St. Patrick's Day Green Recipe Ideas

Luck is not just for the Irish! Even if you are not Irish, its fun to celebrate in some form. Preparing food on St. Patrick's Day can be more fun than you think.

The obvious appetizers in green are split pea soup, celery soup, a mixture of green lettuce for a salad tossed with cucumbers and celery, and fruit salad using kiwi, pears, honeydew and green apples such as Granny Smith, with or without the skin. Veggies such as string beans, peas and zucchini are favorites, too. And pistachio or mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert!.

However, if you really want to surprise your family, green food coloring is the way to go. With just a few drops, more or less to your liking for color and what you are trying to dye, you can come up with some St. Patrick's Day green delights! The whiter the food, the easier it will be to color. Here are some green suggestions:

Mashed Potatoes. Peel, chop and boil your potatoes. If you want garlic, add a tablespoon of crushed garlic to the pot. Boil covered potatoes until they are tender to pierce with a fork, about 20-25 minutes. Drain water. Add a 1/2 cup of milk, and a tablespoon of butter to the potatoes. Squirt a couple drops of green food coloring onto the potatoes and blend together with a mixer or hand masher. Continue to add food dye one drop at a time to get your desired color.

Eggs. Dr. Seuss isn't the only one who made Green Eggs and Ham. Sunny side eggs can be made green, and maybe your kids too! Crack an egg separate the yolk from the white. drop the green food dye to the white mixture, mix briefly with a fork. Pour into pan, carefully drop the yolk into the center and cook as normal.

Breakfast fun for kids. What better cereal to serve on St. Patrick's Day than Lucky Charms! Serve with a glass of green milk! Serve pancakes with green whipped cream and top that off with slices of kiwi!

St. Patrick's Day treat. Buy those little gold foil covered "coin" chocolates. You can even put them in little pots that you can find at party stores.

Cupcakes. Bake as directed using white or yellow cake mix. Drop in green food coloring before mixing. You can do the same for the icing using white or vanilla flavored ready made from cans. Just put in a bowl, add a few drops and mix with a mixer. Add a teaspoon or two of milk or water to make it creamier and easier to spread.

Drinks. Seven Up, Ginger Ale, Club Soda, Mountain Dew and any other clear soda can be made green by dropping in food coloring. Banana milk shakes in green!

You can dye just about any food using drops of green food coloring. The best will be lighter in color foods. As St. Patrick's Day gets closer, try and keep a list of foods you prepare from now until then that you think would look great in green, this way you'll have plenty of ideas. Remember, food coloring is harmless. And another note to remember, if you are going to expect your kids to eat something that normally isn't green, it's a good idea to have some too just to reassure them it isn't food gone bad!