The Leprechaun's SECRET to GOOD LUCK- Service Project

It's St. Patrick's Day TOMORROW. Wow, it kinda snuck up on me. I promised a friend I'd hurry and do this post before then, so here I go.

Ok, so let me start by saying- WE LOVE HOLIDAYS. Give us ANY reason to celebrate and throw a party and WE WILL. St. Patrick's Day is no exception. It seems to be one of those overlooked holidays, doesn't it? I think it's fun to learn the history of how the holiday came to be, so my family and I started a tradition a couple years ago that I'm going to share with you.

First, we listen to Irish/Celtic music all day long. Here's a playlist of our favorite Irish/Celtic Irish/Celtic music from Grooveshark.We're really into music of all different kinds, so it works for us. As we get into the spirit of the day, we teach the history behind the holiday to the kids. I've included the links we use: The history behind St. Patrick's Day and fun facts about the holiday, clovers, the Irish, and St. Patrick himself. I like these versions (from Kaboose) because they're fun and easy for kids to understand.
As we eat our breakfast, (see my recipe for Green Pina Colada Waffles here), we make a game plan as we think of different acts of service we can do for people in our area. For one of our projects last year, we weeded a small garden for a neighbor (we did it while they weren't home) and left a treat and a note:

To use this image, right click and save as picture to desktop.
In a word document, insert this pic (from file-- desktop), resize, and print.

 Actually, we left a little different version, but I changed it up a bit for this year.

(I sure hope they don't see this, or our cover's blown!)

Sorry about the blurry pic.

My kids- finding joy in service.

 Not sure he's likin' it yet. Notice the jacket... WITH shorts and flip-flops. Yeah, I know.

He's got a big one...and a dirt smudge on his head.

No, he's not a contortionist. He's just holding his handful of weeds awkwardly.

Rainbow marshmallow pictures was another activity we did.

FOOD-
Some times, we go authentic and eat traditional Irish food, which I love! Tons of recipes found here.

But most of the time, we just eat green food (my kids eat it better). Click here for my BLT Club Wrap w/ Avacado on a Spinach & Herb Tortilla recipe. Click here for my Fruit rainbow-topped jello. Click here for my Creamy Asparagus Soup recipe.

After a long day of service, we enjoyed a nice, candle-lit green meal-

For this particular meal, we had those wraps mentioned above, Guacamole chips, brocco-flower, celery, green grapes, kiwi, and green-colored Sprite. We also had a green salad (not pictured).

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone.

BLT Club Wrap w/ Avacado... yum.

These wraps were a part of our all-green St. Patrick's Day meal. BUT, I highly recommend not waiting for that day to try these!!! They're too yummy and easy, a perfect summer meal! My kids couldn't get enough of them (minus the tomatoes)!

Anything with bacon, avacado, and cream cheese HAS to be good, right?

BLT Club Wrap w/ Avacado

1 package (of 6) green spinach herb tortillas

1 small tub of garden vegetable cream cheese

2 tablespoons of light mayo

1 package of turkey lunchmeat

1 package of ham lunchmeat

12 slices of bacon (cooked)

1 large (or 2 small) avacado(s) sliced

Sliced tomatoes

Romaine lettuce

Combine cream cheese and mayo. Mix until soft and creamy. Spread over 2/3 of each tortilla. Layer lunchmeat on covered portion of tortilla. Top each with 2 slices of bacon and remaining veggies. I sometimes like to add cucumbers and olives, too. Roll tightly starting from filled edge. When you get to the side without cream cheese, lightly spread a little on the edge and roll shut. This will help seal your wrap and keep it from falling apart. Cut each in half on an angle (hehe, it just looks cuter that way).

Yes, this was my super-green plate of food. We had green wraps, green salad (with this Peach Balsamic Vinegarette), guacamole chips, celery, green broco-flower, green grapes, and kiwi. Awesome.

Fruit Rainbow!

This rainbow can be added to just about any treat in a rectangular dish!

I let the kids help me arrange this rainbow on top of this really simple graham cracker dessert. Except I used sugar-free lemon pudding instead of chocolate... and I used instant instead of cooked. Hey, I needed a dessert pronto!

We ate the leftovers the next day for breakfast! Haha! Atleast there was lots of fruit!!!

Got colored marshmallows? Here's an activity for ya!

My kids made these pages for St. Patrick's Day. It was such an easy, fun activity!

You can do this little project with your kids while they're home over the summer! If you're like me, you're constantly looking for something cool to keep them busy!

 First, print this page below:

 Click HERE for a free, printable version.

Next, grab your colored marshmallows.

Finally, you can do one of two things.

1. Use scissors to cut each mallow in half (or tear them) and stick them to page.

2. Let your kids bite the ends off each marshmallow & stick the remaining piece to the page. This is what we did, but I have to warn ya... that was a LOT of sugar they took in!

It ended up being a pretty fun project, though! You could do this with just about any picture! THIS is one of my favorite sites to go to find printable coloring pages! Have fun!

GREEN Pina Colada Waffles

Top o' the mornin' to ya!

 I know this is more Hawaiian than Irish, but hey, it's GREEN! This breakfast has become a family favorite since I was inspired by my friend, Josh @ joshlovesit.com. I used his recipe HERE for the coconut syrup, except I substituted the buttermilk and coconut oil for a can of coconut milk. I'm sure his version's awesome just as is... I just didn't have those ingredients on hand. Anyway, it's so frickin' yummy!

This would be an INSAAAANE dessert if you topped your waffle with ice cream, pineapple-carmel sauce, coconut shavings, your favorite toasted nuts, and let's not forget the coconut syrup! Oh, my.

Pineapple-Carmel sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 T. butter

Simmer in saucepan until syrupy. Add:

1 can sweetened-condensed milk

1 sliced fresh pineapple (it would be AWESOME if you grilled it first) or 1 lg can

(add green food coloring for St. Patrick's Day!)

Have an awesome day!

Creamy Asparagus Soup your family will LOVE-

Green Soup? Yuck!

At least that's what I thought I'd hear when I made this for my family. At my house, we make our kids to take one "courtesy bite". I mean, I've just gone to all the effort of making them a meal... the least they can do is try it once, right? So AFTER their courtesy bites, they can form an opinion about whether or not they like it. If they don't, I won't force it. But 9 times out of 10, they end up liking the new meals they try. Honestly, I only made this because I had all this asparagus in my fridge from my last two bountiful baskets and needed to use it somehow.

I really didn't think it would fly, but to my surprise (and delight), my family LOVED this greeeeeen soup!

I got the approval of 6 out of 7 of my family members,

which I consider a success!

Even my two-year old was asking for more! SCORE ONE FOR MOM!

This soup makes for a perfect first course
for a St. Patrick's Day meal!

Garnish with crisp-fried Canadian bacon (or regular bacon
if you're not watchin' calories), grated Parmesan,
and a sprig of flat-leaf parsley.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 a large onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 lb asparagus
Chicken stock (or broth)
1 potato
salt & pepper
1 cup fat free cottage cheese (or a package of cream cheese--I've found that I like the cream cheese better)
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Canadian bacon (or regular bacon)
Parsley (optional for garnish)

Sautee' diced onions and minced garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add chopped asparagus pieces and peeled and diced potato. Fill pot with just enough chicken stock to submerge vegetables. Boil until tender. Turn down stove to medium heat. Blend soup with an emulsion blender until creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine cottage cheese (or cream cheese) and Parmesan with milk and blend until smooth. Add to soup. Garnish with crisp-fried Canadian bacon (or regular bacon), grated Parmesan, and a sprig of parsley.

Makes about 6 servings. Enjoy!