Recipe Talk

Green velvet cupcakes
Servings 10

Green through and through -- these cupcakes really are velvety and scrumptious. Have your kids decorate the tops for St. Patrick's Day with shamrocks made out of gumdrops and green licorice strings, or just sprinkle with green decorating sugar. Fun to make ahead for dessert of a yummy snack.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

3/4 cup (175 mL) vegetable oil

3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. (10 mL) white vinegar

1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla

1/2 tsp. (2 mL) liquid green food colouring

1-1/4 cup (300 mL) all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. (2 mL) baking soda

1/2 cup (125 mL) buttermilk

Icing

1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened

2 cups (500 mL) icing sugar

1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla

2 tbsp. (30 mL) milk or cream

green food colouring (preferably paste type)

additional candies or decorating sugar for topping

Cooking Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350degrees F (180degrees C). Place 10 paper liners into the cups of a muffin pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the oil, sugar, egg, vinegar, vanilla and green food colouring until combined.

3. In a smaller bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda. Add to the egg mixture, in two or three additions alternately with the buttermilk, beating well after each.

4. Spoon the batter into the 10 paper liners, dividing the batter evenly among them.

5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool thoroughly.

6. Meanwhile, make the icing. In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the icing sugar gradually, in 3 or 4 additions, beating very well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the milk or cream, 1 tbsp. (15 mL) at a time, beating well, until the icing is creamy and spreadable -- the more you beat this, the better it will be. Add the food colouring, beating it in gradually until the icing is tinted the way you like it.

7. Decorate cupcakes with green sprinkles or coloured sugar, shamrocks made out of gummy candies -- or whatever else your little leprechaun can think of.

Leprechaun pie

Attract all the leprechauns in your neighbourhood with this heavenly green pie filled with white chocolate mousse. Flavoured with mint or vanilla, it's absolutely delicious for St. Patrick's day, or for dessert any day.

Ingredients

5 squares (1-oz./28 g each) white chocolate

1/4 cup (50 mL) whipping cream

4 oz. (125 g) cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp. (2 mL) liquid green food colouring

1/2 tsp. (2 mL) vanilla or peppermint extract

1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar

1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream, whipped until stiff

1 9-inch (23 cm) graham cracker or chocolate crumb crust

1/2 cup (125 mL) mint chocolate chips or green melting wafers (the kind for candy-making)

additional candies or sprinkles, if desired

Cooking Instructions

1. In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine the white chocolate and 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the whipping cream. Microwave on high power, 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each time, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. With an electric mixer, beat the softened cream cheese, the vanilla or peppermint extract, the green food colouring and the icing sugar into the chocolate mixture until everything is evenly blended.

3. Gently fold in the whipped cream, taking care not to deflate the cream, until no white streaks remain.

4. Spoon into the prepared crumb crust, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

5. Melt the chocolate chips or green melting wafers in a double boiler over hot water, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over top of the chilled pie, then return to the refrigerator until set. If you wish, you can decorate the top of the pie with additional green candies or sprinkles before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Shamrock Cookies
Originally submitted by Mary Beth and modified by Kaboose.com

Let your little leprechauns in on the fun by baking up these pretty St. Patrick's Day shamrocks that get their gorgeous green color from instant pistachio pudding mix.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix

1 1/3 cups baking mix

1 egg

1 tablespoon white sugar

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheet.

2. Cream together the butter or margarine and the pudding mix. Blend in the baking mix, egg and sugar and mix well.

3. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 3/8 inch thickness and cut into cookies with a shamrock cookie cutter.

4. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 9 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Let cookies cool on rack. Frost with green colored icing if desired.

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Nutrition Facts Servings per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 311cal
Total Fat: 16.9g
Cholesterol: 77mg
Sodium: 909mg
Carbohydrates: 36.5g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 3.5g

Preparation Time: 0
Cooking Time:0
Ready In: 0
Servings: 6

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Fabulous Fried Cabbage

Cook Time: 45 Minutes Ready In: 50 Minutes

Yields: 6 servings

"A favorite old Irish family recipe for fried cabbage and it's so easy."
INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons butter

1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth

1 head cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped

1 pinch salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring the butter and chicken broth to a boil in a large skillet. Reduce heat to low and add the cabbage. Cover and cook over low heat to steam the cabbage for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cabbage is tender and sweet. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

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Boxty (Potato Griddle Cakes) recipe

Serves 8.

Serve with applesauce.

1/2 pound raw potatoes

1/2 pound mashed potatoes, cooked

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 pound all-purpose flour

1 egg

Milk

Grate raw potatoes. Stir into mashed potatoes. Add salt, pepper and flour. Beat egg and add just enough milk to make a batter that will drop from a spoon. Drop by tablespoonsful onto a hot griddle or skillet. Cook over moderate heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

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Lucky Pockets o'Green recipe

Serves 6-8.

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach

1 (1.4 ounce) package dry vegetable soup mix

1 (8 ounce) carton low fat sour cream

1 (3 ounce) package low fat cream cheese

1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough, divided

3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Thaw spinach and press to remove moisture. Blend together spinach, soup mix, sour cream, cream cheese, water chestnuts and green onions.

On a greased baking sheet, spread out 1 can of crescent roll dough into 4 separate rectangles. Spread spinach mixture on top of rectangles, then sprinkle with chopped eggs and top with remaining 4 rectangles from second can of dough. Cut each rectangle in half and seal all edges with a fork.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm as a vegetable side dish.

Nutritional analysis per serving: calories 305, protein 14 g, carbohydrates 39 g, fat 10 g (4 g saturated, 6 g unsaturated), cholesterol 97 mg, calcium 164 mg, iron 3 mg, sodium 866 mg

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Blarney Butter recipe

1 leaf spinach

3 sprigs parsley

2 sprigs mint

2 sage leaves

3 ounces unsalted butter

1 pinch salt

Finely chop the spinach and herbs. Mix the chopped herbs into the butter with a wooden spoon, beating well. Add the salt, mixing well.

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St. Patrick's Day Pot of Gold Jello

Surprise your favorite little people on March 17th with these wee emerald pots filled with sweet, edible gold.

3-ounce box of lemon-flavor gelatin

6 limes

Sugar

1 teaspoon of whipped cream

Step 1
Line an 8-inch square baking dish with plastic wrap, leaving several inches of overhang on each side (this will make removing the gelatin easier). Combine a 3-ounce box of lemon-flavor gelatin and 1 cup of boiling water in a medium bowl, stirring until the gelatin is dissolved. Stir in 1 cup of cold water, then pour the mixture into the baking dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and chill the gelatin for 4 hours or until firm, then slice the gelatin into 1/2-inch cubes.

Step 2
Cut off the top quarter of each of 6 limes, then, without cutting into the fruit, slice a thin layer of peel from the bottom of each one to help them stand upright. With a small knife, cut around the inside of each lime's rind to loosen the pulp, then spoon it out to make a shell.

Step 3
Place a pinch of sugar and 1 teaspoon of whipped cream in the bottom of each shell, then fill each lime pot with gelatin gold. Makes 6.

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St. Patrick's Day Green Green Salad

Absolutely everything on this salad is GREEN!

Lettuce

Cucumbers

Peppers

Snow peas

Avocados

Sprouts

Step 1
The fun of making this salad begins at the grocery store selecting the fixings. Anything green, such as lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, snow peas, avocados and sprouts, is fit for the mix. Serve with your favorite salad dressing.

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