# Saint Stephen + 2 Casseroles + The Hard Lesson Happy 2nd Day of Christmas! Hope you had a blessed Christmas Day! Welcome to Cooking with Catholic History where in each posting we talk about Catholic people and or events and a related topic as well as look one of my personal takes on recipes. This time we’re talking about Saint Stephen, The Hard Lesson (to love like a martyr), and a late gift (to some of you maybe) TWO versions of a cheesy pasta casserole one I made in high-school and what it’s changed to over time with my tastes (and a desire for nutritional balance). ### Saint Stephen Saint Stephen notable among the first appointed deacons in the church. We read about his appointment, facts about him, and his death as the first martyr in Acts 6-7. St. Stephen was filled with faith and the Spirit. God worked many miracles through his preaching and his actions. Eventually his teaching, preaching, and God working through him got him brought before the Jewish leaders. Standing before them St. Stephen recounted for them how in history prophets were always ignored, shunned, or put to death. The teachings of each of these prophets would be on the mind of those who could hear, teachings which Jesus fulfilled. Looking up to Heaven he proclaimed to them that he saw The Son of Man at the right hand of the Father. As their predecessors with the prophets they didn’t want to hear the truths they were being told and under the approval of Saul, who we more commonly refer to as Saint Paul, Stephen was stoned to death. During his stoning Stephen didn’t fight back, he didn’t condemn his attackers. With words like those of Jesus Christ Saint Stephen at the moment of his death asked God to forgive those executing him. Since for some the thought of people being martyred rattles them and I know others that get angry, we don’t need either of those, so in the name of getting ready and working on living our faiths better here’s two comfort food recipes before we go onto what for me is a hard lesson. ## Tex-Mex Casserole (Current “gift”) Cook Time: Servings: 3-4 (maybe more, maybe less) ### Materials & Equipment _Ingredients_ - 2 cups Breaded Chicken (Precooked use your favorite) chopped - 3 cups Whole Wheat Pasta (Precooked use your favorite) - ½ Onion chopped - ½ cup Corn - 1 medium Carrot diced - ½ cup Spinach chopped - 4 oz Firm Tofu diced (Prepared few hours before cooking Explained in recipe) - 2 tbsp Flour - 2 tbsp Butter - 1 cup pepper jack Cheese chopped - 2 cups Mozzarella shredded (split) - 1 cup Shredded Mixed Cheese - 2 tbsp Garlic (split) - 1 tsp Black Pepper - 1 pinch Pinch of salt - 2 tbsp Paprika (split) - 2 tbsp Cumin (split) - 1 tbsp Cayenne (optional-Spicy) - 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional-Spicy) - 1 1/2C Milk - oil for cooking veggies _Equipment_ - oven pre-heated to 350F - Pan for sauce - Casserole Dish (oven safe) - Pot for veggies - 2 plates (for draining tofu) - paper towels (for draining tofu) - weight (for draining tofu I used 2-28oz cans of tomatoes) ### Cooking 01. Drain tofu 02. slice into thin strips 03. place a layer of paper towels on a plate 04. lay slices of tofu on the paper towel 05. lay a layer of paper towels on top of the tofu slices 06. place a plate on top of that 07. put weight on top of the plate 08. Store the now compressing tofu in the fridge for 2 hours to drain the water out, this will allow us to control its flavor, and improve its texture 09. After 2 hours dice, chop, or crumble the tofu 10. in a pot cook the veggies and tofu with a pinch of salt, half the garlic, paprika, & cumin 11. When they’re done cooking add your chopped chicken and cooked pasta mix to combine and move to casserole dish 12. Melt butter in the sauce pan, if you know how to make a roux using butter and flour we’re doing that but also add the remainder of the seasonings 13. once the butter has melted and begins to simmer add flour and the rest of the seasonings mix until the flour is thickened 14. add the milk and mix until the milk thickens 15. add the 1 cup pepper jack Cheese, 1 cup Shredded Mixed Cheese, & 1 cup of the Mozzarella shredded stir a few times then pour into the casserole dish and combine with other ingredients 16. add sprinkle remainder of mozzarella on top 17. bake at 350f for 20-30 minutes or until cheese on top is desired doneness 18. Thank God and enjoy ## “Comfort food Casserole” (Younger me “gift”) ### Materials & Equipment _Ingredients_ - 1 ½ Cups strained Ground beef cooked - 4 Strips of bacon cooked - 4 Cups Cooked Pasta (bowtie, ditalini, or gemelli would be authentic to my teenage years) - 2 tbsp Flour - 2 tbsp Butter - 4 cups Shredded cheese (1 cup set aside) - 1 ½ cups half and half _Equipment_ - Pan for making sauce - Casserole dish (oven safe) - Oven preheated to 350F ### Cooking 01. Preheat oven to 350F 02. Chop or crumble bacon 03. Combine cooked pasta, ground beef, and bacon in casserole dish 04. Melt butter in the sauce pan, if you know how to make a roux using butter and flour we’re doing that 05. once the butter has melted and begins to simmer add flour and the rest of the seasonings mix until the flour is thickened 06. add the half and half and mix until the milk thickens 07. add the 3 cups shredded cheese stir a few times then pour into the casserole dish and combine with other ingredients 08. add sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese on top 09. bake at 350f for 20-30 minutes or until cheese on top is desired doneness 10. Thank God and enjoy ## Saint Stephen and a Hard Lesson So I don’t know about you but having people not fully hear when I’m trying to help or attacking me for it has historically called up faults in me that well deserve the rod and staff of God’s correction. Not to mention when someone has attacked me or someone I love, or threatened to, the struggle to even be within social acceptance is hard, let alone act like Christ. I know saints have historically struggled with it look at Saint Nicholas possibly being kicked out of the council of Nicene over striking Arius(or an Arian) for heresy, and facing other consequences for his actions. It wasn’t the right thing to do and other’s have struggled with their own temperaments like Saint Jerome, Saint Philip Neri, Saint Francis de Sales, and others. All recognizing it as a fault to be conquered not a quality to be accepted and kept. In writing this I recalled the fourth step on Saint Benedict’s ladder of humility from his Rule, the inspiration for structure for almost all christian religious orders. Specifically the fourth step of humility goes as such: > “The fourth step of humility is that in this obedience under difficult, unfavorable, or even unjust conditions, his heart quietly embraces suffering and endures it without weakening or seeking escape. For Scripture has it: Anyone who perseveres to the end will be saved (Matt 10:22), and again, Be brave of heart and rely on the Lord (Ps 26[27]). Another passage shows how the faithful must endure everything, even contradiction, for the Lord’s sake, saying in the person of those who suffer, For your sake we are put to death continually; we are regarded as sheep marked for slaughter (Rom 8; Ps 43[44]). They are so confident in their expectation of reward from God that they continue joyfully and say, But in all this we overcome because of him who so greatly loved us (Rom 8). Elsewhere Scripture says: God, you have tested us, you have tried us as silver is tried by fire; you have led us into a snare, you have placed afflictions on our backs (Ps 65[66]). Then, to show that we ought to be under a superior, it adds: You have placed men over our heads (Ps 65[66].) > In truth, those who are patient amid hardships and unjust treatment are fulfilling the Lord’s command: When struck on one cheek, they turn the other; when deprived of their coat, they offer their cloak also; when pressed into service for one mile, they go two (Matt 5). With the Apostle Paul, they bear with false brothers, endure persecution, and bless those who curse them (2 Cor 11; 1 Cor 4). That’s not easy! Every time I do an examen each day I want to be more like that. It’s a really hard lesson. So, where can we start to work towards that? 1. **Ask the Holy Spirit to grow you, and help you grow in Fortitude** Easiest one first. Fortitude is the moral virtue of strong, direct impact, and primary governance over this topic. 2. **Listen to understand** This isn’t that common today and is quite difficult to practice. However, to be truly helpful to others as Christians we need to constantly work on improving this or else we cannot begin to help those struggling theologically, morally, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, or otherwise beyond scraping the surface when we need to dig to substrate so weeds can be uprooted and good lasting fruit-bearing plant seeded. This however means we need to fight our pride in the form of the inclination to judge and assume while listening. I’ll eventually do a whole post on listening I’m sure. Taking the time to listen until they’re done talking then ask a question without a sharp point to get more information and repeat. Then ask simple clarifying questions. As we understand others it we see the humanity in them, ourselves, and Jesus Christ in some way. Thus, it becomes harder for us to give into the primal prideful responses and the higher goal of being like Him who we love becomes one step easier. This isn’t easy, takes a lot of work, and takes effort to remember and get in the habit of doing the more wound up the situation the more effort and or grace it’ll take. 3. **Work to see Jesus Holy Week in the person or situation** This can be the hardest, although it does flow from the previous, and is worth it to pursue. When people situations come up of confrontation we should try to see in them Jesus, as we should in all. However, in a situation of conflict striving to see in the individual Jesus processing through His passion of Holy Week can pull from us even greater love and compassion. For in those who rage, in those who lash out, in those who focus on something separate from God (including ourselves, but we’re not reflecting on that today) there’s not only disorganization there’s a pain. Multiple pains to be precise. There’s the pain they’re carrying the wounds and separation from God in fallen nature and in detached will, as well as perhaps other ways. There’s also the pain of Christ in the waywardness of their actions the sorrow, heartbreak, and wounding to His Sacred Heart from the sin. These actions and pains Christ knew back in Holy Week and still chose to be crucified for that person and for you knowing every sin you would do and how much it would hurt Him. So it is we need to see that hope for them from Jesus and Jesus suffering His Holy Week in them. With these tools and thoughts on our minds hopefully we can all make some strides to in loving others more like Christ when faced with the violence of the world in action, word, or otherwise. By being just a little more like Him, by His grace He can change the world through us. Thank you for your time reading this.