Sometimes you’ve got to change-up tradition a little!

Like our gummy “snakes” (in honor of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland) tradition!  I posted about that St. Patrick’s Day tradition and how my mom always used gummy worms to tell the story.

Last year, I made this dessert in clear cups so you could see the snakes!  I used plain lime jello on the bottom and made a green jello mixture for the top layer.

Recipe:
8 oz cream cheese
1 large box of lime jello
1 cup boiling water
1 large can (29 oz) pear halves
1 (12 oz) container of cool whip

In a mixer, combine the cream cheese and jello powder.  Add the hot water and mix until it is a smooth liquid.  Blend pears (and all the liquid from the can) in a blender until smooth.  Add the pears to the mixer.  Once combined, refrigerate until it is set up half way (about 2-3 hours).  Take it out of the fridge and mix the cool whip in.  At this point, you can put it in cups/parfaits or pour into a pyrex/trifle dish.  Let it set in the fridge for 4-6 more hours to finish setting up.

My husband’s family usually makes this in a 9×13 pan, which will also do for a green side dish/dessert.

Last year, these little parfait-ish things sat at every seat.  I liked this little twist on tradition.

I must confess though, I strayed pretty far from tradition for the main dish.  My mom was so good about making corned beef and cabbage every year.  But every time we’ve made that, I remember that I don’t like it very much.  So I opted for beef and mashed potatoes.  (Sorta Irish?  Maybe?)

Some other parts of the meal were green.

And other parts of the meal were made to be green… like my mom’s delicious french bread.
The green version might freak you out a little, but if you knew how good it is, your mouth would be watering right now!  See the french bread recipe in this post.  If you want it to be green, just add the food coloring before the flour!

But the best tradition of all is to share our St. Patrick’s Day meal with great friends!  That’s a tradition that can’t be strayed from!  Looking at these pictures of last year makes me think more about how much fun we had, than the food!

So I’m going to have to round up my fabulous neighbors and some more green food ideas and get planning this year’s meal!