European Cutie ♥: st patrick's day party! ♥

Well in honor of st patty's day even though I am not Irish, I was married to an Irish man for many years and learned to appreciate the st patrick's day festivities.. Here is a great sampler for your st patty's day party with a twist on the traditional Irish dinner.... enjoy!

Mini Reubens ♥

Ingredients ♥

4-5 lb corned beef roast

4 cups warm water

12 oz Stout beer

1 loaf cocktail rye bread

1 can sauerkraut

8 oz sliced swiss cheese

1 cup thousand island dressing

Combine the corned beef along with the seasoning packing in a crock pot. Add in 4 cups of warm water and 1 can of stout beer. Simmer on low for 6 hours. Remove from the crock pot and slice.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Lay out slices of the cocktail bread to cover the bottom of the pan. Place slices of cheese on half of the bread pieces. Toast in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
Top each piece of melted cheese bread with slices of corned beef, 1 tablespoon of sauerkraut and 1 teaspoon of thousand island dressing. I used toothpicks to hold together the sandwiches. Place the sandwiches on a platter and serve. enjoy! ♥

Mashed Potato Martinis ♥

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, washed, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons fat free butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch white pepper
1/3 cup fat free heavy cream
Add potatoes to a stockpot and cover in water and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander.
Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and mash until smooth. Add butter, salt, and pepper to potatoes and mash until butter is melted. Mash in cream until blended. Spoon into individual martini glasses and serve warm with small bowls of toppings on the side. Toppings forst patty's day can include sour cream, bacon bits, sharp chedder shredded cheese. enjoy! ♥

Mini Veggie Shooters! ♥

To make these cute shooters: Place a few tablespoons of creamy dip in the bottom of a shot glass;( check out my ranch dip recipe below) next add a few cut veggies, such as baby carrots, red pepper slices and blanched asparagus tips. Prepare these up to 4 hours in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve.

My recipe for ranch dip
..http://europeancutie.blogspot.com/2011/08/low-fat-buttermilk-dresssing.html
1 cup mayonnaise, low-fat
1/2 cup buttermilk low fat
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon each finely chopped parsley, and freshly snipped chives, and dill
1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1/2 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together all the ingredients and chill serve as a dip or dressing.

Rainbow Fruit Kabobs with marscarpone dip ♥
http://europeancutie.blogspot.com/2011/08/fruit-kabobs-with-low-fat-mascarpone.html

6 oz low fat or fat free cream cheese
8 oz mascarpone cheese
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1. Beat mascarpone and cream cheese together in a large bowl.
2. Add all other ingredients into bowl.
3. Beat together until creamy and well blended. 4. Serve with fruit kabobs, arrange kabobs with fresh fruits like blueberries, strawberries, pineapple add fresh mint leaves for garnish. enjoy!

now for the cocktails!
St Pattys Day Irish whiskey sour ♥

Ingredients ♥
1/2 lime, cut into small wedges
1/4 cup diced cucumber
5 sprigs fresh mint, plus more for garnish
Ice
2 ounces whiskey
4 ounces cold limeade (I like Newman's or Simply Limeade)

Directions ♥
Combine the lime, cucumber and mint in the bottom of a glass and muddle to release the juices. Fill the glass with ice and pour in whiskey. Top off with limeade. Garnish with fresh mint and a wedge of lime or cucumber wheel.

Can also be multiplied and served as a punch.

St Pattys day shots ♥ http://europeancutie.blogspot.com/2012/03/st-pattys-day-shots.html

1 cup water

One 3-ounce package lime Jello
4 ounces Irish whisky (such as Jameson)
2 ounces Baily’s Irish Creme
1 ounce white chocolate liqueur (or white crème de cacao)
1 ounce crème de menthe
whipped cream fat free

Make 20 shots.

♥ Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan.
♥ In a medium, heatproof bowl, stir the lime Jello and boiling water until totally dissolved.
♥ Add the whiskey, Baily’s, chocolate liqueur, and cremem de menthe to the mix and stir until well combined.
♥ Pour mix into your little cups and refrigerate for about 4 – 6 hours until firm.
♥ note..add fat free whipped cream on top and top off with an oreo cookie, and green sprinkles!

and a little crafty diy ...why not leave your guests with a little lucky scratch off lottery ticket as a perfect party favor! supercute!

DIY St Pattys party favor ♥ ..

Kraft card stock, black ink and letter stamps, a penny, scratch off lottery ticket, a fine tipped black marker, washi tape, brown ink, stapler and the Martha Stewart scorer/folder.
1. Cut your card stock into 9in x 3 in strips.

2. Score each strip at 1 inch and 5 1/2 inches. Scoring basically makes it easier to fold the paper and gives you nice clean, sharp creases. Don't have a scorer? Just fold it :)

3. Stamp your phrase and shamrock on the front of the card and secure a shiny penny with a strip of washi tape.

4. Now, fold the 1 inch flap up at the scored line and staple the lotto ticket inside that fold (make sure to staple the part of the ticket you don't scratch off.). The large flap will fold down over the lotto ticket and tuck inside the smaller stapled fold just like a matchbook.

5. Use a small brown ink pad to ink the edges of the cards and the fine tipped marker to add the shamrock stem.

and dont forget the doggies! here are supercute st pattys day treats for dogs!
from Posh puppy Boutique ♥ http://www.poshpuppyboutique.com/St_Patrick_s_Day_Mini_Bones_Gift_Box_p/sbz-stpat-minibone.htm