it's your lucky day!

A few little green goodies for St. Patrick’s Day!

Shamrock Chips 

Use a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter to cut out

spinach flavored tortillas into this shape.

 After you cut out several,

cook them in oil and salt lightly. 

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars  

Key Lime Swirl Cheesecake Bars 

Recipe by Sprinkle Bakes

Crust:

2 cups graham crackers

8 tbsp (1 US stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 10×10
pan with parchment that overhangs the edges. Mix the butter and graham crackers together and press into the bottom of the pan evenly. Bake crust for 5 minutes and allow to completely cool.

Filling:

2 bricks (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs plus one large egg white

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup prepared lime curd, divided (recipe
below)

Liquid green food coloring

Liquid yellow food coloring

Tint the 3/4 cup of lime curd with the liquid food coloring until lime-rind green.  You will use a few drops of both green and yellow food coloring.  Set lime curd aside.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with mixer on medium high speed until smooth.  Beat in eggs on low speed, 1 at a time.  Beat in sour cream and vanilla, then flour just until blended.  Remove 1 cup of batter and reserve.  Pour the rest of the batter over the crust.

Mix 1/2 cup of tinted lime curd with the 1 cup of reserved batter.  Place spoonfuls or dollops of this mixture in no particular fashion on top of the plain cheesecake batter.  Dollop the remaining 1/4 cup of lime curd  across the previous mixture.  Use skewer to swirl the mixtures together to create a marbleized effect. 

Bake for 35 minutes at 325 degrees F.  Let cool completely in pan then refrigerate.  Lift cheesecake out of the pan with parchment overhang.  Cut into bars before serving.

Lime Curd

8 tbsp  (1 US. stick) unsalted butter,
softened at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/3 cup plus 4 tbsp. fresh lime juice

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl using an
electric mixer. Slowly add the eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Pour in lime juice and mix again.  Expect the mixture to look curdled, this is normal.

Cook the mixture over medium heat in a
medium sized saucepan until it looks smooth (no longer curdled.) Increase the heat slightly and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens. Clip a thermometer to the side of the pan and cook until the mixture reaches 170 degrees.

Remove the curd from the heat. Transfer the curd to a bowl and press plastic wrap on the surface of the lime curd to keep a skin from forming.  Chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

Shamrock Smoothie 

Shamrock Smoothie

A healthy, all-real-food version of the Shamrock Shake.

by Gina of Running to the Kitchen blog

Ingredients

¼ cups Water

¼ cups Honey

½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract, Divided

15  Mint Leaves, Divided

1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt

½ cups Coconut Milk

Large Handful Of Ice

¼ cups Baby Spinach, For Color (optional)

 

Preparation

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine water, honey, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 4-5 mint leaves. Bring to a boil, stirring until honey dissolves and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Remove from heat, set aside.

In a blender, combine the remaining ingredients. Add mint syrup once cooled. Puree in blender until smooth. Garnish with mint leaves and cacao nibs if desired.

Note: If you want it more of a “shake” consistency, once blended freeze for 30-45 minutes before enjoying.

Cute Split Peas and Candle Centerpiece

I baked these Key Lime Shamrock Cookies exclusively for Cottages and Bungalows, and I have to say they’re probably my family’s favorite cookies right now! To quote my husband, “They’re better than Girl Scout Cookies.”

If you’re a fan of shortbread, you’ll love the addition of fresh lime zest to the mix. And if you’ve never attempted to make shortbread, they’re among the easiest cookies ever, as they only include three basic ingredients. Recipe found here.

Easy to make Green Paper Chains are so festive! 

For a little more inspo, I invite you to stop by my new Ciao Tablescapes page. It’s a collection of my favorite tablescapes that I’ve created since starting my blog in 2011. I'll be constantly updating this page with new favorites, so check back often! 

If there are any holidays or themes you’d like to see, leave me a comment! You can find the tab at the top of my page or simply click here.

ciao! fabiana

💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.