Lockdown Lunch – Potato Soup

It never ceases to amaze me how, no matter what the circumstance, the Holy Spirit is aware and always provides.  A couple of weeks ago, I had driven home from a rehab facility with my sister, who was recovering from surgery. Because of Covid-19 and the possibility of exposure at the Rehab facility, we both went on a 2-week quarantine.  We had all kinds of food options available to enjoy, but my recovering sister basically wanted homemade soups! After having gone through zucchini, butternut squash, vegetable, chicken—I was running out of ideas, until I spotted a few potatoes in a basket. That’s it! And after picking more chives in the back yard for a garnish, we sat down to a delicious lockdown lunch!  

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Lockdown Lunch
SERVINGS
2
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
20
PREP TIME
20
READY IN
40

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Sauté onion and celery until soft and translucent; set aside
  2. Add chopped potatoes to chicken broth in sauce pan, and boil until potatoes are fork tender, about 12 minutes
  3. After cooling for a few minutes, spoon the potatoes into a blender, carefully pouring in some of the hot broth and adding the onion and celery.
  4. When thoroughly blended, pour back into sauce pan. It should be fairly thick at this point. (If it seems a little too thin before adding milk, boil for a few minutes until thickened.) Then add milk or cream to desired consistency.
  5. Add salt and pepper to taste
  6. Blend in ¼ cup of sour cream
  7. Garnish with the rest of sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and chopped chives

A Burst of Italian Flavor – Old World Eggplant Parmigiana

I never expect to see shiny, plump and beautiful eggplant in the grocery store until mid/late summer, but we’ve gotten lucky this year as a booming crop became readily available in our local market (unlike the empty paper towel and toilet paper shelves!) Since this is one of my favorite summer comfort foods, I thought I’d share and old world recipe with you. (If you want to skip a step and use purchased tomato sauce, that’s a great time saving option.)

You might ask why you need to soak your eggplant in salt water first.  This does two things: it draws out any of the bitter juices that can be found in older eggplant and tightens up the flesh, making the eggplant less likely to soak up too much oil when you are frying them. This recipe will make 2 – 9×13″ pans. Since it can be a bit time consuming to make, it enables you to put one pan away in the freezer for another time.

Andiamo a Mangiare!

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Old World Eggplant Parmigiana
SERVINGS
12
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
45minutes
PREP TIME
2hours
READY IN
3hours

Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare the Sauce and Eggplant
  1. Wash eggplant. Remove the top and bottom from the eggplant and slice across into 1/2" rounds (no need to peel) Submerge in a large bowl of cold water with 3 Tbsp Salt. Put a plate across the top of the bowl to keep the eggplant submerged. Let soak 30 min to 1 hr.
  2. Prepare the sauce: In a medium pot on top of the stove, heat the oil and add diced onion and a teaspoon of sugar. Cook over low heat until the onions are translucent and soft.
  3. Add the torn basil leaves, oregano and garlic. Continue cooking for another minute, watching that the garlic doesn't burn. Add the the salt and pepper and the tomatoes and the remaining sugar, if desired.
  4. Continue cooking over low heat until the flavors meld. Let simmer 30 min. Adjust seasonings to taste.
  5. Drain eggplant and dry on paper towels
  6. Mix together the Flour, salt and pepper on one plate. In a second large shallow bowl or pie plate, beat the eggs together.
  7. One at a time, dip the eggplant in the seasoned flour and then in the beaten eggs
  8. Heat oil in a large skillet or fry pan
  9. Fry the eggplants until golden on one side and then turn to continue frying on the other side. Remove to a paper lined sheet pan.
  10. When all the eggplant are fried, you are ready to assemble!
Assemble
  1. Spray two 9X13" pan with PAM spray
  2. Put a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of each pan
  3. Lightly sprinkle with the grated pecorino romano cheese
  4. Layer the eggplant slices - touching but not overlapping
  5. Sprinkle grated mozzarella over
  6. Lightly sprinkle with grated pecorino romano cheese
  7. Continue layering in this order: Sauce Eggplant Pecorino Romano Mozzarella Sauce Eggplant Pecorino Romano Sprinkle Chopped Parsley Mozzarella End with Sauc
  8. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 min. Let rest 10-15 min.

Back to Basics — Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

As Americans unite and pull together during this time of crisis, we find
ourselves going back to basics in lots of areas, including food! With so many
families housebound, both parents and children, “comfort food” can play a
part in helping relieve the stress and increase relaxation. Meatloaf and
mashed potatoes are a great way to go—hearty, simple and sure to be a hit.

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Back to Basics — Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes
SERVINGS
4
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
55
PREP TIME
15
READY IN
1hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Set oven at 350 degrees
  2. In a large bowl, combine beef, panko or bread crumbs, onion, milk, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, herbs, salt and pepper.
  3. With a good sized spoon, mix gently until well combined, without over-handling it, which toughens the meat.
  4. Place the meat mixture in loaf pan.
  5. Combine ketchup, wine vinegar, brown sugar and spread over the top of meatloaf.
  6. Bake uncovered for about 55 minutes or until internal temp reaches 160 degrees.
  7. For those who like the ketchup topping to be a little browned and crispy, put under the broiler, turning it around every few seconds, for about 3-5 minutes
  8. Serve with a scoop of your favorite mashed potatoes!
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Springtime Borscht

Recently, another Sister and I shared our borscht recipes and memories! Like any well-loved food, memories play a part in its enjoyment. Our experiences of eating borscht are different but surprisingly parallel. Sr. Monica spent two months living at a Convent in Estonia when it was still part of the USSR. She has vivid memories of being there as the coup occurred when Gorbachev was still in power. I remember it too, because I was in Poland at the time, singing with our choir, Gloriae Dei Cantores. We had no way to communicate with our Sisters in Estonia since cell phones and e-mail were unavailable to us in 1991. We relied on prayer for their safety.  Often, a particular recipe is a vehicle for comfort, even solace. We have had difficult times in the past, but we know God’s love is available to us. We offer this heartwarming recipe to you, along with our prayers for a healthy spring.

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Springtime Borscht
SERVINGS
8
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
1hour
PREP TIME
4.5hours
READY IN
5.5hours

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Put the meat in a crockpot with 8 cups cold water, red pepper flakes, bay leaves and 1 Tbsp salt. Set on high for 4 hours. Cook until fork tender. Remove meat and strain and reserve the broth. Set aside
  2. While the Beef is cooking, wrap beets in foil and place in a 400 degree oven—roast for 1hr. until fork tender. Cool slightly, but while they are still warm, remove the top, bottom and skin with a pairing knife (skins should come off easily if properly cooked) and either grate or julienne the beets. Set aside.
  3. Heat a large stockpot and add 4 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté onion for 2 min. Add diced potato and sauté another 5 min or until beginning to soften. Add the grated carrot, cabbage and garlic and 2 Tbsp vinegar and sauté for 5 minutes.
  4. Reduce heat to med/low and add the beets, 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 Tbsp tomato paste. Mix thoroughly and add the reserved strained broth and extra 2-3 cups beef broth. (I used' Better than Bouillon' Roasted Beef Base)
  5. Simmer and cover until vegetables are tender. Add the diced, cooked Beef and 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill. Remove from heat and leave covered until flavors meld. Add 1/4 tsp pepper (If desired), and salt to taste. Adjust flavors to taste (you may want to add a bit more vinegar or sugar)
  6. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of fresh dill.

Orange Mirepoix Pork Loin

Over the years, both for guest cooking and for meals at the convent and friary, our cooks are always on the lookout for delicious recipes with a unique twist that are easy to prepare. This special orange pork recipe is one of these! While pork loin can be roasted in the oven — a pan-fried preparation is equally as tasty.

We very much enjoyed this lovely meat course and hope that you will too! Juicy and flavorful, this is a keeper! 

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Orange Mirepoix Pork Loin
SERVINGS
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
15minutes , plus 1 hour stove time
PREP TIME
15minutes
READY IN
1hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan, melt butter on stovetop until it bubbles and becomes frothy.
  2. Add onion, carrot and celery. Sautee until tender.
  3. While vegetables are cooking, season pork loin with salt and pepper.
  4. Push aside vegetables in saucepan, leaving a space in the middle. Place pork loin in middle of pan and sear until brown on all sides, rotating as needed.
  5. Once loin has a good crust on all sides, combine with rest of vegetables. Add orange juice and white wine to pan, cover and cook 1 hour on medium-low heat. Deglaze with water as needed.
  6. Once loin is cooked thoroughly, remove from pan. Add vegetables and juices to blender and combine until smooth.
  7. Rest pork and cut into chops. Return sauce to pan on stove to keep warm.
  8. Serve pork warm with sauce over top and garnish with orange slices if desired.

Shakshouka!

On a recent pilgrimage to Israel, I encountered the cultural phenomenon that is the traditional Israeli breakfast: Fresh vegetable salads, an abundance of fruit, creamy bowls of hummus, smoky eggplant baba ghanouj, borekas, and pastries of every description. The pièce de résistance, however, was the warm and savory shakshouka. Featuring delicately poached eggs, spices and vibrant herbs, I knew I needed to make this when I returned home.

Fun to say (shak-SHOO-kah) and even more fun to prepare, this delicious souvenir from the Holy Land warms me from the inside out!

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Shakshouka!
SERVINGS
6
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
20minutes
PREP TIME
15minutes
READY IN
35minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Warm the oil in an oven-safe skillet (I used cast iron) over medium heat. Once oil shimmers, add onion, bell pepper, and salt. Cook until the onions are translucent.
  2. Add garlic, tomato paste, cumin, and paprika. Cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  3. Add crushed tomatoes with their juices and cilantro. Stir, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
  4. Off the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make a well near the edge of the pan with the back of a spoon and crack the egg into it. Spoon a bit of the tomato mixture over the whites to contain the egg. Repeat with remaining eggs, and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Put the skillet to the oven and bake for 8–12 minutes, checking often after 8 minutes. Cook until the egg whites are an opaque white and the yolks have risen a little but are still soft.
  6. Take the hot skillet out and place on a heat-safe surface. Garnish with fresh cilantro or a crumble of feta and enjoy!