Other Fun Irish American Heritage Month/Saint Patrick’s Day
Activities/Crafts/Reciepes
Rainbow Order
A rainbow pot will brighten up any room in the house. Use it for planting herbs or for holding pencils.
Decorating a terra cotta pot with paint is a great way for your little one to learn the colors of the rainbow
and how to paint them in order.
What You Need:
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Terra cotta pot
Tempera or acrylic paint
Paintbrush
What You Do:
1.
Starting from the top of the pot, have your child paint a red stripe around the circumference of the terra cotta pot.
2.
While this is still wet, have your child paint the next color in the rainbow just below the red stripe. The colors may blend a bit,
which makes the pot even prettier!
3.
Encourage your child to continue painting the rainbow colors in order until the entire pot is covered. Allow to dry and fill it with
whatever you like
Shepherd's Pie
INGREDIENTS
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Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Yield: Serves four.
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METHOD
1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups vegetables - chopped
carrots, corn, peas
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big
ones)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings
of choice
1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large
frying pan.
3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding
vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions.
Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has
initially cooked.
4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add
worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low
heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.
6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough
up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to
make some designs in the potatoes as well.
7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for
last few minutes if necessary to brown.
Hot Potato
As potatoes are a staple of the Irish diet, what better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with
a few riotous rounds of Hot Potato? In lieu of a beanbag, use a real potato instead! This game is
especially great for little kids, helping to build fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
What You Need:
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Several players (the more the better!)
Potato
What You Do:
1. Have everyone sit in a circle facing each other and choose one person to be the caller.
2. Have the caller stand in the center of the circle and hand the potato to one of the seated
players.
3. Ask the caller to close her eyes, then have the other players pass the potato around the
circle as quickly as they can.
4. When the caller yells "Hot!" everyone stops. Whoever is holding the potato is out and
leaves the circle. Have the other players close the gap in the circle and start again.
5. Continue playing until just one person is left. The last person left wins and gets to be the
caller for the next round.
You can also play this game set to music, like Musical Chairs. Players stand and pass the potato
around the circle as the music plays. When the leader stops the music, the person holding the
potato is out.
Green Mashed Potatoes
As parents, we're often telling our kids not to play with their food. We can make an exception in this case,
though, because ordinary mashed potatoes just won't do for St. Patrick's Day—they've got to be green!
Kids go wild over this colorful and tasty dish, and with its generous helping of healthy vegetables, parents
love it too.
What You Need:
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3 medium baking potatoes
¼ cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Green food coloring
1 cup of your child’s favorite vegetables, cooked
What You Do:
1.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into ½" slices.
2.
Have your child place them in a pot and cover with cold water.
3.
Boil for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
4.
Drain the potatoes well in a colander, then return them to the pot and mash with a potato masher.
5.
Add the milk, butter, garlic powder, and stock. Stir in the cream cheese and add the salt and pepper. Add several drops of food
coloring and stir well.
6.
Fold in the vegetables.
7.
For the wow factor, use an ice cream scoop to serve the potatoes. Since we eat with our eyes first, we're more likely to enjoy
food that looks attractive and appetizing. Serving the potatoes with an ice cream scoop makes a really attractive presentation
and is sure to make your kids eager to dive in and eat. The potatoes are tasty by themselves, but you can also top with your
child's favorite gravy for a little extra oomph.