Shrimp Scampi vs Meatloaf (Lenten recipe planning to get around intent of Church law)

[Little_Mary]

Grilled cheese and tomato soup

RAmen soup and cheese toast (just to get a break from the grilled cheese )

Scrambled eggs

I love soup - all the lenten soups listed are good choices.

 

[Lady_Cygnus]

My mom says the fish is a sacrifice because you have to PAY for it

Since I live alone I tend to buy one large piece of salmon, chop it up into small steaks and freeze. Then on Friday I pull one out, sqirt with lemon, add salt and pepper and fry. Now I like this, but I also like meat, so it is a kind of sacrifice (especially when I have manicotti and chinese food in the fridge )

Growing up we often had Pasta Vazool on Fridays during lent. A great soup, quick and easy, but it gets boring after the third week.

Recipie for Pasta Vazool (which I can’t find anywhere else)
2 large cans of tomatoes (we did one puree and one crushed)
2 cans of Northern Beans or Chick Peas (I prefer the former)
The following spices to taste:
Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Onion, Garlic, Salt & Pepper (In approx quantity order from about 1/4 cup to heaping teaspoon)

Cook for about an hour…or soish
Add cooked elbow Mac
Serve

 

[puzzleannie]

Morning Glory:

But nothing can beat homemade Mac and Cheese. Since I don’t make it that well, I usually skip it.

Stoffers makes great vegetable lasagna. Just pop in the oven.

?

stouffers also makes the best mac and cheese, better than I can make myself, and it comes, like the lasagna, now in the large food-service size, Sams and walmart usually have it.

the bean and lentil based soups are great ideas, with a salad and interesting bread you are good to go.

I saw a great salmon recipe at the local coffee house of all places, pesto encrusted salmon. I tried it with frozen salmon filets and steaks, but because it is frozen it sputters a lot when it cooks and messed up my oven. I will use fresh next time. Just buy pesto in a jar, or in the deli, spread it on top of the fish and bake until fish is done and pesto gets brown and crunchy around the edges. this was served with asparagus and red bell pepper sauteed and topped with chopped pecans. this does not sound penitential, does it.

asparagus is a spring veggie that is a great base for meatless sauces and eggs.

 

[Al_Masetti]

I was in the process of raiding the fridge, and had a brilliant idea about mortification of the flesh vis-a-vis food and fasting and etc.

How about this: inventory what’s in the fridge and eat the leftover stuff that nobody else wants to eat. It would save money, clean up the clutter, NOT waste any food, and give the opportunity to make some sort of sacrifice. AND don’t tell anyone about the scintillating source of sacrifice. Just between you and God.

When I raided the fridge, I found some old grape jelly. Way in the back. I hate grape jelly. And this jar had some “freezer burn” on it. (It wasn’t in the freezer.) And I found some “older” crackers. Voila.

[Where appropriate, the addition of Melindas hot sauce is permitted. Tho’ not with grape jelly.]

[If I’m not on line tomorrow, you’ll know why! – unless it’s because the overdue library book police came for me!]

 

[GoldenArrow]

One priest friend said that if you want to engage in mortification of the flesh, then EAT YOUR VEGETABLES. Force yourself to eat well balanced meals.

You don’t know real penance until you’ve eaten Lemon Merangue Pie. Oh my Gosh! Last time I ate it was in college. I went to a fellow student’s grandmother’s house for dinner and the grandmother brought out this pie. It was covered with white stuff, so I didn’t see the lemon. She asked if I wanted some and I said yes. She cut into it, I saw the yellow, and was praying that it be the second-most revolting flavor in the world next to lemon-merangue–bananna.

I took a bite, and my worst fears were realized. It was Lemon Merangue! I forced myself to eat it quickly, each swallow holding back projectile vomit, and the grandmother (who was just the sweetest old lady in the world) looked at me proudly and said, “Do you like it?”

I said, trying to put on a joyful face, “Oh, very much. It’s very good.”

Then she says, “Great! Here’s another piece.” Before I could stop her, she slaps a second piece of Lemon Merangue pie onto my plate. I ate that, too, but more slowly, so that by the time I was finished the pie was gone. I wouldn’t have been able to down a third.

I went home and puked my guts out! Oh! YUCK!!! Nasty, nasty stuff.

Note: my taste for food is somewhat reversed, for one of my favorite meals is spinach—straight out of a can. It’s better if microwaved first. Yummy! I used to buy canned spinach at the local market (as a kid) instead of candy. So … I am the exception to the rule. HA!

 

[contemplative]

This soup recipe comes from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Bro. Victor-Anoine d’Avila-Latourrette

Hermit Soup

Ingredients
1 potato
1 turnip
half a small cabbage
1 onion
3 tablespoons of oil choice
1/3 cup of rice 2 quarts of water
salt and a pinch of thyme to taste

1. Wash and trim the vegetables. Cut and slice all of them into tiny pieces.
2. Pour oil into soup pot, add the vegetable, and saute’ them for a few minutes. Add the rice and water. Stir well. Keeping the pot covered, cook over low heat for 1 hour. Add the salt and thyme just before serving. stir well and serve hot.

The very nature of this soup is none of great simplicity and frugality, expressing the life of hermit. This life is one that, in the words of Saint Paul, is “hidden with Christ in God.” The hermit monk makes use of basic root vegetables for this soup, such as turnip, carrot, and onions. Added to these are the inexpensive ingredients of cabbage and rice. This soup can be made in suffiecient quantities to last for a few days.

(I’ve made this soup several times. I’ll be glad to share more of these recipes in the near future.)

 

[beckyann2597]

GoldenArrow:

You don’t know real penance until you’ve eaten Lemon Merangue Pie.

HaHaHA!

I actually like lemon marange pie, but my step mother offered me a peice of her home made version and I had the same experience as you! It was AWFUL!!!

 

[asquared]

Al Masetti:

I
How about this: inventory what’s in the fridge and eat the leftover stuff that nobody else wants to eat. It would save money, clean up the clutter, NOT waste any food, and give the opportunity to make some sort of sacrifice. AND don’t tell anyone about the scintillating source of sacrifice. Just between you and God.

!]

if I tried that I would kill somebody, but it would be a good excuse to clean the fridge. seriously, what I did do recently when revamping my shopping list for new diet, was inventory everything in the freezer, and planned my meals to use everything up. I can’t buy any more chicken, fish, veggies etc. until I use up what is there, whether it appeals to me or not. some of this stuff I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought it. why do I keep buying hummus when I can’t stand it without pita chips, but I can’t eat bread? I will use it up in a sauce of somekind, probably over spinach souffle (frozen, has been in there for months) with fried red peppers, garlic, trying for a Greek thingy.

 

[Al_Masetti]

GoldenArrow:

You don’t know real penance until you’ve eaten Lemon Merangue Pie. Oh my Gosh! Last time I ate it was in college. I went to a fellow student’s grandmother’s house for dinner and the grandmother brought out this pie. It was covered with white stuff, so I didn’t see the lemon. She asked if I wanted some and I said yes. She cut into it, I saw the yellow, and was praying that it be the second-most revolting flavor in the world next to lemon-merangue–bananna.

I took a bite, and my worst fears were realized. It was Lemon Merangue! I forced myself to eat it quickly, each swallow holding back projectile vomit, and the grandmother (who was just the sweetest old lady in the world) looked at me proudly and said, “Do you like it?”

I said, trying to put on a joyful face, “Oh, very much. It’s very good.”

Then she says, “Great! Here’s another piece.” Before I could stop her, she slaps a second piece of Lemon Merangue pie onto my plate. I ate that, too, but more slowly, so that by the time I was finished the pie was gone. I wouldn’t have been able to down a third.

I went home and puked my guts out! Oh! YUCK!!! Nasty, nasty stuff.

Note: my taste for food is somewhat reversed, for one of my favorite meals is spinach—straight out of a can. It’s better if microwaved first. Yummy! I used to buy canned spinach at the local market (as a kid) instead of candy. So … I am the exception to the rule. HA!

Lemon Merangue Pie was always my #1 favorite!!!

 

[contemplative]

Another soup recipe from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Bro. Victor-Anoine d’Avila-Latourrette

Bread and Milk Soup

Ingredients

4 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of flour
1 quart of milk (more if necessary)
1 small onion finely chopped
4 slices of bread cut into quarters (French or Italian…not the mushy pastey pre-sliced plastic wrapped stuff)
salt and pepper to taste
one beaten egg
1/2 cup of chopped parsley or chervil

1 Melt butter in a soup pot. Add the flour and half a cup of milk, stirring all the time.

1. Add the onion and the rest of the milk. Bring the soup to a boil. Add the bread and seasonings and simmer the soup for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
2. When the soup is done, add the beaten egg and blend thoroughly. Sprinkle with the fresh parsley. Serve hot.

 

[contemplative]

If you go to this Amazon.com address you will see Bro. Victor’s book. Use the “Look Inside” feature there and discover 12 or so recipes free for the taking. Take a look at the table of contents to get an idea of what else there is in his cookbook.

 

[puzzleannie]

MIL reminds me of another humble lenten recipe,

Colcannon
(Irish, her dad used to make to feed his 10 kids, whose mother died when MIL was 10).
Mashed potatoes according to your usual recipe, but beat an egg or two into the hot potatoes
cabbage sliced across the grain so you get long “threads”, or grated if you prefer
fry the cabbage in butter or oil of choice
mix the cabbage into the potatoes
this is supposed to be one of those dishes that fills the kids up and prevents stomachs from growling.

we have a couple of variations our family likes.
make colcannon as above, but put it in a casserole or 9x13 pan, top with grated cheese and put under the broiler, or just in a hot oven, for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts.

Confetti Potatoes
variation, instead of cabbage:
boil a couple of carrots with the potatoes, drain
mash the potatoes as usual
also steam some broccoli crowns until soft enough to chop
chop the carrots and broccoli finely
add to the mashed potatoes instead of the cabbage
this makes a pretty orange and green speckled dish, pretty served in a white bowl.

Leeky Potatoes
clean, slice and fry leeks and add them to the mashed potatoes, this is best with plenty of butter, and make the mashed potatoes with real cream or at least half and half.

bakes stuffed squash.
another humble dish with winter veggies, that is pretty when made in a pyrex 3 quart casserole
cut an acorn or butternut squash in two, place halves cut side down in a greased cake pan with about an inch of hot water, bake at 3:50 for a half hour, or until you can stick a fork in the thickest part, let it cool, scoop it out, discard the skin. mash it with a little butter and nutmeg.
meanwhile, cook 4 potatoes and rice or mash with butter, salt and pepper.
cook a 10 oz package of frozen spinach and drain well.

layer in a glass casserole, greased with butter:
squash on the bottom, spinach in the middle, potato on top.
spread a couple of pats of butter on top, and add bread crumbs if desired, or sprinkle with paprika
bake for 15 minutes, just until hot and a little crispy on top.
DH likes this with an additional layer of stove-stop stuffing, or stuffing I made with stale bread crumbs, diced celery and onions, or you can use the stuffing instead of the mashed potatoes.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

puzzleannie:

MIL reminds me of another humble lenten recipe,

Colcannon
QUOTE]

Wow, Annie, I had never heard of this dish until this week and your post is the FOURTH TIME I’VE READ OF IT!!! This is obviously a sign of some kind, some kind of urgent summons, some revelation!
I must try Colcannon!!!

 

[DaveBj]

Friday night is a 13-hour work shift for me, which is its own kind of penance. For a while I was going meatless, eating mac-and-cheese with a can of Mexicorn, a big dollop of Cheez Whiz for extra cheese, and a heaping teaspoon of curry powder–yum. Then for while I’m at work, a can of Campbell’s veg-veg soup.

However, I went back to meated Fridays. Technically I’m exempt, because I will turn 60 in a few months. However, I do perform a rather lengthy extra penance while I’m at work.

When Lent comes, I’m planning to go back to meatless, and I have a couple of other mortifications planned as well.

DaveBj

 

[Hesychios]

Eastern Christians traditionally fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, and fish is not on the menu!

From an Orthodox website:

Fasting is integrally related to prayer and acts of charity. When Orthodox Christians integrate these three things into their daily activity, they are like vigilant sentinels, anticipating the man of eternity, who goes beyond himself to God. The whole man, body and soul, participates in the act of fasting. The body’s participation in the spiritual exercise (ascesis) is sought not through suffering and affliction, but in endurance through abstention and resistance to distractions.

• The rules concerning fasting generally refer to the number of meals taken daily and the type of food that is permitted. On an ascending scale, the severity of the fast is measured as follows: *

1. 
   *]abstention from meat (the least severe);
   *]abstention also from animal products, such as eggs, milk, butter, and cheese;
   *]abstention from fish and;
   *]abstention from oil and wine.
   • The fewer meals taken daily also indicates the severity of the fast. The most severe fast is called “dry eating” (xerophagia), and consists in the consumption of water, bread, juices, honey, nuts, and in a less severe form fruits and boiled vegetables.
   *Note: the Friday Fast is generally regarded as severe as #3 above (it includes 1 and 2). However, human nature being what it is, we recognize that these are goals that we will strive to attain, but not absolutes. Strict observance may not be possible, that does not automatically mean it has become a sin, guidance from a spiritual director is best.
   
   Those of us who wish to strive for a life-long strict observance of Christian discipline may opt for a monastic vocation. It is much more difficult to do in the context of a family in the world.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

Got this from the Armenian Church in America (Orthodox):

armenianchurch.org/worship/lent/fasting.html

SCROLL DOWN. The recipes are toward the bottom of the page.

I have cousins who are part Armenian (and part Irish). If you want simple, but aren’t a fan (or the kids and hubby aren’t fans) of mac n cheese or tuna casserole, try Armenian. I highly recommend SumpoogovPrinzi Yenghintz.

 

[Al_Masetti]

I’m stuffed.

Filled up on a 50% off can of peanuts (buy one, get one free) and a can of fruit cocktail that I had a coupon for.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

Lady Cygnus:

Growing up we often had Pasta Vazool on Fridays during lent. A great soup, quick and easy, but it gets boring after the third week.

Recipie for Pasta Vazool (which I can’t find anywhere else)
2 large cans of tomatoes (we did one puree and one crushed)
2 cans of Northern Beans or Chick Peas (I prefer the former)
The following spices to taste:
Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Onion, Garlic, Salt & Pepper (In approx quantity order from about 1/4 cup to heaping teaspoon)

Cook for about an hour…or soish
Add cooked elbow Mac
Serve

That’s because the Italian spelling is Fagoli. Go figure. It’s like capicola is “gobagool”.
soup.allrecipes.com/AZ/PastaFagioli.asp

 

[Lady_Cygnus]

OutinChgoburbs:

That’s because the Italian spelling is Fagoli. Go figure. It’s like capicola is “gobagool”.
soup.allrecipes.com/AZ/PastaFagioli.asp

Ah ok. That actually makes sense in a way. My mom’s grandparents would have pronounced it Fagol, since the cut off the endings in their dialect. From there to Vazool is only a small jump.

Ah the joys of Italian-American Slang

 

[wjp984]

I must admit abstaing from meat is not much of a sacrifice. Usually means going for sushi which I think is a good meal that I would go out for anyways. Or then there is the restaurant Red Lobster. Again not much of a sacrifice. But it is within the rules of church teaching which is all that matters. If they changed it to abstaing from meat and only spending a meager amount of money then I would follow that.