Our St. Patrick's Day in Food Pictures

Well, here it is 2 full days past March 17th and I'm posting about it.

But as the Irish say - 'Tis better to blog two days past, than have regrets that will forever last."

I completely made that up. But can't you imagine an Irishman with a pint and a Pierce Brosnan sort of lilt saying something along those lines??

(Yes, he's Irish - I "Wikipedia-ed" it.)

But back to us. I served these up for breakfast (just add green color to your pancake mix and use a shamrock cookie cutter) after a rather dejected 6 year-old came downstairs to no pot of gold. I guess we forgot to have the "St. Patrick's Day is not a gift giving holiday" discussion that we hauled out last year for our then 8 year-old.


Leprechaun guilt set in. (It's like mom guilt, but with a hint of Guinness.)

But I stayed the course. I'm about over purchasing items (read:junk) to commererate every time one of my kids points out a day on the calendar. Besides, the season of Easter and all the candy in eggs it brings will be with us in a matter of weeks.

After lunch, I mixed these up......because nothing says "IRISH!" like Lucky Charms!


I used the Rice Krispie treat recipe and substituted the Charms - though next time I will use 1 or 2 cups more Charms as these are quite "marshmallowy."

1 10 oz bag marshmallows
3-4 TBSP butter
6 - 8 cups Lucky Charms

And for dinner, the somewhat, sort-of-Irish Shepherd's Pie. Yes, most people I know of Irish and non-Irish heritage eat corned beef and cabbage on this day. I will refrain from my very strong opinion of corned beef and cabbage because I know most people enjoy it on some level.

To further the story, we are having record-breaking warmth which is great for playing outside, but not so great for turning on the oven.

I made this in the skillet and wasn't sure how the results would turn out. Turns out it had a 4 out of 5 high approval rating (even toothpaste never gets 5 out of 5 dentists to concur) with a request for this making it to the "keeper" list, so I was happy.




Here is my quick run-down:

2 1/2 pounds golden russet potatoes, boiled with skin on
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup shredded cheese
1 lb ground beef
1/2 package baby carrots, chopped
Minced garlic

Brown beef in skillet - I used 90/10 so didn't drain as there wasn't much fat. Add carrots and cover, let simmer about 10 minutes. My carrots still had a little crunch when this was served, so you can steam ahead of time and then add them if you prefer. I added some salt, pepper, and a 21 Seasoning Salute than I get from Trader Joe's. I added a liberal tablespoon of the minced garlic as well. Once browned, I placed the shredded cheese on top.

Once your potatoes are done, mash or mix them with the cottage cheese. Spread this over beef and cheese and let sit for 5 minutes.

A loaf of fresh-baked bread would go great with this. We stuck with the Lucky Charms bars;)