I have always enjoyed hearing stories that my mother tells about how they used to celebrate St. Patrick’s day in her house when she was growing up. You see, my maternal great-grandmother was Irish and she helped my grandmother raise my mother and her siblings. Every single year, she made sure that St. Patrick’s Day was a special day in their home.
The first thing that she would do, according to Mom, is take her unique St. Patty’s lapel pins out from the china closet so all of the kids could wear them to school. She would also sit them down and tell them stories about the old country which they enjoyed hearing in her Irish accent. Their favorite part of the whole day was the special meal that Great-Grandma prepared for them of corned beef and cabbage. It’s a tradition that my mother has continued every year since.
St. Patrick’s Day is a great holiday because it not only provides us with an excuse to celebrate and be merry with family and friends but it also gives us an opportunity to be creative and to experiment with new menu ideas. You can make some corned beef hash for breakfast using Hormel® Mary Kitchen® hash which comes in corned beef, roast beef, and reduced fat corned beef hash varieties. Mix it up with some eggs and wrap it up in a breakfast burrito.
Another popular item on the St. Patty’s menu is a hearty stew. If you’re pressed for time but still want to have a filling meal for your family or guests that they will love, try one of the three Dinty Moore® Hearty Meals™ stews! There are three hearty meal varieties: chicken pot pie, noodles and beef, and noodles and chicken. They are delicious and easy to prepare.
You can even host a meal with a “green” theme which just happens to be the official color of St. Patrick’s Day. Did you know Hormel Foods acquired the company Wholly Guacamole®? Wholly Guacamole® comes in many different flavors and is spicy and green at the same time! It’s a creative and flavorful way to put the green back in St. Patty’s Day! How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? We want to hear about family traditions, special meals that you prepare, or special events that you attend.
Disclosure: In the spirit of full-disclosure, I’ve partnered with Hormel Foods as part of the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger Program. While Hormel Foods provides me material and necessary resources to complete various activities, all statements and sentiment in Tough Cookie Mommy are my own.
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I didn’t know you were part Irish. It’s interesting to learn about the traditions. By the way, I love hash!