5 Things to Make for St. Patrick's Day

For St. Patrick's Day this year, the girls didn't make a leprechaun trap like they did when they were younger. The leprechaun still comes, though, and gives each of the girls some gold dollar coins. Originally they had the image of Sackagawea. Now there are images of different U.S. Presidents.

In addition to that tradition, I try to do some craft and/or food that ties into the holiday. Here are five things that I did this year.

1. St. Patrick's Day window stars using kite paper in shades of green.

I tried a couple of new patterns for St. Patrick's Day using the photo directions on Deschdanja.

The dark green window stars (solid color)

are ones I made this year.

The written instructions are in a different language so the paper size I had to make a guess as to its size. I used 3"x3" pieces of kite paper for the three designs I did. They each were very easy to make.

I combined them with other window stars that I've made in the past and reuse each year.

2. Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies from Betty Crocker Recipes. These cookies are delicious! The combination of mint extract, crème de menthe baking chips, and chocolate chips was amazing. I'll definitely make these again.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
6 to 8 drops green food color (I used 8 drops, but probably could have used a few more)
1 egg
1 cup creme de menthe baking chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks (I used what I had on hand: 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of mini-chocolate chips)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks.

2. Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

3.  All-Green Salad

Sophia had been requesting iceberg lettuce instead of mesclun or soft-leaf lettuces.

So, I used that type of lettuce and added a cucumber, half a green pepper, four green onions, and two stalks of celery to create a simple salad. We used either Poppy Seed Dressing or Sesame Ginger Dressing on the salad.

4. Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches

Sophia wanted to get some hours in for her homeschool Culinary Arts class she's doing this year. I had a recipe that I've wanted to make now for a couple of years from Taste of Home. Their recipe is "Minty Ice Cream Shamrocks" and are cut into shamrock shapes for St. Patrick's Day. I couldn't find our shamrock cookie cutter, so we used round cookie cutters instead.

She made it for me and it turned out very well. She added Andes mint chips to the dough which created an extra-minty cookie that complemented the ice cream.

INGREDIENTS:

6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 to 2 cups mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened

DIRECTIONS:


In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture just until blended. Divide dough into two portions; flatten. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8- to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. shamrock cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Prick with a fork if desired.

Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Spread 1/4 to 1/3 cup ice cream over the bottom of six cookies; top with remaining cookies. Wrap individually in plastic wrap; freeze. May be frozen for up to 2 months. Yield: 6 servings.

5. Coleslaw

I don't have a recipe for this...it's different each time. All the ingredients I had on hand so this was a good way to use them.

Basically, the coleslaw I make is similar to what my mom used to make. First, chop some cabbage (I used about a half a head of cabbage); and add chopped carrots (I used 2) and one chopped onion.

In a separate bowl, make the dressing. Put about a cup or so of Miracle Whip with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of white sugar. Mix it together. Add some pepper and Watkins Potato  Salad Seasoning or Coleslaw Seasoning (either will work) to taste.

Mix the dressing with the chopped vegetables. Make another batch of the dressing if it seems a bit dry.