Vanilla Popcorn

Submitted by Tami Fortie

2 packs of microwave popcorn, or 5 quarts of air popped
1/2 pound butter(2 sticks)
1 1/3 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
green food coloring

Pop popcorn. Make sure all kernels are discarded and pour into a large bowl. In medium size sauce pan(this boils up) combine sugar, butter and corn syrup. Boil for 3 minutes--NO MORE! Remove from heat and add vanilla and food coloring to the shade of your preference. Pour over popcorn and serve. It can look kind of weird. The leprechauns have a lot of fun with this one!

Baked Eggs

Submitted by Tami Fortie

6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Cup flour
1 Cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
4 TB butter, melted
green food coloring


Preheat oven to 400. Mix all ingredients together; making sure all lumps are out. Color to the shade of your preference. Grease 9 x 13 pan, bake 15-20 minutes. For a bit of sweetness, serve with kiwi syrup:

2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1-2 tsp. almond extract
2 kiwis, peeled and sliced

Mix sugar and water in pan. Heat to a simmer. Make sure sugar is dissolved. Add extract. Serve over eggs with kiwis. You can also add food coloring to the syrup for more green. (The leprechauns tend to get their little mitts in everything at our house.)

Irish Brown Bread

Submitted by Michelle Tolman

Ingredients:
2 1/4 Cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Cup rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 TB. sugar
2 1/2 Cup buttermilk

1. Heat oven to 400. Combine everything but the buttermilk in a large bowl and stir the ingredients with your hands. Make a well in the mixture and pour in 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk.

2. Continue mixing with your hands, adding the remaining cup of buttermilk as you combine the ingredients. The resulting dough will be west and very sticky.

3. Dust your hands with flour, shape the dough into a ball, and place it on a floured cookie sheet(can use a nonstick baking mat). With a knife, score a deep X in the top of the ball, widening it with the sides of the blade as you cut.

4. Bake the bread until it's golden brown, about 50 minutes. Transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Makes a crusty, dense loaf about 7 inches in diameter.

For more pictures or more family fun recipes http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/irish-brown-bread-688577/

Stuffed Green Peppers

This recipe was submitted by Valerie Hempel

• 1 box Rice a Roni(Spanish Rice)
• 3-4 green peppers
• 1 can diced tomatoes(add to spanish rice)
• 1 pound ground hamburger
• 1 onion(chopped)
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce(optional)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• tortillas(optional)
  

1. Cook rice as directed on package. Then add diced tomatoes.
2. Brown hamburger in pan with onions.
3. Cut peppers in half(from stem to bottom) and take the seeds out. Boil for 6 minutes at rolling boil.
4. Add rice to hamburger mix. Stuff peppers with mix and top with optional spaghetti sauce and cheese.
5. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

If your kids are like mine, they don't like the peppers, so I will spoon mixture into tortillas, wrap and top with cheese to cook with the peppers.

No Bake Chocolate Cookies

This recipe was submitted by Valerie Hempel

• 4 ounces (1 stick) butter or margarine


• 1/2 Cup milk


• 2 Cup sugar


• 1 Cup semisweet chocolate chips


• 3-4 Tablespoon peanut butter (optional)


• 3 Cup oats (old fashioned or quick)


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
  Place chocolate chips, peanut butter(if used), oats, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Combine butter, milk and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Combine the hot mixture with the oatmeal and chocolate chip mixture; stir well. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Makes 24-30 cookies.

Sweet Shamrock Pretzels

Another recipe submitted by Michelle Tolman
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/sweet-shamrocks-685500/

What a cute idea. What kid(or adult) wouldn't want to make and eat these!!

• Canned refrigerated breakstick dough(used Pillsbury Original Breadsticks)
• Colored sugar
• Cinnamon

1. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat it with cooking spray.
2. To create the clover shape, mold 3 sections of breadsticks into hearts and press them together. Attach a small stem, decorate, bake according to the package directions, and serve them up to your lucky guests.

Rainbow Cupcakes

Submitted by Michelle Tolman

What a great recipe to make with kids. She found this recipe on the Family Fun website http://familyfun.go.com/st-patricks-day/st-patricks-day-recipes/st-patricks-day-desserts/taste-a-rainbow-cupcakes-842128/

Ingredients:

White cake mix(18 ounce box)

Food coloring (red, blue, green and yellow)

Baking cups

Whipped cream(optional)

1. Prepare your favorite white cake mix, then divide the batter evenly among 6 small bowls. Following the chart below, dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color.

Rainbow color Drops of food coloring

Purple----------- 9 red and 6 blue drops

Blue -------------12 drops

Green -----------12 drops

Yellow -----------12 drops

Orange ----------12 yellow and 4 red drops

Red --------------18 drops

2. Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following the order shown. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.

3. Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions. Before serving, remove the paper wrapping, and if you like, top each cupcake with a whipped cream cloud.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY RECIPES

Hello Ladies. We are going to try something different. Please send in your favorite St. Patrick's Day recipes. Pictures are not required, but so much fun! The recipes don't have to be green. Any family tradition for the holiday will work. Tyler's family always has corned beef(which I HATE) for St. Patty's day so my kids and I get chicken. My email is julie_twitchell@yahoo.com. Let's see how many recipes we can get. You just might get a prize for submitting:)