Irish Nachos!

That is what we had for dinner.  To celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

I have been beside myself with excitement to try this recipe ever since I happened to come across it on "What's Gaby Cooking".  Another blogger that I read referred me to her site and her post for that day was all about Irish food and Kerrygold butter. 

What could be better than nachos, guacamole, and potatoes?

Actually, you could put guacamole on ANYTHING and I would love it!  It is only my favorite food ever.

Next to cheese. 

 Never mind, I like it better than cheese. 

My cleanse has changed me, folks.  And there is no going back.

Anyhoo...

The base of the nachos is POTATOES!  So creative!

I sliced the potatoes in my handy dandy food processor.  Because, for me, it is the only way I am sure to keep all my fingers intact.

Plus, it only takes three seconds.

And then I put them in the pan like I was told to.

 And sprinkled them with lots of paprika, pepper, and this delightful garlic salt...

 I got it at World Market.  It has a built in grinder and works really well. 

And just because you should know.... I doubled the recipe.  So, we could each have our own pan.  That way I could control the amounts of toppings going on mine. 

And also so I wouldn't have to share.

The other things I did were to only use green peppers instead of red and yellow.  Because #1 HELLO!  It is St. Patty's Day.  and #2.  Green peppers are cheaper!  ( It helps with my budget)

And I really debated on what meat to use.  Gaby says you can use anything.  So, I was going for chicken but at the last minute I came across some grass fed/farm raised/hormone and chemical free beef.  Not to mention that I get the feeling from all of the recipes that I've looked at for ideas that the Irish love their beef.

It was the right thing to do.

And the first time that I've had red meat in almost 30 days. 

I just put a little bit in my pan and felt that it was just the right amount to make the nachos filling and scrumptious!

While the nachos were baking, I made my one true love.  Guacamole!

 With extra chunky jalapeno.  If you look closely, you can see it in the picture. 

Me and jalapeno are thick as thieves.  We need each other to survive.

(I'm starting to think that in a past life I was a hot pepper on a produce stand in Mexico)

After eating ten gallons of guacamole BEFORE dinner was served (Ooops!), I pulled the nachos out of the oven and started dancing an Irish jig.

It was like having your very own bowl of heaven.

With Kerrygold cheddar cheese on top.  ( I just had a tiny bit)  The cheese was a completely different consistency than the cheddar I am used to buying at Publix.  It was so light and SOFT. 

I need to visit Ireland.  They know how to make good dairy.

The final result...

 I ate mine like a piece of pie.  With a fork.

Kev ate his with blue tortilla chips.

You can even eat it with your fingers.  It doesn't matter to me.

And I could have totally eaten it without the meat and it still would have been amazing.  The potatoes make it hearty. 

It definitely goes a long way.  We have plenty of leftovers.

And three more avocados in the pantry just in case we run out of the guac.

Then came dessert.

Unfortunately, mint is Kev's nemesis.  So, just about every celebratory dessert is green because of the minty flavoring. 

I had to get creative.  So, I decided to make him a milkshake COLORED green.  However, there was no green food coloring to be found.

 So, I went with green sprinkles.

I made the shake with 2 cups vanilla ice cream, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream, and a dash of vanilla extract.  There is cool whip on top.  Of course.

He enjoyed it even though the glass may have been a little too full which resulted in some spillage on the jammies.

That just means that tomorrow night I will have to pull out the BIG glass and maybe a bib.

We hope you all had a fun and safe and yummy St. Patrick's Day!!

I'm already planning some different ideas for next year... in addition to having the nachos again!  :)