Miami Springs has its share of quiet angels doing the Lord’s work. Quietly they prepare meals for the needy, not for the recognition, but out of the goodness of their hearts to help people who really need their help.
This group of angels are part of the Blessed Trinity Parish Casserole Project. Each month they prepare a home cooked meal for Camillus House. Due to dietary restrictions, allergies, and lawyers, it’s very important that the meals provided follow the specific recipes each family receives. No changes. No extra spices. No substitutions.
Dutifully, these group of angels will pick up the food trays and recipes distributed by the Parish. The parishoners will go out and purchase the ingredients required to prepare the casserole and follow the exact recipe. Then, after it’s fully cooked. They freeze the meal.
Each month, there’s a drop off day at Blessed Trinity Parish Hall. The families will come by and drop off the frozen meals to William and Ana Drew, usually between 6:45pm and 7:15pm on the given day. William and Ana will then take the frozen trays of food immediately to St. Agnes Church in Key Biscayne. St. Agnes works with Blessed Trinity in collecting the frozen meals. Plus, St. Agnes has the proper high capacity freezers to store the meals.
Then the Camillus House will head to St. Agnes and pick up the meals to feed the homeless that are supported by the Camillus House. Isn’t it wonderful to live in a community with people who are constantly doing things behind the scenes to help their fellow man.
We’d like to thank all the families who are involved with the Casserole Project for feeding people who are legitimately in need and hungry. A meal let’s the homeless and hungry know that the world does care about them. They are not forgotten. God has real life angels working every day to help one another.
We especially want to thank William and Ana Drew for their hard work and commitment to the Casserole Project as well as their long standing commitment to our wonderful community. Thank you for what you do.
Important Blessed Trinity Casserole Project Info:
How to participate?
- Send an email to: btcamillus@gmail.com
- They will provide you with a tray, recipe, and key dates
- Be prepared to purchase the ingredients and drop off the frozen meal on the upcoming drop off date
Upcoming Drop Off Dates:
- Drop off dates are usually the 4th Monday of the Month
- February 28
- March 28
- April 25
- May 23
- June 27
- July 25
- August 29
- September 26
- October 24
- November 28
- December 12
COOKING REMINDERS:
- Prepare and cook the food following the exact recipe. No changes or substitutions please (HUMILITY AND OBIDIENCE)
- Follow the cool-down procedure which is written below.
- Place the cooked food in the aluminum containers provided by Camillus House. If you do not have the appropriate container, please call Ana Drew at 786-247-4859 or Ileana Rodriguez at 786-302-7808.
- Before freezing the casserole, with a permanent marker, label the lid with the following: Name of Recipe, Date cooked, Your name, and Blessed Trinity.
- Seal the lid carefully.
COOLING AND FREEZING DIRECTIONS:
Food-borne bacteria love food at room temperature. Therefore, it is crucial to expedite hot to cold. When transferring cooked contents to the casserole pan, leave ½” from the top edge of the pan for expansion during freezing. For cooling, place the uncovered pan with the hot contents into a larger pan, or the kitchen sink filled with half ice and half cold water and two tablespoons of salt. As soon as the contents are no longer hot, cover the pan with the lid and seal all around. Before freezing, with a permanent marker, label the lid with the name of the recipe and the date you cooked the recipe as well as your name.
INSPIRING MESSAGE FROM MOTHER THERESA:
“Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those people throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy.” – Mother Theresa
SAMPLE RECIPES
ZITI A LA BOLOGNESE
- 3 ½ lbs. of ground chuck beef
- 1 large onion diced small
- 2 – 26-oz jars 6-cheese tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp. dried parsley
- 1 lb. Ziti macaroni
- Olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic diced fine
- 2 tsp. of salt (or to taste)
- 2 stalks celery diced small
- ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 large carrot diced small
- 2 tsp. Dried basil
Brown and crumble ground beef in a hot frying pan coasted with olive oil until pinkness is gone. Drain on a paper towel. Set aside. In large pot with ¼” of oil, sauté the onions, carrots, garlic and celery until golden; add cooked meat. Add the 6-cheese tomato sauce, dried parsley and dried basil. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Cook the ziti in a large pot of salted boiling water al dente (2 minutes less than package instructions). Combine the ziti and Bolognese sauce after adding salt and pepper to taste. Transfer half of the ziti and meat to the casserole pan. Stir until blended and gradually add the other half of ziti and meat until all blended. Leave ½” from the edge of the pan for expansion during freezing
SEE COOLING AND FREEZING DIRECTIONS
BAKED CHICKEN
- 8 lbs. chicken pieces cut into 1/8’s
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 4 tsp salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 onions diced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Olive oil
In a small bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Clean and rinse the chicken and then dry each piece with paper towels. Rub each dry piece of chicken with the spice mixture with spice mixture. Place a piece of parchment paper on your roasting pan and place the chicken and the onions on it, then drizzle the olive oil sparingly on top of the chicken and the onions. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 30 minutes and then lower the temperature to 300 degrees and cook for 30 to 45 minutes more until thoroughly cooked.
SEE COOLING AND FREEZING DIRECTIONS
TURKEY CHILI
- 2 LBS Ground Turkey
- 1 large onion, diced small
- 1 lb. Elbow macaroni
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 8-oz cans of kidney beans, drained
- Olive Oil
- 1 8-oz can diced tomatoes w/ green chilies
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 26-oz jar Publix 6-cheese tomato sauce
- 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 8-10 oz. can tomato sauce
- 2 tsps. ground black pepper (or to taste)
- 1 large green pepper, diced small
In a pot of salted boiling water, cook macaroni al dente (2 minutes less than package cooking instructions). Immediately drain and mix macaroni in cold water and put aside. Brown and crumble ground turkey in a frying pan coated with olive oil until all the pinkness is gone. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. In a large pot, add a little more olive oil, sauté the onions and pepper until golden, add garlic until golden. Stir in the beans, diced tomatoes with green chilies, 6-cheese tomato sauce and a can of tomato sauce. Add cooked turkey, salt, pepper and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add half of the cooked macaroni in the casserole pan along, with half of the meat mixture, stir until blended and gradually add the other half of the macaroni and meat until all blended.
SEE COOLING AND FREEZING DIRECTIONS
