Ode to St. Patrick

Wow, has it been a crazy week. Last Saturday was Grandma Katy's St. Patrick's Day party. Mommy dressed me in green. The first shirt I wore said "My Mommy thinks I'm Charming." Right after the party started I spit up on that shirt though. So most of my pictures are in the "Kiss me I'm Irish" shirt.

There were a lot of people there. Lot's of people got to see me for the first time! I got to meet Daddy's friends Mark and Greg and Mommy's cousins, Mike, Tina, Luci and Ian. I also met Tina's mom and friends of Grandma Katy. I got passed around a lot as you can tell from the photos that Mommy uploaded.

There was a lot of food too. Mommy headed over to Grandma's early to help get the food ready. She carved over a dozen corned beef! Grandma made Irish Stew that had lamb in it. There were potatoes and cabbage too. Mommy made her famous potato soup. She told me that I could share the recipe because she makes her soup different than a lot of people. Here goes:

1/2 of a 5 lb bag of Idaho Potatoes
1/2 of a 5 lb bag of Red Potatoes (bigger ones)
1 lb of Sage Sausage
2 lb baby carrots
1/2 stick of butter
Milk (amount varies)
Spices to taste:
Garlic Powder/Pepper
Onion Powder
Season Salt
Pepper
Parsley for looks

Prep work:
Peel & cut Idaho potatoes and boil. Then make regular mashed potatoes out of them by adding the butter and milk. While the Idaho Potatoes are cooking clean Red potatoes and cut to bite size and boil. Be careful not to over cook them you want them to keep their shape in the soup. Boil carrots, then cut into bite size pieces.
Fry sausage like you would hamburger, don't drain the grease there isn't enough just add to soup for extra flavor.

In a big pot with mashed potatoes inside, add milk to create a nice broth. At least 3-4 cups, but it depends on how thick you want your soup. Then add the cooked sausage, carrots and season well. Cook on low for a while to make sure everything is hot. If you cook it too high you'll scald the bottom of your pot.

If the seasoning is right go ahead and serve it up. It makes A LOT it will fill a good size crock pot. This is the 1/2 recipe estimate. She usually use 5 lb of potatoes for Grandma's party.
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I got my first St. Patrick's Day card form Micki, Tracy, Brian and Regina! Mommy liked it because it had a sheep on it. I also got a package with a sleeper from Tom & Corrine yesterday! It has frogs on it I can't wait to wear it when I'm big enough.

Yesterday we went to East Peoria to see Dorothy. She watched me while Mommy went and played with Grandma at the casino. Grandma had a good day and Mommy had fun too. Dorothy is a nice lady, she has a big window in her living room that I liked to look out. I can't wait to go visit her again.

We're off to the K of C hall tonight to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! I hope you are wearing green today!