/2 cups flour in a mixing bowl. Walk away for two seconds to grab a towel and come back to find finger prints in the flour. This was done by an adult... I have no other words. Measure out 1 tsp Cream of Tartar and add to the flour. Add in 1 tsp baking soda. Lastly, throw in 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk your dry ingredients together and then slowly pour into the wet ingredients with the mixer on. Mix until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and then transfer your ball of dough back into a mixing bowl and cover with cling wrap to chill. Your dough should not be a sticky texture but pliable and even a little bit crumbly. Voila! This little baby is ready to go to the refrigerator. I recommend letting it chill for 2-3 hours or if you're like me and a million little things come up, let it chill overnight and get to them tomorrow. Day two of baking, here we go! Preheat the oven to 375 and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats. Let the dough sit out for about 5 minutes or so to lightly soften. Flour a rolling pin as well as the counter top and roll out the cookie dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. I love using this gingerbread man and woman, they were mine from childhood so I enjoy getting to continue the tradition. Bake at 375 for about 8-10 minutes depending on your oven. While you're letting the cookies cool you can make your own frosting or if you're like me you can dye store bought frosting. I buy lots of little candies and sprinkles to have fun with and they always turn out so cute, perfect for wrapping up and gifting to friends or the neighbors. Enjoy these treats and have yourself a delicious little feast day! Did you make this recipe? If so I would love to see it, drop a picture in the comment or send it to me on social media Facebook @HisGirlSunday. For more liturgical living resources check out the blog section of my website or follow me on Facebook to see what Catholic things I am doing to make our day to day life more joyful. Praying for you as we journey to Heaven together, one feast day, and cookie, at a time!