Our St. Patrick's Day Meal

I tried to come up with some green food to go with the green theme for the day. I added food coloring to Valerie's cloud nine biscuits to make them green. They looked funny, but tasted good. We had green salad and made green punch by mixing blue and yellow Powerade (which I purchased at Smith's for $.25 each, thanks to Marcia's phone call). The rest of the meal was Garlic Chicken Penne and Frosty Pistachio Delight.

Garlic Chicken Penne

8 oz uncooked penne pasta
1 1/2 cups frozen sugar snap peas
1 pkg (1.6 oz) garlic-herb pasta sauce mix (I used "creamy pesto" by Knorr)
1 pkg (6 oz) sliced cooked chicken

In a large saucepan, cook pasta in boiling water for 6 minutes. Add peas; return to boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until pasta is tender. Meanwhile, prepare sauce mix according to package directions.

Drain pasta mixture; add chicken. Drizzle with sauce and toss to coat. Yield: 4 servings.

Frosty Pistachio Delight

2 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
2/3 cup butter, melted
1 carton (1.75 qts) vanilla ice cream, softened
2 pkgs (3.4 oz each) instant pistachio pudding mix
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp pistachios, chopped, divided
3 drops green food coloring, optional
1 carton (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 jar (11.75 oz) hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs and butter. Press into a greased 13x9" baking dish. Bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, combine the ice cream, pudding mixes, 1 cup pistachios and food coloring if desired. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over crust. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Drizzle with fudge topping; sprinkle with remaining pistachios. Yield: 15 servings.