I recently went on a streak where I made cookies with a variety of cereals. I literally raided the cabinet in the kitchen and made cookies - the kids have been big on Lucky Charms this last week. So I made cookies with them! With the white chocolate, the vanilla, the crushed up cereal, and the marshmallows - these are epic. And they are so simple you can whip them up just in time for classroom parties, friends coming over, or just to be festive in your own house!

The big lesson I learned is that these are definitely a margarine cookie. I never make margarine cookies if I have the option. Occasionally I make them for my dairy free kid so I don’t feel guilty when he eats them. These cookies are best with margarine. Let’s not get high and mighty about ingredients on these - we’re putting Lucky Charms in there too - these aren’t health food. There is no fooling ourselves that these are anything other than a junk food treat. But a delightful one. These are amazing. And trust me - with butter instead of margarine, these turn out flat and weird.

Lucky Charm Cookies

makes 24 cookies

1 cup Crisco (1 stick)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

1 cup crushed Lucky Charms cereal (no marshmallows)

1 cup Lucky Charms marshmallows

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the margarine and sugar until smooth. The add eggs and vanilla. Whip until light in color.

STEP 2

Combine the dry ingredients and add them to the mixture. Do not add the marshmallows or the chocolate chips just yet. Blend the mixture until it’s just combined.

STEP 3

Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spoon to stir in the chocolate chips.

STEP 4

Scoop onto a baking sheet and dot with at least three of the marshmallows. Bake 12-15 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let cool before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

---

St. Patrick’s Day was made for girls like me. It’s a little bit goofy, has a fabulous theme, a color scheme, AND some built in menu items that are delicious! I can’t wait for it every year. Shopping for a few items that are thematic, but not cheesy is critical for me. Here are my picks for the year - click through and purchase them for yourselves.

Slainte!

Even a glass of milk looks festive when it’s in a green glass. Garnish with whip cream and sprinkles and you’re the mom of the year.

Throw in some green

Decorating for the holiday doesn’t have to look tacky. Pop this over your throw pillow - an easy upgrade for your sofa!

Pop it on a tray

Serve drinks on it, put it on the coffee table, serve charcuterie on it, how about cupcakes?

Swizzle it up

Glass swizzle sticks class up literally everything. Even green beer would look classy with one of these beautiful swizzles!

The good stuff

Just the marshmallows! These are perfect when you make Rice Krispie treats and add a little extra something.

---

Dutch Baby or German Pancake is my families favorite breakfast. The kids love that it puffs up and love it more that it’s a decadent breakfast you can smother with syrup and whipped cream. For St Patrick’s Day I thought it would be fun to add a little green to the party - in the form of spinach instead of food coloring. If any breakfast is inherently not healthy, it’s a Dutch Baby - so why not add a little redeeming value?

When this comes out of the oven, you can smell the spinach. But I promise once you bite into it, you don’t taste the spinach which means your kids won’t reject it based on flavor!

Luck of the Irish Dutch Baby

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup spinach

1 teaspoon vanilla

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and pop the pan into the oven. I recommend a 12” skillet.

STEP 2

In a blender, whip the eggs then add milk. Blend until frothy.

STEP 3

Add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, and blend until just incorporated. Add the spinach and vanilla and whip until frothy.

STEP 4

Pop the butter into the hot pan. Close the oven and let it melt. When it’s melted, pour in the batter. Bake 20 minutes until edges are browned and puffed up

Serve with whipped cream, syrup, fruit, Nutella, anything else you like!

---

Tots are the absolute, hands down best. This St. Patrick’s Day I put them to the test. First cook the tots until they’re super crispy, pulling them early is super risky. Once they come out toasty and hot, top them quick and top them a lot - with pastrami, sauerkraut, and swiss. Then back on broil until they are *chef’s kiss.* While still warm, drizzle 1000 island on top. Eat with a fork until they’re gone - you can’t stop!

Reuben Tots

1 lb tater tots

1/4 lb sliced pastrami

4 slices swiss cheese

1/2 cup sauerkraut

1000 Island Dressing

STEP 1

Toast the tots until they are extra crispy. I cook them on 450 for at least 40 minutes. But don’t burn them!

STEP 2

Turn the oven onto broil and let it warm up. Pile the hot tots into the center of the pan and top with meat, cheese and sauerkraut. Pop in the broiler and watch it closely! Pull them out then the cheese is bubbly.

STEP 3

Top with 1000 Island Dressing and eat immediately! Chances are you’ll need a fork.

---

I realized a few years ago that if you shake a martini with basil leaves in the shaker, it dyes the whole thing green. It’s like the perfect St. Patrick’s Day cocktail. Why? Because it’s green, it’s not going to cause beer-bloat, and it’s SO DELICIOUS. I can’t even. If basil isn’t your favorite then we probably aren’t friends.

You should probably mix one of these up tonight just to make sure you’re ready for next week.

I love corned beef. But I never love corned beef more than when you put it between two slices of rye bread smeared with thousand island dressing, oozing with cheese and piled high with sliced corned beef. A reuben sandwich is my favorite. Take me to a dive bar that serves a greasy reuben and I’m in heaven. It’s literally the best thing ever.

This time of year, a reuben sandwich is the perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but also not feel stressed out by the cooking portion of eating. Deli sliced corned beef is perfect - unless you make a giant slab of corned beef and you have leftovers, then leftovers are dreamy here.

Reuben Sandwich

Serves 4

1 lb sliced pastrami 

8 slices rye bread

2 tbs butter

2 tbs Dijon mustard

1 cup Sauerkraut

8 slices Swiss cheese

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup ketchup

2 tbs lemon juice

STEP 1

Combine together mayonnaise, ketchup, and lemon juice.  Let rest.

STEP 2

Butter one side of each piece of bread.  Spread the other side with Dijon mustard.  

STEP 3

Layer a slice of cheese on top of four slices of bread (on top of the Dijon).  Add pastrami equally divided amongst sandwiches.

STEP 4

Top pastrami with sauerkraut and another slice of cheese.  

STEP 5

Top cheese with remaining slices of bread and toast the sandwiches over medium heat in a skillet.  

STEP 6

Slice and serve with homemade Thousand Island dipping sauce.

---

Rainbows and St. Patrick’s Day go hand in hand. Usually this time of year I make sugar cookie cut outs of shamrocks (don’t worry, I still will) but I thought it would be fun to mix it up. I don’t think anything is better than those fluffy soft cookies that stay soft and fluffy even when they’ve been out of the oven for more than an hour. These stay fluffy for a whole week. It’s like they’re fresh out of the oven even when they aren’t.

I’m addicted to these. And there’s nothing stopping you from having rainbow cookies all the time.

SOFT RAINBOW COOKIES

makes 3 dozen cookies

1 cup butter (at room temperature)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla

2 egg

2 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sprinkles

STEP 1

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.

STEP 2

Add egg and vanilla to the sugars and beat until combined.

STEP 3

Add flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix to combine. Then add sprinkles and just combine. Don’t over mix!

STEP 4

Scoop out cookie dough and bake 12 minutes until just set. Let rest 5 more minutes on the baking sheet once the cookies are out of the oven. Store up to one week in an airtight container.

---

I had the most amazing realization this week - if I muddle some green things together it will turn the drink a lovely shade of green! Which means it’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day without being dyed green or filled with something gross.

This isn’t just a St. Patrick’s Day drink that’s not gross - this is your new favorite spring cocktail. It’s light and refreshing, it’s made with all that mint growing in your yard, and it has a vegetable in it - healthy! I cannot wait for you to drink this. Tonight is the perfect night for it - or tomorrow - or the next day.

BUBBLY CUCUMBER MINT

makes 2 drinks

6 slices of cucumber

10-12 mint leaves

4 ounces Hendricks Gin

Sparkling water

In a cocktail shaker, muddle together mint and cucumber using a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon. Add ice and gin. Shake well. Strain into two glasses and top with bubbly water (try Too Chico if you haven’t already)

Garnish with cucumber wheels and mint leaves.

Cheers!

It seems like every St. Patrick’s Day the interwebs are full of green food. While I’m here for pesto and vegetables, I don’t know that we need to dye EVERYTHING green just to be festive. Which is what got me thinking about adding Guinness to a stew! It’s festive and fun - but also not green. So it’s a perfect dinner for St. Patrick’s Day!

GUINNESS STEW

Serves 4

1lb sirloin steak, cubed

2 tbs olive oil

2 carrots, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 tbs flour

1 20-oz can Guinness beer

2 cups beef stock

4 cups red potatoes, chopped

1 package puff pastry, defrosted

¼ cup grated white cheddar cheese

1 egg yolk

Salt

Pepper

STEP 1

In a stock pot, cook steak and garlic in olive oil until browned on all sides.

STEP 2

Add carrots, celery, and onion and cook until the onions have softened and the fond stuck to the bottom of the pan has come up. Season with salt and pepper. (5 mins)

STEP 3

Sprinkle the flour over the top of the vegetables and stir well until completely coated.  

STEP 4

Pour the Guinness into the pan and stir to completely incorporate all of the pot.  Bring to a boil, then add beef stock.  Add potatoes and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.  Season with salt and pepper as needed.

STEP 5

Roll out puff pastry and cut into four shamrock shapes.  Brush the tops of each shamrock with the egg yolk then top with cheese.  Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown.  Serve on top of soup!

Since you only use one beer in the stew, that leaves you three left for dinner! Cheers! Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day.

---

---