Saint Patrick's Day is a Catholic holiday. I am not Catholic, but much of my family is, including one uncle who is a priest (and still very cool). The day is a great excuse to eat some yummy food and drink a big pint of Guinness.

Some St. Patty's day factoids:

- Irish folklore from the 400's tells that Saint Patrick used the shamrock to teach the holy trinity to the pagan Irish.

- The original color to wear on St. Patty's day was blue. It didn't change to green until the 17th century.

- Saint Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland in 1903.

- The Irish Potato Famine (1740-1741) was caused by a potato blight. One third of the Irish population was dependant on the potato for food.

- One million people died because of the Famine and another one million emigrated from Ireland.

We will have no famine here! On to Tater Tuesday!!Just for fun, I cut the cheese into clover shapes. Great for the kids! You can do this at home and bring the cheese in a zip locking plastic bag instead of packing a cheese stick. Bring a can of Guinness or Young's Double Chocolate Stout and serve this with jerky, pepperoni or salami for a complete meal.

Shamrock Taters
Serves 1

1/2 cup butter and herb flavored instant mashed potatoes
3 tablespoons dried spinach flakes
1 teaspoon onion flakes salt and pepper to taste
1 1 ounce stick Cheddar cheese

At home: combine everything except the cheese in a zip locking freezer bag.

In camp: add about 1 1/4 cups water to the mix. Stir well. Serve topped with the cheese.

Lets roll out Sarah's version of TT - who hasn't a bit of Irish in her (but when has that stopped me? Hehheh!)

Two versions - one is a classic recipe:
Colcannon Mashers

Ingredients

* 3⁄4 c instant mashed potatoes
* 2 T butter powder
* 2 T dry milk
* 2 T shelf stable bacon or bacon bits
* 2 T dried shredded cabbage
* 1 T diced dried shallots or onion
* 1 t dried parsley
* 1 t ground black pepper
* 1 1⁄4 c water

Instructions

At home pack everything a quart freezer or sandwich bag.

FBC method:
Add 1 1/4 cups near boiling water to the bag. Stir well, getting into the corners. Seal tightly and put in a cozy for 15 minutes. Stir again before serving.

Insulated mug method:
Add 1 1/4 cups boiling water to the dry ingredients. Stir well, cover tightly and let sit for 15 minutes. Stir again before serving.

One pot method:
Bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil. Turn off the stove and in the dry ingredients. Stir well, cover tightly and let sit for 15 minutes. Stir again before serving. In cold temperatures you may want to put your pot in a pot cozy.

Add salt to taste, if desired.

Notes:

Find the dried vegetables online at www.harmonyhousefoods.com

-The bacon can be left out for a vegetarian version or for a more "meatier" version use a 3 or 5 ounce can of chicken, added with the water.


The other is my take on trail trash food -

Bangers n' Mash


Ingredients

* 1 T dried onion
* 1 pkt brown gravy mix
* 1 T vegetable oil (1 packet)
* 5 oz Vienna sausages can
* 1 1⁄3 c instant mashed potatoes
* 2 T dry milk
* 2 T butter powder
* 4 1⁄4 c water
* 1 pkt freeze-dried peas

Instructions

At home:
Pack the onions in a snack size zip top bag, tuck the gravy packet, oil packets and Vienna sausages with it. Put the potatoes, dry milk and butter powder in a quart freezer bag. Add the pea packet along with it.

In camp:
Add the 2 Tablespoons of water to the onion, let set aside for 15 minutes (you can use warm water to speed it up). Bring 3 cups water to a boil, add 1 cup to the pea package, seal tightly. Add 2 cups to the the potato bag, stirring well. Seal tightly and put the potatoes and the peas into a cozy to keep warm.
In the pan add the oil and heat over a medium flame. Drain the sausages and add in, shaking to brown evenly. Add in the onions just after the sausages and cook till all is browned.
Shake in the gravy powder and 1 cup cold water. Stir till bubbling and thickened (it takes about 30 seconds to a minute).
Take off the stove, plate up the potatoes and divide the gravy and sausages. Drain off any remaining water in the peas and then divide.



Notes:
Find the freeze-dried peas here:
http://www.rei.com/product/510148

Butter powder can be bought online:
http://www.frontiercoop.com/products.php?ct=dfmbc&cn=Butter+Powder

For the Vienna Sausages we used Libby brand, there are others. The can has a pop-top for easy opening:
http://www.conagrafoods.com/consumer/brands/getBrand.do?page=libbys

The brown gravy mix we used - it has no added MSG and a bit less sodium than other brands:
http://www.frontiercoop.com/products.php?ct=dfmgs&cn=Brown+Gravy+Mix