Shamrock Shake

Every St. Patrick's Day since I was a wee thing I made it a tradition to get to Mc Donald's and order one of their Shamrock Shakes. Even now, it's a given that come the 17th, my kids and I can be found in the drive-thru of our local Mc Donald's which is an event in itself considering we never go there.

This year, I sent my girl Isabella to school decked out in green galore, ready to pinch classmates that were not doing the same. This would be fine but the problem was it wasn't St. Patrick's Day. It was the day before. Worst. Mother. Ever. I picked her up with my son who was also wearing green from head to toe and Livy who was sporting mint green pants. She got in the car wide-eyed and squealed in her embarrassed/slightly amused voice Mom! It's NOT St. Patricks Day today! I felt bad. After all, we had made the date to get our shamrock shakes after school which, under the circumstances was not happening until the next day, the real holiday, when they would be available.

What's a Mom to do? I'll tell you what I did. I'll tell you alright. I went to the grocery store and picked up mint extract. I was hell bent on making my own homemade shamrock shakes. I was tired, and it was the end of the day, but I pulled it together and whipped out an almost perfect knockoff of the real thing. Only better, in my humble opinion. Here's my recipe for the cool, green and minty concoction and the happy little girl who got to drink it.

Shamrock Shake

Makes 2 small or 1 large shake

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 1/4 cups milk

15 drops green food coloring

1/4 teaspoon mint extract

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

You can find mint extract by the vanilla extract in most grocery stores. Happy REAL St. Patties day! That's what I'll be telling my daughter tomorrow morning, anyway, when she will be wearing her pajama shirt to school since it's the only other green item she owns. And yes, you will most definitely find us at Mc Donald's tomorrow at 3:35pm.