Collection: Less than $12

What to do with all that lovely stock you just made? Turn it into a simple and infinitely customizable soup. For a quick dinner option, I use two 10-12 ounce packages of frozen seasoned vegetables, and a 1 pound bag of frozen meatballs. It’s also great with fresh or leftover veggies and leftover chicken or other meat. Leftover rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes can be mixed in. Use fish, shrimp, shellfish, or a mix of canned beans for a meat-free soup for Friday Soup & Stations.

This is really just stock or bone broth, but my kids like to call it “trash can soup” because the stock is made entirely from things we would have otherwise thrown away. It’s free. It’s an authentically “whole” way to eat. It’s a natural way to reduce food waste. It was a usual practice for our ancestors. Most importantly, it’s tasty and nourishing and straightforward to make.

Print these outlines to accommodate extra crafters for the Straw Star of Bethlehem activity in the December 2023 liturgical box.

Your original 2" calendar medallions for the month of December!

All the saint of the day images for the month of December!

The Magnificat, also known as the Canticle of Mary, is taken from Luke 1:46-55. Use this page to decorate, and—if the family doesn’t already know it—practice and learn the prayer by heart this month.

Your original 2" calendar medallions for the month of August!

This recipe can be prepared with a rotisserie chicken, or any other cooked chicken. Canned or from-scratch biscuits can be substituted for Bisquick biscuits.

A fun food/activity for the Transfiguration is making toad-in-the-hole. (This is the American egg-in-toast version, not the English sausages-in-batter version.)

Fresh, homemade corn tortillas are WORLDS away from their crumbly store-bought counterparts. And they're a fun activity to do with kids.

Celebrate the birthday of the Church with a festive cake! We recommend a white cake with red frosting or fruit on top. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can add twelve candles for the apostles and seven strawberry hearts for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Consider adding the twelve fruits of the Spirit somewhere, too, using fruit or frosting!

The symbols of Pentecost are wind, fire, and a dove! Although a dove isn’t specifically mentioned in Acts, it recalls the imagery at Jesus’ baptism: “After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him” (Matthew 3:16 RSCVE).

Rome–we mean Roam–in the footsteps of Ss. Peter and Paul as they spread Jesus’ message and established the beginning of the Church.

Through Our Lady of Fatima, God wants to share his message of mercy on the whole world. She will help and guide us, but we need to respond by living Christ-centered lives and fulfilling the requests she made for prayer and penance. Let’s start with this beautiful prayer card!

Celebrate the feast of Saint Agnes by praying the prayer on the back of this holy card and by displaying her image for the day!

Saint Sebastian is a patron saint of soldiers and athletes. This illustration is based on artist Marco Palmezzano’s work Saint Sebastian.

Throughout his life, even as a child, Saint Martin de Porres could be found giving what he had to those in need. Throughout November collect coins in this box for those in need in your community!

Find the letters of Jesus’ name in this bowl of soup! To learn more of titles of honor of Jesus, look up and pray the Litany of the Holy Name.

All the saint of the day images for the month of May!

All the saint of the day images for the month of July!

Because St. Joseph worked with his hands, we like to highlight finger foods on his feast day! Get the whole family involved with making these easy appetizer skewers and then enjoy the delicious fruit of your labors at dinner time!

Your original 2" calendar medallions for the month of March!!

The traditional dinner for Michaelmas is goose. But, nine years after I first blogged about being unable to interest my family in the idea of goose, or even procure one if I could, I still . . . haven’t. We have continued to enjoy the compromise of cornish game hens!

In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, Pope Saint John Paul II stated: “the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work. . .” Saint Joseph is held up as a model of such work. Reflect on the gift of labor in your own life and how you can pursue it with his help today–and every day!

Saint George is known for his courage and being a brave warrior. He refused to honor pagan gods, and as a result, eventually died for his Christian beliefs. May we hope to receive this same grace in the face of adversity. Saint George, pray for us!

This silly activity is based on The Donkey of Tarsus, who tells the story of Paul’s conversion from his perspective. You’re sure to laugh as you try to pin Saint Paul to said donkey blindfolded (Jesus did take his sight away for three days). But while you’re at it, don’t also forget to reflect on the goodness of God’s mercy and the miracles he performed while spreading the faith!

This art print features the piece “The Miraculous Translation of the Body of Saint Catherine of Alexandria to Sinai” by Karl von Blaas. Tradition tells us that after her Martyrdom in Rome St. Catherine’s body was carried by angels to the top of Mount Sinai where it was discovered hundreds of years later by the monks who lived in a nearby monastery. Display this print all month long and be inspired by Saint Catherine’s heroic virtue!

While Saint Jerome’s personality was certainly lion-like in many ways, there is also a legend that tells us that Saint Jerome actually befriended a lion! While he was living in the desert, Saint Jerome helped a lion remove thorn in his paw. The lion was so grateful that he became a companion to Saint Jerome for the rest of his life!

Display your print all month long, and don’t forget to say the prayer on the back on the feast of the Transfiguration!

In his Confessions, St. Augustine shares a story from his youth where he and his friends steal pears from a neighbor and then proceed to feed them to the neighborhood pigs, not having been hungry for pears themselves. This pear crisp is a great reminder of how time, good friends, and a whole lotta prayers from mom can help even the most grievous sinner taste the sweet glory of heaven.

St. Anthony died at the age of thirty-five after becoming sick with ergotism, the result of long-term exposure to grains (in his case rye) contaminated with a fungus. The condition is sometimes called “St. Anthony’s Fire.” He was canonized less than a year later. As ergotism has been eradicated in the developed world, I like to boldly serve grilled pastrami and provolone sandwiches, on Italian rye bread, for the day.

Authentic Mexican street tacos are simple, delicious, and easy to make at home.

Saint John’s symbol as one of the four evangelists is an eagle. This is said to symbolize the lofty nature of John’s gospel compared to the other three (synoptic) gospels.

Your calendar medallions for the month of October!

Your calendar medallions for the month of September!

At thirteen years old, Saint Michael the Archangel guided and encouraged Saint Joan to fight evil with good in a series of visions. Gradually, he revealed her mission from God, that she would liberate France from invaders and lead thousands of troops into battle through trust and obedience. She did so bravely, and at the young age of seventeen!

Rogation comes from the root word rogare, meaning to ask, as does the word litany (litaneo), meaning to ask repeatedly. On this traditional day of prayer, we humbly ask God for protection, forgiveness, and good health through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and all the saints using this guide.

Celebrate the feast of Saint Paul Miki by praying the prayer on the back of this holy card and by displaying her image for the day!

St. Luke’s symbol as an evangelist is a winged ox or cow, which is the inspiration for this fun feast day dinner!

Your original 2" calendar medallions for the month of September!