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Everyone showed up wearing GREEN this year because the
 penalty is getting a green X on your forehead with a felt marker! It was a fun afternoon of games, writing a funny limerick, making a caterpillar the size of someone’s foot and building a house with cards (one house even had a garage!)
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More green recipes below: Cauliflower, Peas & Dill Salad |
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Dinner was delicious, as always, as everyone contributed a GREEN dish or two. This year’s menu consisted of a Lime punch, Ham-Spinach appetizer, a plate of shamrock finger jello, pickles, Beef stir-fry with Snow and Snap Peas, Broccoli Salad, French-style green beans, Egg and Broccoli Casserole, Rice Krispie treats (green, of course) with mini chocolate chips, St. Paddy’s Dessert and our yummy pretzel and white chocolate wafer treats. |
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2008 Green Dinner Photos
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MINI SPINACH, CHEESE & HAM CUPS
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1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, well drained Heat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together except ham. Place 1 slice of ham in each of 24 miniature muffin pan cups (twist/fold the slice to fit into the round cup). Put 1 teaspoon of spinach mixture into each ham-lined cup. Bake 12-15 minutes. Serve warm. |
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BROCCOLI SALAD
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2 bunches broccoli, chopped In large bowl, mix broccoli, bacon, cheese and raisins together. In separate bowl, mix the mayo, vinegar and sugar; pour over broccoli mixture and gently stir. Better if it sits several hours or over night. |
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EGG AND BROCCOLI CASSEROLE
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1 lb. broccoli, trimmed, cut into small pieces Cook broccoli until just tender; drain well. Melt 1/4 cup butter in small saucepan. Blend in flour and mustard and cook 1 minute. Add milk and stir until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cheese and stir until melted. Season with pepper. Set cheese sauce aside. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 7 x 12 baking dish. Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter; add bread crumbs and stir until crisp and golden brown. Arrange broccoli and hard cooked eggs in dish. Pour sauce over top; sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake until heated through, about 25 minutes. Serves 6. |
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ST. PADDY'S DESSERT
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I took this Halloween Dessert recipe and just substituted lime jello for the orange jello -- everything else stayed the same!
3 1/2 c. chocolate cookie crumbs Mix 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and 1/2 cup sugar and margarine; press firmly into bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Refrigerate. Beat cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Stir in 1/2 of the whipped topping. Spoon over crust. Stir boiling water into jello until dissolved. Mix cold water and stir. Refrigerate until it starts to gel. Spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Spread remaining whipped topping over gelatin. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. Decorate with candy corn and pumpkins. Serves 15-18. |
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| 2007 Green Dinner | ||||||||||
| A "GREEN" dinner on St. Patrick's Day - there's nothing quite like green mashed potatoes or green bread! Last year even the dog showed up in a green shirt and hat! Our menu included Chicken and Broccoli casserole, creamed spinach, green bean salad, green bread, and Cauliflower, Peas and Dill salad (delicious!!)
Dessert was Cookies and Mint Cream Wedges, Cookie Lollipops (a big hit with the kids!) and Shamrock Sugar Cookies. We also had a basket of candy bars--wrapped in shamrocks on yellow paper or personalized with everyone's name on one. This was a simple project that I did on my printer and then cut them to fit and hot glued them on. Everyone loved finding one with their name on it! For fun, before and after dinner, we played several St. Patrick's guessing games, turned a potato into 'something Irish' and then played our own version of Jeopardy. Following that we had an auction with the play money everyone had won. Small prizes and candy was in stapled-shut paper bags, and bidding was for those bags without knowing what was in them. Great fun! |
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Green dinner photos 2007
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Click to enlarge these photos |
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| back to top | LOLLIPOP COOKIES | |||||||||
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Spread a vanilla wafer (on the flat side) with peanut butter. Lay a popsicle stick (available in craft stores) on top of it and then put another vanilla wafer (flat side down) on top of that. Dip the 'lollipop' into melted white chocolate or almond bark and sprinkle with green and yellow sprinkles. Lay on waxed paper to cool. | |||||||||
| CAULIFLOWER, PEAS AND DiLL SALAD | ||||||||||
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3 c. small cauliflower florets Put cauliflower in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and put in cold water to stop the cooking. Do the same with the peas. Drain well. Mix the dill, garlic salt, yogurt and mayonnaise until well blended. Add celery to vegetables and then dressing; mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow flavor to develop. |
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| back to top | GREEN BEAN SALAD | |||||||||
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1 lb. young green beans 1 tsp. mustard 2 tsp. dijon mustard 4 tsps. red wine vinegar 5 Tbls. olive or canola oil 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. grated fresh Parmesan cheese 3/4 c. black or calamata olives (optional) Mix mustards, vinegar, oil and salt together. Bring several quarts of water to boil. Put beans into boiling water, bring the water to a boil again and cook the beans about 3 minutes (so they are cooked, but still crisp). Drain well. While they are still hot quickly toss them in the dressing. Add olives and sprinkle with grated cheese. Should be served at room temperature. |
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| back to top | CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI CASSEROLE | |||||||||
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Chicken, cooked and boned and enough to cover bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Cut chicken into pieces. Steam broccoli til just done, but still crisp. Drain. Cover bottom of casserole with broccoli; then place a layer of chicken over this. Mix other ingredients (except cheese) and pour over chicken. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes. |
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| back to top | COOKIES N' MINT CREAM WEDGES | |||||||||
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2 c. (24 cookies) finely crushed creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies Combine crumbs and margarine and press in bottom and up sides of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate. Filling: Beat cream cheese until fluffy; gradually add sugar and vanilla; blend well. Add creme de menthe -- or green food coloring, and grated chocolate, mixing well. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into chilled crust. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (or overnight) before serving. Serves 16. |
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Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce
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2 cups packed torn fresh spinach 3 Tbls. roasted pine nuts or chopped walnuts 2 cloves garlic, sliced 1/2 tsp. salt 3/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil (I use about half and half) 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese Put spinach, nuts, garlic and salt into blender or food processor. Pour oil over mixture and blend about 20 seconds; scrape sides with rubber spatula and blend until smooth. Add grated Parmesan and blend again. Serve sauce at room temperature over hot pasta. (Can be made several days ahead of time. Bring to room temperature before serving). If sauce is too thick, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons hot water. |
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Blarney Stones Cookies
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At your green dinner have plastic bags fill with the ingredients for Blarney Stones Cookies. Tie each bag with a green ribbon and then add shamrock stickers to the bag or tie a cut-out shamrock on the ribbon. Everybody (or every family) gets a bag as their ‘going home’ gift. P.S. Don’t forget to serve some for dessert so they know how yummy they are!!
Makes 5 dozen Mix all ingredients together and put in plastic bag and secure tightly. Add this note to your bag (on the back of the shamrock if it is big enough) Empty bag into a large bowl. Using your hands, mix in the following: Shape into balls the size of a walnut. Place 2" apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 375 for 9-11 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet. |
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CHARTREUSE FRUIT CUP/SALAD
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This combination of fruit and the tangy dressing make this salad light and refreshing!
2 cups honeydew balls Mix the dressing ingredients together and stir gently into mixed fruit. Chill at least 1 hour before serving. |
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Grasshopper Pie
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1 1/2 c. chocolate Oreo crumbs (about 18 cookies) Reserve 2 tablespoons crumbs for top of pie. Mix remaining crumbs and butter; press into a 9-inch pie pan and chill. Melt marshmallows, milk and butter in double boiler; cook, stirring occasionally. Cool. Add whipped cream and creme de menthe and creme de cocoa, if desired. Pour into crust and chill for several hours. Can be frozen, too. (Note: this year I substituted two cups of cool whip for the whipped cream to cut down on the fat calories and it was just as good!) |
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