The other day as I was heading home after a school function, as we passed our local McDonald's, the kids started begging for a shamrock shake, because the sign outside the restaurant was good enough to announce that Shamrock shakes were back.  Hmmmm....I like shamrock shakes, as do the kids and my wife.  Let's see, 4 shamrock shakes come to about 12$.

Let's think about what makes up a Shamrock shake:  Ice cream, peppermint flavoring, milk, and whipped cream.  Yep, that pretty much sums it up.  Surprisingly these things actually contain no shamrock at all.

Wait a minute, I can actually get all of these things from the local grocery store at a fraction of the cost.  What an amazing concept!  As it happened, I already had all of the stuff at home, so I piped in "Why don't we just make some at home?"  Crickets.

Well, I was determined and I was not going to pay $12 for some green ice cream.  Here's what you need.

  1. Vanilla ice cream
  2. Peppermint extract
  3. Milk (I used 2%)
  4. Whipped cream - The kind you get in a can.  Not Cool Whip.
  5. Green food coloring
  6. Chopped chocolate (optional)

Put 4 scoops ice cream, 2 cups milk, 2 teaspoons peppermint, and a few drops of food coloring into a blender.  I find it works best with a hand blender.  Mix until thick.  Add more milk for thinner or add more ice creamer for thicker shake. Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and a cherry if desired.  Enjoy while it is still cold.  :P

These are the basic ingredients, but everyone is different and they like different consistencies, so feel free to experiment until you get it just the way you like it.  The kids will have fun helping you make them too.  Now if we could just get rid of a bulk of this snow, it would really feel like Spring!

 

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