Iowa and Illinois Favorite St. Paddy’s Day Foods

I don't have a ton of traditions surrounding St. Patrick's Day other than trying to find a good Irish Stout to drink with my Corned Beef & Cabbage.  I don't have to wear green or put on a kilt...although if I had one I might depending on the weather.

Many of my fondest memories involve having a few too many drinks while playing bar games or watching March Madness, which is how I get to spend my St. Patrick's Day every year! Time to start drinking with green beer...and wearing green shamrocks. We get to dress the kids up for St. Paddy's Day too.  They enjoy wearing green every year.

How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?  Is there a specific food or drink you have to have each year?

Zippia put together a list of each state's favorite traditional Irish delicacy, including stuff like:

• Soda bread
• Colcannon
• Irish Stew
• Irish Coffee
• Guinness Pie
• Corned Beef Hash
• Coddle

Illinois' favorite St. Patrick's day food is Shepherd's Pie, which is dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato with onions, gravy possibly adding vegetables to the filling and topping the dish with cheese.

Iowa's favorite St. Patrick's day food is Corned Beef & Cabbage. This is my favorite because it's so easy.  Stick the corned beef in a crock pot, dump some beef stock on it and and some cabbage and any other vegetables you'd like in with it.  Then you come home from work and the place smells amazing!