St Patrick's Day Green Velvet Sugar Cookie Bars

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone.  This is a very easy sugar cookie bar. If you want some other color for a holiday I'm sure it would be easy to change the color to whatever you like.

Complete with gold on top.  These are gold sprinkles that I found at Publix.  You can't have a St Patrick's Day dessert without gold.

 This is similar to a red velvet recipe.  You need the white vinegar for that chemical reaction.  It bubbled when I added.

 Start with 14 Tablespoons of softened butter.

 1 1/2 cup sugar

 Mix well until fluffy.  Add 2 eggs.

 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 1 teaspoon vinegar

 2 teaspoons vanilla

 1 Tablespoon green food coloring

 Mix well.

 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour.

 Mix well.

 Then add to a sprayed 9x13 baking dish.

 Spread it out well.  Place in a preheated 350 oven, bake for 20-22 minutes.

 It's a nice bright green when it comes from the oven.

 While the cake is cooling you need to work on the icing.

 8 oz of softened cream cheese and 4 Tablespoons butter.

 Whip those together well.

 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.  Now you will want to use clear vanilla so the icing doesn't become a beige color.  I didn't have any more clear vanilla, it's now on my list, so I used clear almond flavoring.

 2 cups powdered sugar.

 Mix well.

 Ice the cookie.

 Then put the gold sprinkles on top to finish it.

 It's pretty but not too pretty to eat.

Then slice it up to eat after your corned beef and cabbage.  Keep the cookie in the fridge.

Green Velvet Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 Tablespoons green food coloring

Icing

8 oz cream cheese
4 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Bake in a preheated 350 oven Bake for 20-22 minutes.

St. Patrick's Day

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and it is not too late to enjoy some of these great holiday foods.  So rush out to the store to buy the things you need for that perfect St. Patrick's Day meal.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Reuben Sandwich

Irish Soda Bread

Pistachio St. Patrick's Day Bread

At the End of the Rainbow Cake

McDonald's Shamrock Shake

Italian Shrimp Bake

You can't go wrong with shrimp, even in the middle of winter. This is a quick and easy way to make some delicious shrimp.

The lemon gives it a nice tangy flavor.

 Rinse your shrimp well.

 Thinly slice the lemon.

 Okay I started in another dish.  Place the lemon on the bottom.  I only had one but if you had two that would be better.

 Lay the shrimp on top. I would peel the shrimp next time before cooking.  It would take a little longer on the front end but I think it would be worth it.

 Take the stick of butter.

 Melt it.

 Pour the butter on top of the shrimp

 Pour the dry Italian seasonings on top.

 This is where peeling the shrimp would be helpful.  It would make the seasonings stick on to the shrimp. Place in a preheated 350 oven and bake for 15 minutes.  If you peel the shrimp in the last 2 minutes turn the oven up to broil to caramelize the seasonings.

 Fresh from the oven.

Served with the flat, broke and busted potatoes and some homemade bread and you have a wonderful meal.

Italian Shrimp Bake Recipe

1 1/2 pounds shrimp
1 stick melted butter
lemons
1 pkg Italian dressing mix

Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 15 minutes.

Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole

What is the perfect comfort food?  Why Cracker Barrel's hash brown casserole that's what.  With all this snow, ice and rain we have had lately you just need something to make you feel better.  I don't make this casserole very often, mainly because it makes so much.  But it does reheat well and it is great for breakfast.

I love those crusty, cheesy edges.  Next time I am going to make it in a cast iron skillet.

You would think there would be more ingredients in this delicious dish.

Start by spraying a 9x13 baking dish.  Then layer the thawed hash browns in the bottom.

Melt one stick of butter.

While the butter is melting, chop up a 1/2 cup of onions or so.  I didn't measure mine, but I like onions.

The butter is melted and a little cooled.  Add the onions.

I salted and peppered the potatoes.

Add 8 oz or around 1 cup of sour cream

Add the cream of chicken soup.  You could use cream of mushroom and I probably will next time.

Mix all this well.

Spread on top of the potatoes.

Now add about 2 cups shredded cheese.  I probably used more because I really like the cheesiness of this casserole.  Place in a preheated 350 oven and bake for 45 minutes.

I turned the oven to broil for the last minute or two of cooking so the cheese gets all nice and bubbly and brown.

Now that is a great comfort meal on a snowy evening.

Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

1 bag shredded hash browns
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 stick of butter melted
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups cheese

Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 45 minutes.