Collection: Shop by Month

You can go out for Japanese food, but today’s also a great day to try making it yourself at home! Homemade sushi can feel intimidating, but this easy sheet pan recipe is foolproof. Plus, it’s a fun activity for kids! Don’t like imitation crab? Feel free to substitute with cooked fish, shrimp, or even beef (as long as it’s not a Friday)!

Traditional Catholic prayers, Bible passages, songs, and devotions for the month of the Holy Name!

The word Agnes means “lamb” in Latin, so she’s usually pictured holding a lamb. To celebrate, you could make a lamb cake . . . but those turn out creepy, like, 90% of the time. That’s kind of their charm. But you can make a slightly-less-weird-looking Rice Krispie Lamb in a fraction of the time. Everyone wins! Let a kid do the sculpting and then you won’t have to take credit for your lamb’s looks. #momhack

Saint Lucy was a fourth-century virgin martyr, denounced as a Christian by a disappointed suitor. Her tortures are said to have included having her eyes gouged out, and in images she is often shown holding her eyes on a plate. Saint Lucy saffron buns (also known as lussekatter) are traditionally enjoyed on her feast day. If this isn’t the year for from-scratch bread-making, try this simple cheater version using canned cinnamon roll dough!

Today we celebrate that Mary was miraculously preserved from the stain of Original Sin! And what better way to reflect on the purity of our Blessed Mother than with all white foods! This dish is the perfect way to remember her Immaculate Conception, and enjoy added chicken–instead of fish–for the solemnity, too!

Traditional Catholic prayers, Bible passages, songs, and devotions for the month of the Blessed Virgin!

Meditate on the Sorrows the Virgin Mary endured in the suffering and death of Jesus with this illustrated Servite rosary.

Our family's favorite activity for the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is to read the passages of the Bible that relate to the seven sorrows of Our Lady, while eating sour fruit or candies, and trying NOT to make sour faces!

Here’s a fun party game to play on Our Lady’s birthday this year! Gather your family and friends and follow the clues to find Marian items around your home and yard.

Traditional Catholic prayers, Bible passages, songs, and devotions for the month of the Precious Blood!

Traditional Catholic prayers, Bible passages, songs, and devotions for the month of the Holy Family!

Luke 8:1-3 tells us that Mary Magdalene was healed by Jesus of seven evil spirits. As a reminder of that, we like to include 7UP on our feast day table. And, because my mom was raised in the South, I know that an excellent way to include more 7UP at a party is with a traditional Southern 7UP pound cake. This recipe is adapted from a 7UP company promotional recipe pamphlet, published in 1953.

I was pretty excited to learn that there was in fact a traditional pastry meant to be eaten on Good Friday, and considered so Catholic that their sale was forbidden by decree of Elizabeth I (not a fan of Catholics). When I first looked up the recipe, they seemed awfully sweet and tasty for such a somber day. However, my love of tradition won out and now, I actually think their deliciousness adds to the mortification of having them for a collation. We WANT to eat ten of them, but we only eat two (and they are small). If you prefer, you can omit the icing cross and instead cut a cross into the top of each bun before baking.

Work your brain with this word search featuring words from St. Monica and St. Augustine's story!

Use this download for the entire month of August!

I don’t know if Carlo ever combined his favorite treats (Nutella and ice cream) into a sundae, but I decided to try it, and it’s . . . amazing. But only for special occasions.

Michaelmas is another of our “featured” family feast days. There’s just so much fun, food, and conversation to be had around the archangels, and specifically about St. Michael’s defeat of the devil.

Use this digital download to help your family have a conversation about things you think should be changed around your home on the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, on April 29th!

These fun platters can be made to any size, for a few or a crowd. My first exposure to them was when a friend brought a couple to a party we hosted, and they were a bit hit. They can be made with any red/orange/yellow fruits and veggies you prefer.

The husband was raised in Chicago, and our family spent a couple years living there. Portillo’s Hot Dogs is a popular local restaurant chain famous for hot dogs, beef sandwiches, and . . . cake shakes. This is—yes—a milkshake into which is blended a whole piece of chocolate cake! Portillo’s moist chocolate cake is made in-house with a box mix supplemented with mayonnaise. It sounds crazy, but it tastes amazing. And since mayo is just eggs + oil, it’s not really all that off. The association with Blessed Alvaro del Portillo is mostly just a coincidence of names, but it’s also a Chicago thing. Blessed Alvaro visited Chicago in 1988, famously leaving behind a pair of shoes that were saved by a priest at the residence and, after Blessed Alvaro’s beatification, cut up into tiny pieces and attached to holy cards. I don’t know if anyone in Chicago took him out for a hot dog and a cake shake during his visit, but one can hope!

St. Catherine was born and raised in Siena, a city located in Tuscany. Her life and legacy are deeply intertwined with the region, and she is considered the patron saint of Italy, alongside St. Francis of Assisi. Although we can neither confirm nor deny that St. Catherine’s mom prepared this very meal for her 25 children, we can still enjoy this simple yet flavorful creamy Tuscan sauce with bread, rice, pasta, or creamy mashed potatoes in her honor to celebrate today’s feast!

Pretzels are more fun when you have something to dip them in! While your pretzels bake, throw together this quick and tasty sauce featuring two main ingredients: beer and cheese. Historically cheese and other animal products were given up during Lent, but—perhaps surprisingly—beer was traditionally part of a Lenten diet. Some orders of monks fasted on beer only, with the express permission of the pope! This recipe combines the two into a tasty (and meat-free) Lenten snack!

These tasty flatbreads are quick and easy and make an excellent side for curries and any meal that needs a “pusher.” They’re great with dips or folded and filled with sandwich fixins. They are relatively flat, but allowed to rise (chametz again). A more authentic addition to a Passover meal would be store-bought or homemade matzo bread (more like crackers).

Saint Blaise is the patron saint against throat ailments. What better way to remember this saint all year long than with this tasty and effective, all-natural throat soothing concoction? It’s time-tested, simple, and convenient. The jars are so pretty, they make great gifts for teachers and co-workers.

Your calendar medallions for the month of March!

Any type of tea bag or a combination of teas can be used. Traditional Southern sun tea is usually made with a black tea blend, like Lipton. Herbal teas are also great, though. I’m partial to Raspberry Zinger, myself.

St. Josephine is the patron saint of Sudan, one of the world’s top exporters of peanuts. So why not make Sudanese peanut macaroons? These delicious little bites taste more like meringue than a French macaroon, and capture the sweet and salty history of St. Josephine’s life as a child forced into the slave trade. The horrors she endured are all true. But it’s also true that she found peace and happiness for the last fifty years of her life, through God and forgiveness and service to others and her Catholic faith. St. Josephine, pray for us!

Apparently, in many European countries, the traditional dinner for the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, was a whole suckling pig. To remind us of motherhood? I guess? That sounds very dramatic, and I’m sure it would make quite an impression on my kids if I were to pull one of those babies (literally) out of the oven while everyone is hanging out watching football. Maybe one of these years I’ll give it a try. In the meantime I think a corn dog is a reasonable approximation!

Decorate for the month of the Sacred Heart with this banner which includes all of the Hearts of the Holy Family!

Enthrone the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts in your home for the month of June with this Diptych! Simply cut out, fold, and place in a spot of honor. The prayer on the back by Saint John Eudes is perfect to pray throughout the month too!

Traditional Catholic prayers, Bible passages, songs, and devotions for the month of the Blessed Sacrament!

Traditional Catholic prayers, Bible passages, songs, and devotions for the month of the Sacred Heart!

Saint Anne is one of MANY patron saints of lacemaking, which, I guess, seems complicated enough to warrant that. These cookies, on the other hand, are pretty straightforward. And quite tasty. Almond flour is available in the baking aisle of my local grocery store, but can also be created by pulsing sliced blanched almonds in a food processor until they make a crumbly flour. Lace cookies can be enjoyed as is, or, after cooling, brushed on the bottom with a coat of chocolate.

The legends about St. George and the dragon date back to the thirteenth century. The story goes that there was a pagan city called Silene, which had a lake that was inhabited by a terrible, venomous dragon. One day, when he happened to be passing by, St. George picked up a princess who had been chosen as an offering to the dragon so it wouldn’t destroy everything in sight. But, when the dragon dared to show its head, brave St. George made the sign of the cross and smote the dragon with his spear, Ascalon, and threw the dragon to the ground. So today, enjoy these metaphorically slayed dragon noodles, and remember the importance of calling on Christ in your most trying times. He will always come to your aid!

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

This is the beloved Tierney Family Irish Soda Bread recipe, perfected on the Southside of Chicago and enjoyed at many a Saint Paddy’s Day Hooley. Enjoy it slathered with Irish butter.

There is a long history in the Church of fasting before major feast days. In fact, until 1983, the Christmas Eve fast was still binding, which meant that on Christmas Eve Catholics would eat one regular meal, and two small meals (technically called collations), all meat-free. It’s no longer binding, but we’ve found it works for us to have a collation breakfast and lunch and then a festive, memorable, meat-free dinner.

This recipe is almost the same as the one I use for Saint Bartholomew Skinned Chicken and Biscuits. It also makes a lovely chicken pot pie filling, by the way. Recipes called Chicken à la King (or the like in other languages) have appeared in cookbooks since as early as 1665, mostly without specific recipes, so there’s no way to know if they are similar to what we now know by that name. There’s also no indication that anyone but me associates the dish with the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. But there’s also no indication that they don’t . . . In any case, this is a lovely comfort food dish, great for cool evenings, and beloved by my kids and nieces and nephews. It can be served over noodles, rice, biscuits, or even waffles!

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