Eating GREEN!

I decided to repost this in honor of St Pattys today....

10 Fun Foods to turn Green. 

I didnt really want to add a lot of artificial coloring into our diets so I found some natural food coloring here.  Or you can see how to make your own food coloring here.

Smoothies:  Have you ever added spinach to a fruit smoothie?  My mother-in-law taught me this trick and my kids have never noticed!  It is even easier at St Patty's because they don't question why they are green!  I used bananas, peaches, yogurt, milk, and ice for mine (and of course, spinach!).  Sometimes I sprinkle in some splenda to make it a little sweeter.  You might want to add a little bit of food coloring to make it more green, it depends on how much spinach you use.  At first the spinach was chunky and very noticeable but if you let it blend a little longer, the chunks disappear and it all blends smooth.

  

Shamrock French Toast:  Try this for breakfast or dinner this month!  First mix your egg mixture ( I use about 6-8 eggs, 3/4 c milk, a splash of vanilla, and a sprinkle of cinnamon) Then take out about 3/4 cup and turn it green (I just left it in the cup I scooped it out with).  Then take a loaf of white bread and cut the "shamrocks" out of the middle of the bread with a cookie cutter (or use whole wheat for the ouside and white for the shamrocks).  I didnt have one so I improvised with a 4-heart cookie cutter.  Then dip the outer bread into the regular egg mixture and dip the shamrock into the green.  Place them onto the griddle and the egg will hold it all together as it cooks.  Cook it at 300 to cook it through but not turn it brown.  We want to see the GREEN!

Then you make the Buttermilk syrup.  This is SUPER delish!  My kids were skeptical because it was green but they were asking for seconds and thirds!  In a tall sauce pan mix 2 c sugar, 2 T Karo syrup, 1 cube butter, 1 c buttermilk (if you dont have any just mix 1 T vinegar with enough milk to make 1 c) and 1 T vanilla.  Bring to a rolling boil then stir in 1/2 tsp baking soda (and a drop of food coloring if desired).  If you only try one thing in this whole post, make this syrup.  You will be glad you did!
My friend, Julie, over at not-to-shabby (we used to be neighbors!) gave me this recipe and it is one of our all time favorites!


Here is a glimpse of the Easy Green Shamrock French Toast covered in Green Buttermilk Syrup!

Alfredo Sauce and French Bread:  You can bet I will be dusting off my breadmaker for this one!  The bread was tinted green but it was still so yummy!

Pizza: Green dough, Green Peppers (cut like clovers), Green Onions...Whats not to LOVE?

Mac and Cheese:  Add  blue to the yellow cheese Mac or add green to the white cheese Mac!  My friend Caroll does this all of the time and my kids think it is the coolest lunch ever!  They do Orance and Blue for BSU, Red at Valentines, etc.  Doesnt it look delicious?  My little guy thought so!  I added blue to this Mac and Cheese and then sprinkled some real cheese on as well.

 

Homemade Egg Noodles and Biscuits:  My friend Caroll says her mom used to do this one!

Chicken Fajitas: Green tortillas, Green Peppers, You could even add a little Green to the chicken! I didnt though.  I didnt add any green to this meal.  I used a fajita mix and a rotisserie chicken so I didnt have to cut or touch any raw chicken. ( I know, I am all for couponing and getting great deals on food but I was not in the mood for raw chicken today!)  I left the green peppers shaped like clovers because they are so cute that way.  The only person that eats them is my husband and he didnt mind!  These tortillas were SO YUMMY!!  Serve the fajitas with avocado, sour cream (you could turn it green!), salsa verde, and guacamole!  We also had green salad on the side.

Cupcakes:  Does anyone have any green conversation hearts left over?  Well, we did, so here is what we did with them.  Make the green ones into clovers and add some green sugar sprinkles.  So Easy!

Cookies:  Use green jello to make sugar cookies really green!

Ice Cubes: Use green koolaid mixed with only half the water it calls for.  Pour it into ice trays and freeze!  I froze it in heart molds because they look like clovers when they are all together.   Add clear soda and sliced limes for a yummy (and festive!) drink.