Happy St. Patrick's Day...

It is a beautiful spring morning...the blackbirds are singing, the air smells fresh and clean...oh wait...that's me after my Irish Spring shower :) I hope you are all taking time to live, love and laugh this St. Patrick's Day as I join my Irish friend, Kathleen in a food & fun event. Click HERE to Hop on over to her blog to see all the others joining in.

There's a dear little plant that grows in our isle,
'Twas St. Patrick himself, sure, that sets it;
And the sun of his labor with pleasure did smile,
And with dew from his eye often wet it.
It grows through the bog, through the brake, through the mireland,
And they call it the dear little Shamrock of Ireland

Today is not only St. Patrick's Day but our son-in-law, Scott's birthday. In our family it is tradition that I make cinnamon rolls to celebrate birthdays, so even though Scott wasn't here...Jeff & I had shamrock cinnamon buns for breakfast.

When, Kathleen announced the blog party, she said anything goes...even Lucky Charms! Lo and behold, I "won" a box of LC in church on Sunday so I couldn't resist bringing it to her party. Our pastor had shamrocks taped on the church pews and whoever sat at the pew with a number 3 written on the back of the shamrock won a prize and it was a magically delicious box of cereal. Actually it will be going back to church next week along with other non-perishable foods as March is food share month in MN and our congregation is collecting bags of food. Are you asking "Why" we had shamrocks in church yet. Our pastor gave a children's sermon on St. Patrick and then told the children what a wonderful reminder of God a shamrock is. When you look at a shamrock it has three leaves...like God's presence in our lives...Father, Son and Holy Spirit. From now on I'll always think a little more of all the shamrocks around at this time of year now.
Is it just me or is the leprechaun looking a lot more scary these days?
Soon it was time to think of lunch and for Kathleen's party, I bought some "pasta with personality" and...
I set our table with black, white & GREEN.
We started our meal with a simple spinach salad.
The main course needed light sour cream and I always enjoy the advice inside the lid on each fresh container (though it didn't mention using Irish Spring).
Our main course was Cabbage and Potatoes with Noodles because it sounded Irish to me. Of course, I substituted shamrock pasta for the noodles...after all it is an Irish party.

Time is precious these days as we are spending all of our time building a garden barn (you can read about that on my main blog, listed on the sidebar), so dessert was spring green wrapped Lindt truffles in my shamrock bowl.
You can't say "Irish Spring" any better than this photo does...


This recipe was published in my local paper by Sue Doeden, a MN food writer who writes a weekly column. She also has a food blog that you can check out here.

Cabbage and Potatoes with Noodles
2 medium-sized red potatoes (about 14 to 16 ounces), skins on, chopped into small chunks
1 1/2 cups uncooked medium egg noodles
4 slices of bacon
3 cups finely chopped cabbage
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon, at least, of freshly ground black pepper
Reduced-fat sour cream for garnish

Boil chopped potatoes in a pot of salted water until just tender. Drain and set aside. In a separate pot, boil noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Arrange bacon slices flat in a large, heavy skillet. Fry until crispy. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.

Add cabbage to hot bacon drippings in pan. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Add sugar and continue to cook and stir until cabbage begins to caramelize and turn golden. Cover pan. Continue to cook the cabbage over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is tender. It will take about 5 minutes.

Remove cover from pan. Stir in potatoes and cook until heated through. Add salt and lots of ground black pepper. Stir in cooked noodles and heat through. Crumble bacon and sprinkle over the top.

Serve immediately, offering sour cream on the side. Makes 4 to 6 side servings.

Thumbs Up - Marsha
Thumbs Down - Jeff