St. Patty's Day fun

Today, I want to share some fun St. Patrick's Day ideas that I've pinned:

I'm loving the homemade shamrock shake, the mint chocolate chip cookies and all the fun treat ideas for kids. 

In case you want to have some St. Patrick's Day fun of your own, there are some great FREE printables on the Catch My Party blog.  I am really liking this "Preppy Plaid" collection from MJ Paperie, especially the beer bottle labels.  Cute!

I hope everyone has the luck of the Irish with them this weekend!

A TMI PSA: don't drink and drive.  Or text and drive. Or drink and text.  Well, maybe that last one isn't so bad, but still, it's better to be safe than sorry!

Martha Monday--St. Patrick's Day fare

St. Patrick's Day is all about the gold, the shamrocks, the leprechauns...and the corned beef and soda bread, which is what I usually focus on.  This year, I might change it up a bit and make a few other Irish-themed dishes and treats for St. Patrick's Day.  Thanks for the inspiration, Martha!

I'm liking this Irish Beef and Stout Stew:

This Cheddar-Topped Shepherd's Pie is going to be a huge hit with my family:

Irish Beef Hand Pies?  Yes, please!

After any of those hearty meals, Irish Coffee Cupcakes would be a delicious dessert:

Topped off with a Hot Nutty Irishman, of course!

What are your plans for St. Patrick's Day?  If nothing else, make sure they involve a hot, nutty Irishman. He sounds like a lot of fun!

Welcome back basket

Good friends and neighbors Yogita and Adithi are returning home from a very long trip today.  Yogita is my closest friend in this neighborhood, and Adithi is a great playmate to the Little Guy so we are very happy to have them back.  To welcome them home, I made a fun little St. Patrick's basket for them.

On top is a loaf of fresh-out-of-my-oven white bread. Yum!

Below that is a round of Irish soda bread. It is St. Patrick's Day, after all!

I have some treat in there for Adithi: a writing pad, fun spring-themed pencils and sunglasses.  I put bath gel and lotion in there for Yogita.  After a 24 hour trip, I'm guessing she'll need some pampering.  I know I would!

To expand on the St. Patrick's Day theme, I got out my Wilton candy molds and made some shamrock pops.  The dark chocolate (behind the green) is mint-flavored.  Mmmmmm...mint.

These chocolate covered pretzels are hard to make out, but the designs are shamrocks and top hats.  You can see the pretzel mold here. 

These are just fun little candy cups I made with the remaining chocolate. This way, there's plenty of chocolate for everyone! Which is also something one would need after a 24 hour trip.  I know I would.

Welcome back, Yogita and Adithi!  And happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

Mint chocolate cake

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, I have a wonderful mint chocolate cake for you.  I've made a version of this before with a boxed cake mix and Cool Whip, but since I am now committed to baking cakes from scratch, I have a new recipe.  And I'm sharing it with you, my darlings, because you simply must bake this cake for St. Patrick's Day.

Start with the Fiesta Fantasy recipe from Hershey's Kitchens.  The only modifications I made to the cake itself is that I leave out the coffee and I only make three layers instead of four.  I also disregard the chocolate frosting recipe, because I think a simple chocolate ganache is all the topping this cake needs.  Well, that and shamrock sprinkles for St. Patrick's Day.  Obviously.

My major modifications come during the filling part.  Simply take 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream and beat it until stiff.  Add one tablespoon of mint extract and a bit of green food coloring.  Beat it some more and then let it sit in the fridge for a few hours.  Or even overnight.  The filling is flexible like that.

When the cake layers have cooled completely, start layering the cake as follows: cake, mint filling, cake, mint filling, cake, chocolate ganache, sprinkles.  There! Done!  Wasn't that easy?  To make sure the cake holds up, be sure to store it in the fridge until you're ready to serve it.  If you'll be travelling with the cake, it can go in the freezer for a few hours to really firm it up before making the trip.

This is the perfect combination of mint and chocolate in cake form.  Give it a try for St. Patrick's Day!

Martha Monday--St. Patrick's Day

Now that I'm baking all of my own bread, I need to tackle Irish soda bread in time for St. Patrick's Day.  Naturally, I'm turning to Martha for the recipe. And naturally, she has everything planned out: here's her St. Patrick's Day meal, and along with recipes for those of us who need assistance.

My St. Patrick's Day menu is relatively simple: corned beef, red potatoes with parsley, and steamed carrots.  And I have to confess something...not only is my corned beef store bought, but I don't feel any guilt about it whatsoever. 

I will be making soda bread from Martha's recipe, though I think I'll be leaving the caraway seeds out.

Are you cooking/baking something special for St. Patrick's Day?