I’ve always been fascinated with The Emerald Isle. The beautiful rolling hills all green in pictures are so breath taking.

Over the years we have tried lots of traditional Irish recipes. My favorite is called “Colcannon”. I have made this a lot in the winter, because it’s a real stick to your ribs dish. I actually got this recipe out of a ‘traditional Irish’ cookbook from the library when my daughter was doing a report on Ireland one year. [Read more...]

Is it legal to have so many people on one bed to watch a movie?

There’s nothing more fun in our family than to pile in to mom and dad’s (that’s our) bed and watch movies. I’m just so thankful we had bought a king sized bed before our daughter was born (almost 15 years ago). We have sure needed the room for movie night! Now that our sons are grown, our 3 grand daughters and daughter in law have been added. [Read more...]

St. Patrick’s Day will be here before we know it. It seems that this holiday is becoming more and more popular. Everywhere I look in the stores I see green. Let’s get ready and really ‘go green’ this year!

I have found a few websites that have fun kids recipes.

The website Kinderinfo.com has a recipe for Leprechaun Ale I’m sure your children will love. It doesn’t have any alcohol and it looks fun to make. They have several recipes and crafts that will have little ones ‘going green’ all day.

Menus4moms.com impressed me with a recipe for Irish Potato Candy. Hmmm…Sounds interesting, I think I’ll try that one!

I think I’ll give the St. Patrick’s Day Cookie Pops recipe a try with my grand daughters. They look like fun to do with preschoolers.

If you feel you’re having “The Luck o’ the Irish” you may want to make these adorable St. Patrick’s Day Rainbow Cupcakes.

Tomorrow I will have adult St. Patrick’s Day fun! Stay tuned!

We’ve had a lot of rain and wind the past few weeks which has kept our daily temperatures below the mid 50′s. That is just downright freezing for someone who’s not used to making their own body heat!

I’ve been craving nice soothing hot beverages during our recent mini ice age in Las Vegas. This has me thinking that those of you who actually do experience a real winter, where ice and snow are still on the ground, may want warm drinks too.

Below, you’ll find a list of things I’ve tried and a few recipes you may want to make. All are kid friendly, no “adult’ beverages are listed. [Read more...]

I have been tagged for a 25 Things meme. Thank You, Kelly!

Since I’m interning here at Family Foodies, I will list 25 Things about my kitchen, skills included!

1. There are 2 refrigerators in my kitchen. I can’t talk my hubby to move the second one into the garage….yet.
2. I love to cook with garlic and onions. I ran out of onions once, and had a panic attack. Cooking dinner that night was torturous!
3. I prefer using fresh garlic off the bulb rather than canned or dried garlic.
4. When I was about 12, my mom told me to fill up the flour canister. She handed me the bag, I opened it and dumped it in. As I was pulling the sack out, my mom informed me that the flour bag was a 10 pound bag, and the canister was a 5 pound one. It became a huge mess. I have been teased ever since about putting ’5 into 10′.
5. After the birth of my 3rd child, a little girl, I was making DiGorno pizza and burned it. My sons, then 10 and 13, have called it “De Burno’ pizza ever since.
6. I have a dishwasher but still like to wash my dishes by hand. It’s somehow calming for me.
7. All the skillets and griddles in my kitchen are cast iron. I have just about every size made. I love them.
8. It is so satisfying to keep a good ‘season’ on my cast iron pans. They were the original ‘non stick’ skillet.
9. I clean my kitchen sink with baking soda and lemon juice. Bleach based cleansers give me a headache.
10. I like to make a weekly menu and shop for it but then I don’t follow it. I can’t figure out why I do that.
11. I like to cook with Smart Blend oil
12. When time is crunched and I want to serve a nutritious meal, I make fried egg sandwiches…. we have them at least once a week.
13. I just learned how to make rice without making it sticky.
14. I add garlic and cauliflower to my potatoes when I am boiling them for mashed potatoes. It makes them tastier and creamier.
15. I enjoy making Thanksgiving Dinner at my house and use paper plates for easy clean up.
16. I never had turkey for Thanksgiving until I was married at age 18. We always had wild game that my dad had hunted. I thought turkey was the most boring meat I ever had when I first ate it.
17. I like mixing things with my hands, rather than a spoon. I think it is residual of my little girl “mud pie’ days.
18. I’m a western girl who loves sweet tea. I make it all the time.
19. There is a collection of old teapots above the cupboards in my kitchen.
20. I prefer using wooden spoons while cooking.
21. My coffee is stored in the freezer.
22. We prefer liquid creamer over powder.
23. There is always raw apple cider vinegar in the fridge.
24. I keep raw honey on hand
25. When there is a cold coming on, I make a cup of water hot, and add a teaspoon of the raw apple cider vinegar and two teaspoons of the raw honey to the cup and feed it to who ever isn’t feeling well, including me, if I need it.

I hope you enjoyed the 25 things about my kitchen.