If you had to pick a color that celebrates both March and April, most likely it would be green. After all, spring blooms, Earth Day, and St. Patrick’s Day are all “green events” so we think some green recipes are in order!
Dutch Oven Irish Stew
(Recipe source: theirishcooker.com)
Ingredients:
1 ¼ pounds stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 pounds russet potatoes, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups carrots, cut into ½ inch pieces
¼ cup olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups beef stock
1 cup Guinness, or other stout beer
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a 4 ½-quart enamel Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Add the stewing meet and sauté until browned on all sides. Add garlic and sauté another minute. Add beef stock, thyme, tomato paste, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, beer, red wine and bay leaves. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer for an hour. Stir occasionally.
While the meat/stock is simmering, melt butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, and potatoes. Sauté vegetables until golden and set them aside.
After the stew has been cooking for an hour, add the vegetables and potatoes. Simmer uncovered until both the vegetables and the stew meat are fork tender. Discard bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle in the parsley.
Enjoy!
Earth Day Dirt Cups
Ingredients:
2 cups cold milk
1 4-ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 8-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 16-ounce package chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
Instructions:
Beat milk and pudding mix together in a bowl until well blended and slightly thickened, let stand to thicken further, about 5 minutes. Then, stir in whipped topping and ½ of the crushed cookies into the pudding. Spoon into individual serving dishes and top with remaining crushed cookie mix. Refrigerate for one hour. Top with gummy worms before serving.