St. Patricks Day Beverages

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day at home with these super simple drinks. Serve with your favorite corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie, fish and chips, or other pub food recipe.

Instant St. Patrick's Day Drinks Add a few drops of green food coloring to the following beverages to make them Irish for the night.

• Beer
• Sparkling Cider
• White Wine
• Apple Juice or White Grape Juice
• Champagne
• Bottled Water
• Clear Sodas
• Irish Whiskey

Irish Coffees Serve these beverages with your green icing topped desserts.

• Add a little Irish Whiskey or Irish Cream Liquor to your coffee.
• For a non alcoholic version, buy an Irish Cream flavored creamer for your coffee.
• Dress your coffee up with a little whipped cream and a dash of green sprinkles

My Favorite Potato Shortcut

Paradise Valley All Natural Creamy Mash Potatoes have to be the easiest and tastiest shortcut to mashed potatoes that I have had. I love the ingredient list: Russet Potatoes, Butter, and Salt. No preservatives or additives that take away from the potato flavor. All I had to do was boil 2 cups of water and 3 tablespoons butter (the butter is optional), stir in the potatoes, then add 3/4 cup of milk. Done.

Normally, I need gravy or butter to top my mashed potatoes because I don't really like them plain. These potatoes were so creamy and the butter flavor shined through so well, I didn't bother bother with gravy. A dash of pepper was all they needed.

The second time we made the potatoes. We substituted sour cream for some of the milk and added cheddar cheese and chives. Delicious!

Paradise Valley Mash Potatoes are produced by US Foods. Their website is www.usfds.com

PS I got my box at Costco.

Snow Ice Cream

Snow Ice Cream is so fun to make, especially with kids. I think the simple vanilla ice cream is the best, since it still looks like snow and tastes great. Adding a little peppermint extract adds a little arctic chill to the flavor.

8 c. clean snow (Or use shaved ice from a snow cone maker)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 t. vanilla
Chocolate sauce, to taste (optional)
Flavored extracts, such as almond extract or peppermint extract (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and serve immediately.

Cheddar-Stuffed Tex-Mex Meatloaf Muffins

I wanted a faster cooking meatloaf recipe, so I looked online and found the cooking times for meatloaf muffins. I adapted my Tex-Mex meatloaf recipe to fit and added a little cheddar cheese surprise to the middle. My family loved these and I know that yours will, too. You can also adapt your favorite meatloaf recipe. 30 minutes at 350 is all you need to remember. Enjoy!

1 egg
1/4 c. bread crumbs
2 T. milk or beer
Salt and pepper
1 T. ketchup
1 garlic clove, minced
5-6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 T. each of coriander, cumin, and chili powder
1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
6-8 1 inch cubes cheddar cheese
Salsa

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Beat egg in the bottom of a mixing bowl. Add breadcrumbs through seasonings. Mix well. Work in ground beef. Divide into six to eight portions and place in muffin tin. Press a cheddar cheese cube into the middle of each meatloaf muffin and form the meat over the top so the cheese is fully covered. Spread a small spoonful of salsa over the top of each meatloaf. Bake for 30 minutes.

Tip: Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the muffin tin to catch any drippings that may overflow from the meatloaf muffins.

Apple-Pecan Salad

I love the combination of crunchy pecans, juicy apples, and salty cheese in this salad. I also love the versatility. Swap out the apple for fresh strawberries or cranberries and the pecans for walnuts or even sunflower seeds for a completely different taste. Any sweet vinegar can be swapped for the raspberry vinegar, also.

Apple-Pecan Salad
1 cup pecan halves
4 cups of your favorite washed, dried, and chopped lettuce greens
Raspberry vinaigrette, to taste (recipe follows)
4 oz. blue cheese, Gorgonzola, or feta cheese, crumbled
2 ripe apples (0r pears), peeled, cored, and cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes, shaking the pan 2-3 times during the cooking process. Remove from sheet and let cool.

Toss salad with vinaigrette. Top with pecans, blue cheese, and apples.

For a main course salad add fully-cooked, chopped chicken.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

1 T mayonnaise
2 T Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Put mayo, mustard, and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. Add vinegar and blend a few seconds more. As the blender runs, add the olive oil in a thin stream. Season with salt and pepper.

Sweet and Smoky Nut Mix

This simple recipe (if you can call it that) is one of my easiest and tastiest combinations. How can anything with butter toffee peanuts, smoky almonds, and cashews go wrong? I have used this simple nut mix as a party mix and trail mix with great success. This is also great to keep in large quantities for after-school snacks or as a quick staple to have on hand for company.

Ingredients:
Butter Toffee Peanuts
Smokehouse Flavored Almonds
Cashews

Method:
Mix equal amounts of peanuts, almonds, and cashews and store in an air-tight container. So simple and so tasty!

Prep Time: 30 seconds!