Kentucky Derby Party ~ celebrating the 2014 'Run for the Roses'

This evening we were invited over to our neighbor's (Bill & Cheryl) home for a Kentucky Derby Party. We all enjoyed sitting outside on the back deck, soaking up the late afternoon sunshine, viewing the racing festivities on the TV that was relocated alfresco, for our viewing pleasure. In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, Bill made the traditional party cocktail of the Kentucky Derby ~ Mint Juleps.

They later fired up the grill for BBQ sausages, along with other tasty goodies to munch on. Bill also baked a delicious dessert for us to enjoy, one called ~ Kentucky Derby Pie. It was so very YUMMY!!!!

Thank you both so much for inviting us to join you in celebrating the 2014 Kentucky Derby ~ Run for the Roses. We had a wonderful time!  :)  And congrats to the winner ~ California Chrome!

Happy Easter ~ 2014

Zoom, Zoom! ~ Our neighbors, Bill & Cheryl, sent these cute little bunny racers speeding over to our house on Easter morning.  J was thrilled!  Peeps, Twinkies, marshmallows and pretzels never looked so good!

We've just finished our Easter weekend, one filled with lots of friends, lots of food and lots of fun-filled conversations.   In the Food Dept., spiral cut ham took top billing ~ first as the star of a hot dinner on Saturday night;  then as the main attraction of the cold ham dinner/salad buffet on Sunday evening.  The dessert I made on Saturday also did double-duty both nights ~ the ambrosia pudding that was Saturday's dessert was transformed (with a few extra ingredients) into a delightful ice box cake for Sunday.  It was easy entertaining, and that made the sun filled weekend seem to fly-by.  Hope everyone had a fun and joyful Easter too!

Happy Easter!

Homemade Minion Cake & Cupcakes ~ making a birthday fun!

Our friends, Cheryl & Bill, recently baked up some Minion birthday fun for their grandson's big day.  To help make his birthday cake extra-special, they searched for inspiration on Pinterest, as so many of us do, looking at all the different varieties of Minion cupcakes & Minion sheet cakes that other families have made.  They decided to make lots & lots of Minions, both big & small. I just love the adorable homemade treats they came up with.

Thank you so much for sharing your Minions with us ~ we really enjoyed them!!  You guys ROCK!  :)

To make the Minion cake they:  trimmed up one end of a sheet cake to get the correct Minion shape.  Cut the 'nose & bushy eyebrows' off of a pair of silly kids party glasses to make the perfect, easy to use goggles.  Peanut Butter Cup buttons, colored icing & licorice whips helped finish off this Minion cutie.

To make these Minion cupcake cuties they used:  Confetti cake/cupcake mix, topped with leftover blue icing from the cake above. Then they stuck 1/2 a cut Twinkie on top of the icing & created the Minion with ~ bits of cut black licorice whip for their hair 'stubble & some bought 'candy eyes' that they attached with a bit of chocolate icing to create their goggled look.  So adorable!

Quick & Easy Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie ~ Meatless Monday

Our PBS station is having a marathon 'all things Irish' session, probably due to the upcoming St. Patrick's Day celebration.  Since I now have a craving for one of my favorite Irish dishes, Shepherd's Pie, I decided to give it a vegetarian spin...and a version that would be on the table pretty quick, too.  An easy lunch or dinner, perfect for two, is now served!  ~ Enjoy ~

Quick & Easy Vegetarian Shepard's Pie

serves 2

double recipe for 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup ready-to-eat crumbled 'beef' substitute (TVP)
• 1 cup frozen peas & carrots, cooked according to directions
• 1/4 cup condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp crushed dried basil
• salt/pepper, to taste
• 2 servings of instant mashed potatoes, cooked according to box directions
• 2 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese
• paprika/basil for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine the 'beef', peas/carrots, mushroom soup, onion powder, basil & salt/pepper until well mixed.  Divide the mixture into two individual casserole dishes that have been sprayed with Pam.  Divide the prepared mashed potatoes & spread evenly over the filled casseroles.  Finally, top them with the shredded cheese & garnish with a little paprika/basil.  Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.  (if you don't want to heat up the oven, just nuke it until the food is hot all the way through) (if you don't want individual servings, just layer it in a bigger casserole dish and bake just a bit longer, or until bubbly & hot)

    

Easy Cinnamon Red Hots Mousse

Our friend, Dick, shared one of his mother's old family recipes with me.  It's a simple to make, but big-on-flavor type of recipe that was so very popular in the 1950's & 1960's ~ Cinnamon Red Hots Mousse. It's been enjoyed by his family for generations. It's an easy to make sweet treat that can be served as a dessert in a pretty glass...or as an old-fashioned type of 'sweet fruit salad'.  Just serve it on a lettuce lined salad plate and you've got a hip, retro starter salad.  Your call, it works great at both ends of the meal.  Cool.  Either way we've had it, it's always a favorite.  Who can resist a bit of spicy cinnamon candy slipped into a dish?  Certainly not me.  :)

With its pretty pink hue, I think it would make a nice addition any holiday table, be it ~ Valentine's Day, Easter, or as his mother always did, at Christmas time.  Hope you enjoy this blast-from-the-past recipe as much as we do. 

Easy Cinnamon Red Hots Mousse

Ingredients

• 1  15oz can of crushed pineapple, with juice
• 1/2 cup Cinnamon Red Hots
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1   8oz container Cool Whip, thawed (regular or fat free)

Directions

Into a large bowl add the crushed pineapple.  Stir in the Cinnamon Red Hots.  Allow mixture to stand in the fridge for 24 hours.  Add marshmallows and Cool Whip, stir well.  Let mousse sit for an hour.  Serve as a dessert or as a starter salad.  Enjoy! 

Official Fish Fingers & Custard Day ~ Who, is with me...

Today is April 3rd, and it's officially ~ Fish Fingers & Custard Day!  I never thought I would be writing about those two items, at least not in the the same sentence...but, here I am.  Maybe you've eaten them yourself, maybe even at the same time.  Chances are, if you have, then you too, are a Whovian and a true fan of the BBC TV show 'Doctor Who', just like us.  :)

A bit of back story:  Last year, J & I discovered the BBC TV show ~ Doctor Who.  We were utterly charmed by the actor Matt Smith, who took over the controls of the TARDIS & became the 11th regeneration of Doctor Who.  As J says, 'It's brilliant!'  (he's picked up that phrase from his English dad)  This, coming from a 8 year old, is high praise indeed.  If you've never seen Doctor Who, (or even if you have) check out this foodie inspired clip from the episode ~ The Eleventh Hour.  This is when the meal ~ Fish Fingers & Custard ~ was invented.  It's one of the funniest food scenes I've ever seen...

I've cooked this unusual food duo and it makes for a surprisingly good meal.  Over here in the US, to us Yanks, Fish Fingers = Fish Sticks. Custard = Pudding, and to me, the custard/pudding becomes a mellow stand-in for tarter sauce...and it really works together!

Since we're on this side of the pond... (ahh...Pond.  Oh, Amy & Rory ~ we MISS YOU!), you could serve it with a traditional English custard mix like ~ Bird's Custard (I happen to keep a container in my pantry, for occasions when I want an English custard), OR you could just use good ol' Jello Brand 'Cook & Serve' Custard, OR just use a vanilla or tapioca pudding cup ~ they would all be good!  So, if you're looking for an unusual, out-of-this-world (or universe) meal, then give it a go.  We enthusiastically give it two-thumbs up, and as you can see from the video clip ~ it's Doctor Who approved!  teehee  :)     

Easter Dinner 2013

Today for Easter, we finally had a nice spring day ~ all mild and sunny.  Springtime is very late in arriving to the Midwest this year, and I'm so very hoppy (heehee) to finally see the sun and feel its warmth.  For dinner tonight, I made a few of Grandma Bunni's recipes ~ Deviled Eggs and her Spring Pea Salad.  We also had baked ham, scalloped potatoes, honey carrots and for dessert, the No-Bake Pizzelle Strawberry Layer Cake that I posted about yesterday.  We all indulged in waay too much chocolate, and had more than a few rounds of hide-and-seek with the Easter eggs.  

Our resident 2012 fall pumpkin, Jack, is still hanging around the house and was more than happy to wear a pair of bunny ears to help us celebrate. (so far, he's been dressed up in Halloween gear, a Santa hat & now Easter bunny ears ~ what's next!?! Hope everyone had a great day ~ Happy Easter!

 

St. Patrick's Day Dinner 2013

Traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage

The dishes are drying, the few remaining leftovers have been stashed and the last of my homemade Baileys Irish Cream is now gone.  We've enjoyed all the food and drink that I prepared for our little St. Patrick's Day celebration...

Decking the house out with some of my Irish goodies...

 

Dinner is served...

  
Hope you all had a fun-filled St. Paddy's Day!

Baileys Irish Cream ~ Homemade Copycat Version

Baileys Irish Cream, Homemade Copycat Version ~ This stuff is the BOMB!  Now I can have this delicious creamy drink anytime I want, for mere pennies.  That blog is right, I'll never have to buy a bottle again,  I'll just make it up fresh!  Check out the fantastic recipe  ~ HERE!

Today is St. Patrick's Day ~ the day when everyone is Irish!  For our little family's get together, I'll be cooking our traditional March 17th Irish meal of ~ slow cooked corned beef and cabbage with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery (just like Grandma Bunni used to make), Homemade Irish Soda Bread (my long standing recipe that I shared last year, baked last night since it tastes better the next day), a green/orange/white side salad (the colors of the Irish flag) and this year I'm making my son's favorite festive green lime jello mousse for dessert. (he's 8, what ya gonna do? :)

The grown-ups usually start out our celebration with a little nip of Baileys Irish Cream, just to get our 'Kiss me I'm Irish' happy on...but I forgot to buy some yesterday.   DRATS!!  BIG problem when you live in a 'dry on Sunday', 'you can't buy/sell booze on Sunday' state!!  So...

I searched the web and found this blog that has a homemade copycat version of Baileys.  COOL!!   I had most of the items she calls for, so I was able to make this quick and easy batch on the fly.  I substituted ingredients for what I had on hand ~ I used whiskey that we had in the liquor cabinet, milk instead of the cream, a 1/2 cup of Cool Whip and just mixed up half a batch, since there are just a few of us.  Luckily for me, I've got a couple of hours before our guests arrive, so my Irish concoction has a chance to chill.  I love having the food blogging world at my fingertips, I can always count on finding just what I need in a pinch.  :)

Check out the super easy and SUPER tasty homemade copycat version of Baileys Irish Cream recipe ~ HERE.

Hope everyone has a wonderful St. Patrick's Day.   I'll be back later tonight to post the pictures of our St. Paddy's dinner, after all the dishes are done...and a last shot of copycat Baileys Irish Cream has been consumed.  :)

Irish Colcannon Soup

I made this Irish Colcannon Soup on the fly, using the classic Irish potato and cabbage/kale side dish ~ colcannon ~ as my inspiration.  I started out with the traditional Irish recipe ingredients, but, then I spun the potato, kale, leek and ham into a soup version.  I simmered it all for about 45 minutes, long enough for the kale and leeks to became so soft that they melted into the broth.  The resulting soup turned out rich and thick, chunky yet creamy and all without adding any butter or cream, so it's low fat to-boot.  Yippee!

I always like to tinker with familiar Irish dishes around St. Patrick's Day, it's like having a little bit of Ireland in my kitchen.  Enjoy!  :)

Irish Colcannon Soup
serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups large diced potatoes, peeled
• 1 cup thin sliced leeks
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1/2 bunch steamed kale, with stems removed, finely chopped ((steam for 5-10 minutes before adding to the recipe to help pre-soften kale ~ optional ~ OR just toss in chopped raw kale))
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• dash liquid smoke (optional)
• dash hot pepper sauce (optional)
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Place first 7 ingredients (chicken broth - onion powder) in a large pot. (if you're using raw kale, it might not dissolve as much as my precooked kale did)  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes/kale are super tender, about 30 minutes.  Add the nutmeg, liquid smoke, hot sauce and simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes.  ***((If you want it thicker, simmer a bit longer.  If you want it thinner, add a little more broth.  If you want the kale firmer, cook it a bit less.  If you want the kale melting into the soup, cook it a bit more.  It's easy to adjust the soup to get the texture just the way you want it. ))  Before serving, add salt/pepper to taste.  Enjoy! 

Vegetarian Irish Pub 'Beef' Stew with Guinness Stout ~ Meatless Monday

Leprechaun Mint Smoothie

St. Patrick's Day is almost here, time to share my vegetarian version of the pub classic ~ Irish Pub Beef Stew.  I've mentioned before how much I like using dehydrated TVP 'beef flavored' chunks as a stand in for real beef stew meat, so it'll be no surprise that I've used them again in this dish.  If something works well, I'll stick with it.  :)

I've recently become a convert of the old-fashioned kitchen staple ~ Kitchen Bouquet.  I remembered always seeing it in Grandma Bunni's spice cabinet, so when I ran across it in the store a few weeks ago, I bought it.  I had no need for it at the time, I was just feeling a little bit nostalgic.  Her Irish spirit must have been guiding me, because this is the recipe it was meant for.  I am thoroughly impressed with how much color it gave back to the stew after I added the cornstarch slurry to thicken the broth into gravy.  I see many more uses for this little baby in the future.   



Vegetarian Irish Pub 'Beef' Stew with Guinness Stout
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups broth (veggie or vegetarian mock beef)
• 1 1/2 cups Guinness Stout beer ~~~  or my Mock Stout Recipe  ~~~ or for a non-alcoholic  version, mix 2 tsp decaf instant coffee with 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 4 cups large diced potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 3 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried parsley (or 1/2 tsp chopped fresh)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups TVP beef chunks (re-hydrated according to directions or prepackaged ready-to-eat)
• 1 1/2 tsps Kitchen Bouquet (adds additional rich brown color & flavor to the broth/gravy ~ optional)
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp cold water
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions
In a large pot, bring first 12 ingredients (broth - bay leaf) to a boil, stirring well to incorporate all seasonings.  Once broth boils, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

Combine cornstarch and cold water until it forms a smooth slurry, pour into the stew and stir well.  Add the TVP 'beef' chunks and Kitchen Bouquet.  Bring back up to a boil, stirring constantly so broth will thicken into a smooth gravy.  Boil for one minute, then remove from heat.  Taste, then add salt and pepper, as desired.  Enjoy!

Here are some other vegetarian ideas for your St. Patrick's Day...

Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage ~ If you're looking for another vegetarian meal for St. Pat's Day, try this recipe of mine.  I'm pretty proud of this one.  :) 

Vicki's Homemade Irish Soda Bread ~ I created this recipe over 15 years ago and we just love it.  It's pretty easy to make and tastes even better the day after you bake it.

Sweetheart Apple-Caramel Cupcakes

Sweetheart Apple-Caramel Cupcakes ~  Super quick & easy, made from a box of Duncan Hines Decadent Apple Caramel Cake Mix.  Perfect for any occasion, but really pretty when dolled up for Valentine's Day!

Today, when Roy and I returned from a pre-Valentine's Day lunch date, we found a sweet surprise waiting for us on our front porch.  Our dear family friend, Dick, had brought over a plate full of Sweetheart Apple-Caramel Cupcakes! (that's my name for them, since he is such a sweetheart!)

Pancake Day ~ Let's eat pancakes all day long!

Today is Pancake Day, aka Shrove Tuesday, aka Fat Tuesday.  Here are some of my favorite pancake recipes that I've posted about from over the last year or so.  Any one of them would be a perfect choice for one of our meals today.  (or maybe all!)  I wonder which one I'll pick...

Quick Chicken-Cilantro Wonton Soup ~ ready in minutes

Quick Chicken-Cilantro Wonton Soup ~ Using Trader Joe's Frozen Chicken-Cilantro Wontons makes creating this soup a pleasure!

The Chinese New Year is being celebrated today ~ Sunday, February 10th.  The year 2013, is the ~ Year of the Snake.  I thought I'd share my really quick and super easy version of the ever-popular Chinese Wonton Soup.   I use frozen wontons in my spin and call it ~ Quick Chicken-Cilantro Wonton Soup.  I love making it because it tastes so good, I can get it on the table in minutes and it makes me feel like I'm enjoying a meal in a Chinese restaurant.

Feeling & Feeding the Spirit of Mardi Gras ~ Getting my party on!

Dressing the house up for Mardi Gras!  There are lots of fun, pretty things to get you into the party mood ~ I had to look no further than to our local dollar store.  For $5 I've got strings-upon-strings of Mardi Gras beads, feather & jeweled masks and other New Orleans inspired goodies.  I just love an excuse to buy colorful, sparkly & feathery things!  How about you?  Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Must have a Creole Coffee!

In just a few more days, it'll be Mardi Gras!   I'm starting to feel the spirit, and have been looking at some of my old posts that feature the flavors of Creole and Cajun spices ~ just searching for a little cooking inspiration for the coming days.  Here are some of the dishes that I've made last year, that might just make an encore appearance in my kitchen this weekend...

Super Easy Chocolate Cherry Cordial Brownie ~ Perfect for Valentine's Day!

I fell head-over-heels in love with the Chocolate Cherry Cordials Cookies that Kathleen baked for the TWIGS Soup Dinner I went to (& posted about) recently.  So much so, that I decided to tweak my favorite Trader Joe's boxed brownie mix to see if I could get a similar flavor.

Jen's 'Little Treasures' Carrot Cake ~ Celebrating National Carrot Cake Day, February 3rd! ~ a Guest Cook Post from Jennifer's Kitchen

My friend, Jennifer, shared her family's favorite carrot cake recipe with me, complete with photos.  Since February 3rd is National Carrot Cake Day, I thought today would be the perfect day to post her recipe on the blog.  So, here it is, in her own words on how her traditional, tempting, fruity, rich and spicy carrot cake came to be.  Enjoy!

Kathleen's Gourmet Cookies ~ Snowflake Whoopie Pies and Chocolate Cherry Cordials Cookie ~ Perfect sweet treats to share with the ones you love!

Last week (at the TWIGS Soup Dinner that I recently wrote about) I was introduced to Kathleen ~ a fantastic lady who's a gourmet baker/cook.  I'm totally in awe of all the incredible cookies that she created for the dinner party.  Her 3-Tier Towering Assortment of Gourmet Cookies was a real thing of beauty and it would've been right at home in the fanciest of Parisian bakeries.  I was so impressed with her cookies that I just had to do a separate post on them, because the photos of her cookies are some of my all-time favorites that I've taken...

I felt like I was back in Paris when I first saw this gorgeous display of gourmet cookies...

Chocolate Cherry Cordials Cookies

Kathleen was kind enough to share the recipes for my two favorite cookies of the evening ~ Snowflake Whoopie Pies & Chocolate Cherry Cordials Cookie.  She's been making the recipe for Snowflake Whoopie Pies for such a long time that she no longer remembers which cookbook she originally found the recipe in.  The whoopie pie's almond flavor is so enticing, the filling so creamy and decadent ~ I dare you to eat only one! 

This is the link for the Chocolate Cherry Cordials Cookie recipe.  It's full of all the flavors that I love ~ chocolate, cherries and rum ~ all rolled up into a cookie.  Absolutely delicious and truly a winner!

Snowflake Whoopie Pies, Chocolate Cherry Cordials Cookie, Pecan Cookies and homemade Turkish Delight.

Is it just me, or does the name Whoopie Pie make you giggle?  I just love the name ~ Whoopie Pie!  It makes me smile every time I hear it. (I guess that's the little kid in me)  I think you could easily change up the icing design on these Whoopie Pies to suit your mood ~ a red heart for Valentine's Day, a green shamrock for St. Patrick's Day, etc.  It's a universal Whoopie ~ how cool is that?!  teehee  :)

SNOWFLAKE WHOOPIE PIES

Makes 14

Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

Large pinch of salt

½ cup unsalted ground almonds

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup superfine sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 large egg

1 tsp almond extract

½ cup milk

1tbsp edible silver balls

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  Line 2-3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in the ground almonds.

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and almond extract followed by half of the flour mixture and then the milk.  Stir in the rest of the flour mixture and beat until thoroughly incorporated.

Pipe or spoon 28 mounds of the batter onto the prepared cookie sheets, spaced well apart to allow for spreading.  Bake in the preheated oven, one sheet at a time, for 10-12 minutes until risen and just firm to the touch.  Cool for 5 minutes, then using a palette knife transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Buttercream Filling

6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

½ cup heavy cream

2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

For the filling, place the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until pale and creamy.  Beat in the cream, then gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating for 2-3 minutes until the buttercream is very light and fluffy.

Icing

For the icing, sift the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl and gradually stir in enough water to make a smooth, thick icing.

To assemble, pipe or spread the buttercream on the flat side of half of the cakes.  Top with the rest of the cakes.  Spoon the icing into a small paper pastry bag, snip the end, and pipe snowflake patterns on the top of the whoopie pies.  Decorate with silver balls and sprinkle with superfine sugar.  Let set.  Enjoy!

The cookies all looked so lovely and smelled simply divine, I had such a hard time choosing!

All of Kathleen's cookies were so lovely to look at and were so luscious to bite into, that I'm even tempted to try making them myself.  It takes a lot to get me to venture beyond my 'comfort baking zone' (me being a challenged baker and all), but I think I must with these two recipes.  I just can't imagine not having them again.  Hmm...my birthday is coming up soon, maybe this year I'll make cookies instead of a cake for our little celebration...  OR, I keep thinking that these two cookie recipes would be perfect for a Valentine's Day sweet treat.  Roy and J would be thrilled (me, too!) to have a plate of either (or better yet, both!) of these cookies instead of the old standby ~ a boring box of chocolates.  I think I just talked myself into making these cookies sooner, rather than later! 

Shortbread Jam Sandwich Cookies, Pecan Tassies, Turkish Delights & Red Cinnamon Cookies

Hope these pictures of Kathleen's cookies inspire you as much as they do me.  I'm ready to get out all my baking supplies and make them right now.  How about you?  :)

Celebrating all things Scottish for Robbie Burns Day on January 25th with a Vegetarian Haggis that's perfect for Meatless Monday!

Vegetarian Haggis served with Neeps & Tatties ~ This meatless version of haggis is so tasty, think of it as a meatless version of our corned beef hash. Neeps = turnips;  Tatties = potatoes.  Check out my original blog post from last year, when I made it for Robbie Burns Day ~ here.  And, this is the site that has the recipe that I used. (it's about 1/2 through the post)

On January 25th, the whole of Scotland will be celebrating the birth of their most famous and beloved poet ~ Robert Burns.  It's a day full of eating and drinking, and the most requested dish on that day has to be that most unique of Scottish dishes ~ haggis.  Robbie Burns even wrote a poem to it called ~ Address to a Haggis.  Here a is an entertaining video rendition of the the poem, so you can enjoy it recited in the beautiful Mother Tongue of Scotland...

There will also be lots of drinking... many glasses of whiskey will be raised and toasts made.  To end the birthday bash, party goers also indulge in all forms of delicious Scottish desserts, washed down with a cuppa tea or a wee small glass of Drambuie.  Ahh, what a way to party!

I love Drambuie!

Last year, I made a vegetarian version of haggis to celebrate that national birthday party.  If you know how real haggis is made, you'll understand why  I searched out a vegetarian version to make!  This year, in honor of the upcoming celebration, I decided to corral some of my favorite Scottish foods that I've posted about last year & turn them into one big Robbie Burns Birthday Bash post for sharing on Meatless Monday.   Enjoy!

Low Fat Tipsy Laird Trifle ~ This is one SUPER easy & SUPER delicious dessert, with just a hint of Drambuie. Excellent! Come see the recipe & post I did on it ~ here.  (there is even a kid friendly version, too)

Scottish Spiced Tea Cake ~ This is a wonderful tea cake/loaf that's easy to make.  Come and check out the recipe and blog post I did on it ~here.

So, let's raise a glass and wish Robbie Burns a very ~ Happy Birthday!  I'll end with one of his famous toasts...

"Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit."
~ Robert Burns