Something happened in my home province recently that completely rocked me. On February 10, 2026 the 2nd worst school shooting in Canadian history, occurred at the local high school in Tumbler Ridge, BC. A town with a population of 2400, that has a high school enrolment of less than 200 students, lost an educator and 5 of their students. A town lost 9 of its residents, 24 more were injured and 1 still fights in the Vancouver Children’s Hospital. The shooter was a former student and she killed her Mother and Stepbrother before she walked into her old high school and shot 30 people. Most of them 12-13 year old children.
The same age as SBean.
It has been 3 weeks since this unimaginable tragedy took place and I still can’t think about what happened without crying. I still feel my stomach clench when the Kids leave for school each morning. I was hoping that I would have something profound to say but I still have no words. I am gutshot and the hits just keep coming.
All those Ukrainian athletes and SO many more, killed in Putin’s war, hospitals being bombed and entire communities being decimated in Gaza and just this weekend a girl’s elementary school in Iran was bombed by the Israeli and American governments!?!?!? The fallout and the war that is now ensuing will drag the whole world into this madness.
I wouldn’t consider myself a religious person. Spiritual? Very much so, but religious? Not so much. However, I pray. I pray for a better future. For Me, for You, for our Kids, for their Kids, whoever they may be. I’m sad, but I have to hope that when all of this is said and done, the evil people and governments will be brought to justice. I’m just SO very sad for all those that will be and have been lost in the process.
Over the years we have celebrated St Patrick’s Day with crafts, sweets and savoury dinners. We have made leprechaun hats, gone on treasure hunts and baked Irish soda bread. This year we enjoyed some delicious dinners, yummy cookies and a whole series of books inspired by the magical holiday.
I love a creamy chicken dish and this Irish Chicken in Whiskey Cream Sauce hit all the right notes plus it was a nice nod to the March 17th celebration. We enjoyed this savoury dish with sweet corn and mashed potatoes.
We love a good chocolate chip cookie and these Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies are DAMN good chocolate chip cookies! You definitely taste the Irish cream in them, giving them a fun and yummy twist, making them a perfect St Patrick’s Day treat!
We are always looking for new ways to cook potatoes, luckily the Irish have a ton of great recipes to help us out with this challenge. These Potato Farls were not only super tasty, they used up all our leftover mashed potatoes. These farls fry up to become a delicious flat bread, perfect for dipping into sunny side up eggs.
As someone that prefers a creamy beverage, this St Paddy Cocktail hit all the right notes for me. The Irish cream mixes perfectly with one of my favourite liqueurs, butterscotch schnapps. This drink is a delicious treat to celebrate the holiday.
All the Christmas baking has been eaten and my family is begging for cookies to fill up the cookie jar. These Irish Ginger Cookies were SO easy and quick to make and they taste amazing. A cross between shortbread and gingerbread cookies, these yummy cookies were the perfect transition from winter to spring.
One, if not THE one, of my favourite completed series is The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. This is a Romantasy series before the word Romantasy existed. The first novel, Darkfever was released in 2006 and is set in Dublin, Ireland. Actually I would say that Dublin is the main character of this entire series. These books couldn’t be written anywhere else and describe Dublin and Celtic lore and tradition, so well. MacKayla Lane or Mac is the adopted daughter of Jack and Rainey Lane. She is a beautiful bartender in Georgia without much responsibility or cares, living her best life when she learns about her sister, Alina’s death. Her older sister was attending Trinity College in Dublin so Mac travels to Ireland in hopes of finding her sister’s murderer. When she arrives, she learns that she has sidhe-seer gifts and can see fae. Moning creates an entire world and caste of Fae that needs and has, a full glossary at the back of the book. She creates unforgettable characters, especially female characters, Mac and Mega Dani O’Malley are kick ass FMCs and Jericho Barrons, Dancer, and Ryoden are the OG book boyfriends. Honestly, even the side characters are worth investing in and the Evil Bad Guys are epic. There are 11 books, starting jn 2006 and ending in 2021, in the series and I loved them all. I do have to warn that these books are graphic and spicy. Like REALLY graphic. And REALLY spicy. These aren’t the Fairies from Fairytales, these are murderous fae royalty that devour humans and turn them into sex slaves. Mac and Dani become honed killers and their chosen partners are an ancient breed that exude sex appeal, so they “exercise” 😜 a lot. St Patrick’s Day always makes me think of this series and how I wish I could read it again for the first time. The magic and sexiness of Dublin, where fae are lurking behind every ancient corner. Books in order: Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever, Dreamfever, Shadowfever, Iced, Burned, Feverborn, Kingdom of Shadow and Light
Irish Chicken in Whiskey Cream Sauce
4
servings5
minutes40
minutesIngredients
3-4 chicken breasts
salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1⁄4 cup Irish whiskey
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
Garnish: 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped and 1 tablespoon green onions, chopped
Directions
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 6-7 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside.
In the same skillet, add the butter. Add the onion and garlic, sautéing for about 3-4 minutes until the onions are translucent and fragrant.
Pour the Irish whiskey into the skillet. Carefully ignite the whiskey using a long match or lighter to flambé, allowing the alcohol to cook off.
Once the whiskey has reduced slightly, stir in the heavy cream, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring continuously until the sauce begins to thicken.
Return the cooked chicken to the skillet, spooning sauce over them. Let them simmer in the sauce for an additional 5 minutes to absorb all the flavours. Garnish with fresh parsley and green onions before serving.
Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies
2
dozen15
minutes10-12
minutesIngredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup Irish Cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and sugar together until creamy and smooth.
Mix in the egg, Irish Cream, and vanilla until well combined.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add this mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Potato Farls
4
servings20
minutes25
minutesIngredients
1½ cups flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons cold bacon fat or butter, cubed, plus more for frying
2 teaspoons salt
1½ cups leftover mashed potatoes
¼ cup milk
Garnish: 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Directions
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 400°F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, bacon fat, and salt until pea-size crumbs form. Stir in the mashed potatoes and milk to form a smooth dough. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll out into a 10-inch square. Cut into twenty 2½-inch squares, rerolling the dough as needed. Transfer the squares to two parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the bread is light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the bread to a wire rack and set aside to cool.
In a large skillet over medium-high, heat 1 tablespoon of bacon fat. Working in batches, add the bread and cook, turning once and adding more bacon fat as needed, until warmed through and golden, about 1 minute per side. Top with green onions.
St Paddy Cocktail
2
servings5
minutesIngredients
6 oz Irish Cream
4 oz Butterscotch Schnapps
4 oz milk
Directions
In a cocktail shaker with ice cubes, add Irish cream, butterscotch schnapps, and milk.
Shake vigorously for about 15-20 seconds until well-chilled.
Strain the mixture into 2 chilled glasses filled with ice cubes.
Irish Ginger Cookies
2
dozen15
minutes15
minutesIngredients
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup icing sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Using a hand-held mixer, blend together the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and salt. Mix into the butter mixture.
Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix.
Scoop about 1 tablespoon in size, of the cookie batter into even portions. Roll into balls and roll into the icing sugar until well coated.
Place the dough on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a wire cooling rack to completely cool.
The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning
Thank you to A Pinch of Joy and Crazy Little Lovebirds for featuring my February: 7 Day Meal Plan at their Busy Monday Link Party and Crazy Little Lovebirds Link Party last week.
This week was Pink Shirt Day and the Kids had the annual dentist appointments. I spent as much time as I could outside in the sun, SBean and Ninja went shopping and HBear is busy finishing up grade 12.
2 thoughts on “2026 So Far & St Paddy’s Day Treats”
I am so sorry to hear about the school shooting! That is so sad. I remember when my boys were young and we had an elementary school shooting in our state (which CT is not that large) and it really sat with me for a long time. I was an elementary school teacher and I had just started homeschooling. The news and details just made my heart break more and more as we learned more and more.
All your recipes look incredible!
Thank you for sharing your story and for your kind words. I’m sorry you went through that as well. It such a scary world these days and it makes me sad. Take care.