3/16/08

Gearing Up for the Green!

Tonight we will be back together. Yes, all five of us. So I’m gearing up for an early St. Patrick’s Day dinner!

Our family was scattered this weekend, some off in different directions for soccer, parties, sleepovers, and speaking engagements. But soon we will be back together.

My hope is for a leisurely dinner. A dinner where we can all relax and enjoy being together. And in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day (after all, we are an Irish family!), I simply decorated the table (I used 2 green dish towels as a center-runner), put shamrock stickers on my white napkins, made some yummy muffins of applesauce (canned this past summer) and bananas, and I even tried a new crockpot recipe (I can’t remember where I jotted this down from - sorry). By the smell of our house, I know it will be yummy. Remember how I cooked the mango chicken? I did this recipe the same way. Tonight I will shred it and serve over rice.

Of course the kids will be drinking green milk tonight (St. Pat’s ritual in our home).

The importance of special times together is what memory-making is all about. Families need to be the basic physical, educational, spiritual and moral unit of our society – or we will have no society! I’ve made a promise to myself, that every chance that I can, I will make time for simple things. Usually special moments don’t happen unless they are purposely planned.

Tonight I planned this dinner– on purpose!

I cannot wait ….

Place your chicken thighs or breasts in the crockpot. Mix these ingredients, pour over the chicken, and do not stir!
¾ c. salsa
1/3 c. honey
¼ c. soy sauce
¼ c. orange juice
2 T. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. Olive oil
1 ½ T. ginger root

Cook on LO all day, or HI ½ day. Remove chicken and shred with a fork into the juices. Serve over rice.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Enjoy your families!!

(Photos: My table setting minus the green milk, not yet poured. Does anyone else like to decorate with pussy willows? I love pussy willows because they remind of my childhood. And if you are wondering why I didn't cook the traditional corned beef and cabbage meal? Because Hoppi brought it to us last week for our Thursday Night Dinner! If you want to read more about our Irish Family and our trip to Ireland last year, go here. Other fun ideas: green eggs, green pancakes - anything green! Make it FUN!)

19 comments:

dawn klinge said...

That chicken recipe you shared is one of my favorites. I haven't made it in a while, maybe I should. happy St. Patricks day!

Rhonda said...

Thanks for the reminder to make time for the simple things.

Did you know that 'officially' St. Patrick's day was on Saturday March 15 this year?? Apparently a Saint cannot be celebrated in Holy Week. However, most people will still acknowledge St. Patrick's on March 17.

Rhonda

OKGardners said...

I love all the special things you do with your family and friends. What fun!

My Mom (even though raised in an orphanage with no example to follow) ALWAYS did special things for our family and did big celebrations for birthdays and holidays of all kinds. I learned a lot from her and appreciate her every effort. (She passed away in 1977 of liver cancer.)

Betty in Oklahoma

Gena said...

Thanks for the encouragement to celebrate the simple things. I am so task oriented sometimes that I miss opportunities to make my family feel special and to create special memories. Your blog always calls me to have greater intentionality in my homemaking; thank you.

Laura said...

Sounds like a great dinner! I'll be serving green jello in honor of the occasion :)

Oh and you'd be so proud of me. I hosted a totally impromptu dinner party the other night with five adults and 10 kids!

It was wild but fun :)

Laura

Darla said...

I don't have Irish ancestors but I celebrate any and every occasion I can find. I'll be wearing green today. We had our corned beef and cabbage for dinner yesterday. There was a good sale on corned been so I have an extra one in the freezer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and your family.

Darla

Sheila said...

I've made that chicken recipe! It's great.

And I love the green pancake idea! We're studying Ireland today in our homeschool!

Have a great day,

Visit To Love, Honor and Vacuum today!

Mocha with Linda said...

How fun! Not sure if my kids would go for the green milk though...They didn't like the green ketchup that came out a few years ago. LOL!

BTW, love the pedestal plate those muffins are on!!!

Jen said...

Well it all sounds wonderful. Scott is Irish too. Our last name is Green. I dont tell many that though. I read about your trip to Ireland..that has always been one of our dreams too take the kids there...but we want Miller to remember it..so it will have to wait. Happy Green Day friend.

Anonymous said...

Dear Hubby made the girls green eggs this morning and we had green pancakes here at work. We're having our Corned Beef and Cabbage tonight...can't wait!

Happy St. Pat's day!

-Tammie

~katie~ said...

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I'm so glad you did...yours is lovely!! :-) I could learn some things here!! Think I'll stop back again!

Blessings,
Katie

La Tea Dah said...

Oh, your table is beautiful! What fun! Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!!!!

I keep thinking of you. . .and invite you to drop by Gracious Hospitality where we are having a wonderful tea party! I'd love for you to join in you have time.

Enjoy a happy day and don't get pinched!

LaTeaDah

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your dinner tonight and I love the green milk idea. It was just my DH and I but we had corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage and green tea. :) Lynn

Praise and Coffee said...

It looks awesome Sandy!
Happy St. Pat's Day!
Sue

tammi said...

I so need to get better at being deliberate in everything I do. That was one of my goals for this year, but so far, I haven't seen much improvement in that area! It's tough to change from being a reactor to being a "pro-actor!!"

I love those pussy willows! Ours will only be ready in about a month yet. And I have to make sure I wear serious rubber boots to get at them because they grow in the ditch by our house and when the pussy willows are prime, that ditch is still flooded with melt-water!! (and it's about a 4-ft deep ditch, so you want to be sure not to lose your footing when cutting branches!!)

Dee Light said...

What a fun dinner! It is always so fun to share these times with our families.

Thanks for the recipe.

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

Sounds like you had a lovely family time planned! I hope it was full of great memories for your family!

xo
Melissa

Chris @ Come to the Table said...

Sandy,
The chicken recipe looks yummy!

I hope you enjoyed your meal and just being together.

Blessings,
Chris

p.s. I am behind on reading your posts. I have been waiting for a quiet moment....sigh

Elizabeth in Wisconsin said...

Hope your St. Paddy's Day was great, Sandy! We had our traditional corned beef & cabbage. YUM!!!