St. Patty's Day Dinner Menu and Recipes!

Top o' the mornin' to ye! It's time today for our 2nd annual St. Patty's Day Dinner...one more tradition to accompany our Crazy Halloween and Sweetheart Dinners! Some holidays throughout the year are pretty understated at our house...St. Patty's being one of them, but food is always an easy way to celebrate! A festive, green dinner adds a little pizzazz to the day, and we all have to eat, anyway, right? Might as well make it fun now and then. I have some terrific recipes for you, thanks to some great friends and their blogs!

So what's on the menu this year?

Luck O' the Irish Crock-Pot Turkey Breast (recipe below) I know. Not very Irish, but it works for us.
Blarney Mashed Potatoes (tinted green of course!) and Gravy
Parmesan Roasted Asparagus (recipe here) My kids actually gobbled this down!

Raw Cukes, Celery, Broccoli and Dip
Clover Rolls (Rhoade's rolls snipped in quarters, and three or four quarters baked together in a muffin tin to resemble a clover)
Rainbow Jello Salad (recipe here) My kids' absolute favorite of the meal!

Lime Kool-Aid and Sprite
Shamrock Cheesecake (recipe below)

Crock-Pot Turkey Breast (Thanks to my neighbor, Tammy, for a great and easy recipe!)

1 turkey breast (5-6 lbs), frozen
2 tsp. vegetable oil
salt and black pepper to taste
1 med. onion (I was out, so I used onion powder)
4 garlic cloves (I used garlic powder)

Rinse the turkey and pat it dry with paper towels. Rub the turkey all over with the oil. Sprinkle the breast lightly with salt and pepper.

Place the turkey, meaty side up, into a 5 quart slow cooker.
Peel the onion, cut it into quarters, and place the pieces around the edges of the pot. Peel the garlic cloves and place them around the sides of the cooker. Cover the cooker and cook the breast on low for 9 hours, or until a meat thermometer registers 170 degrees. Remove the breast from the cooker and let it stand at least 10 minutes before slicing (the internal temperature will continue to rise while the bird is standing.)
Discard the vegetables in the cooker. Slice the breast, and serve.

Shamrock Cheesecake

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can Sweetened condensed milk
1/3 c. Lemon juice (you could use lime as well)
1 tsp. Vanilla
Green food coloring
Graham Cracker Crust

With electric mixer, cream the cream cheese alone first, then add the milk, juice, vanilla, and coloring. Pour mixture over graham cracker crust and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Garnish with graham cracker crumbs and a gold coin if desired.

With the help of the dollar store, we'll be feasting on green dinnerware with easy clean-up. Enjoy your St. Patty's Day! What green traditions do you have in your family?