Packers Playoff Game - What to Eat?

The Packers have a huge game this weekend after a stellar win over Dallas on Sunday! Seattle is a strong team and the Pack is going to have an uphill battle, but I have faith in my green and gold boys!

I bet there will be very few people in Wisconsin on Sunday that aren't glued to a TV and if you are one of those people, you are going to need some tasty bites to get through the game. Here are some of my past posts that feature great Packer party treats, eats and ideas.

From way back in 2011 before I realized the importance of using images in every blog post (sorry). These sliders were fabulous!

Cheddar and Guinness Dip was a huge hit at a Packer Playoff game in 2013.

 You can't go wrong with Olive & Pickle Rolls with Ham.

How about a tailgate burger party - the weather is supposed to be in the upper 30s for the weekend, bust out those grills! 

Doing a "bar" is an inexpensive way to feed a lot of people and cater to all different tastes. Taco and baked potato bars are two of my favorites.

Sloppy Joes also serve a large group and when you serve on little sweet Hawaiian buns, it's even better!

For these ideas and even more, check out my Pinterest Page. Especially the Snack Attack, Superbowl, and Crockin' Boards.  

I don't know where I'm watching the game yet or what I will be eating, but from 2 - 5 pm on Sunday, I will be off the radar and glued to a TV - GO PACK GO!

White Elephants and Tasty Bites

The same night that my parent's hosted their family Christmas Party, I had my annual friend Christmas with a White Elephant gift exchange.My friend's hosted it in the gorgeous house in Vernon and they supplied a few eats while the rest of us all brought things to share.

I don't remember everything that was out on the buffet, but the kitchen was filled with food. Here's a dabbling and please forgive me if I forgot an item or two. I was in a food coma shortly after arrival and may have forgotten everything I ate:

Meatballs
Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts
Oven-baked ham and swiss/cheddar sandwiches (Recipe Below)
Southwest Egg Rolls
Fruit Skewers
Cheesey-jalepeno dip
Cake balls
Bagel Dip (Recipe Below)

Raspberry pretzel bars (Recipe Below)
Cheesecake
Gingerbread cookies
Chinese noodle salad
Antipasta Skewers

And of course we all had plenty of drinks and supplies. There was Jack Daniels Apple Cider, X-Rated and Red Bull for our lady quick-drinks, Amaretto and Sour, Captain & Bacardi Rum and Coke, tons of beer, wine, champagne - yes we love our cocktails!

The drinks help the best come out in all of us for our annual White Elephant gift exchange.

Here's how we work our gift exchange.
1) Each person that wants to participate brings  at least one White Elephant gift.
2) All gifts are to come wrapped and added to the pile in the middle of the room.
3) The participants sit around the gift pile in a circle.
4) Each person rolls the pair of dice one time in hopes of getting doubles.
    a) If doubles are obtained, a gift is chosen from under the table or a person is allowed to steal a gift from someone else that has one already.
    b) If doubles aren't obtained, the dice travel to the next person.
5) All gifts stay wrapped for the length of the game.
6) The game ends when the last gift is removed from the middle pile.
7) Not everyone will get a gift and some will have multiple gifts to open. 
8) Everyone that has a gift, opens their gift and laughs at what they received.

Some of the gifts that were received this year include: Unicorn Meat, Beer Brewing Kit, 20 used DVDs, batman puzzle, coal, coffee warmer, massage kit, white trash barbie (she made her return since she was brought into the game in 2012 and was a hit then - it's the cheapest looking knock-off barbie: eye makeup on her cheek, chest and arms are two different shades of skin, legs are way too skinny, dress is put together with mismatched velcro), a colossal TV remote, mini alcohol bottles, and more.

And my favorite gift of all was the one I received (obviously). I got a Wine-O bag - which is an insulated, reuseable brown paper bag to carry my wine in. It's so perfect for me and the person that brought it was hoping I would pick it. Sometimes life is funny how that works out.


I plan to have my recipes in printable formats in 2015 - something that will come along with a few blog upgrades that I have planned. So please bear with these recipes as they are.

Bagel Dip - From the kitchen of Caroline

1 c Mayonnaise

1 c Sour cream

4 oz. of thinly sliced deli beef or corn beef (Mom always uses 2 packages of original Budding Beef)

2 tsp. dried dill weed 2 tbs. dried parsley

1 tsp dried minced onion

1 bag of bagels

Cut up beef into small pieces.  Mix all ingredients together and set in fridge over night.  It is VERY important that you let it sit for several hours in order for flavors to marry, or it won't taste right.  Tear bagels into small pieces and serve with dip.

Oven Baked Ham Sandwiches- from the kitchen of Caroline via a Facebook recipe

2 - 12 oz. pks of Sweet Hawaiian rolls (the small dinner roll size)
1 1/2 lbs. of Virginia ham (NOT honey ham)
6 slices of swiss cheese
6 slices of cheddar cheese
1 stick of real butter
2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the bottoms of the 24 rolls into 2 9X13 pans. Place ham on the rolls in each pan. Cut the cheese slices into 4 parts and place 2 small pieces on each sandwich. (I suggest keeping swiss with swiss and cheddar with cheddar, but go wild and mix it up if you want). Cover with the tops of the buns. In a sauce pan, mix butter, Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and poppy seeds. Wait until all the butter is melted and then brush the melted butter over the ham sandwiches. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 1 hour or over night - or bake right away. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and serve.
  

Raspberry Pretzel Bars - from the kitchen of Sam

Crust:
1 1/2 c. crushed pretzels (using a ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin works best)
3/4 c. melted butter
3 Tbsp. sugar

Add pretzels, butter and sugar together in a bowl and then transfer to a 9X13 pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool before you add the other layers. 

Middle: 
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1 8oz. tub cool whip

Blend cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Fold in cool whip. Spread on top of cooled crust. 

Topping:
1 large pkg. raspberry jello
2 c. water
12 oz. frozen raspberries

Boil water and mix in jello. Let cool slightly then add frozen raspberries. This sets the jello. Pour on top of the cream cheese mixture and spread around evenly. Put in the fridge to set for at least an hour before serving.         

Healthy Living

This has been a long time coming but due to a recent push by my doctor, I have decided that I am finally taking the leap and putting myself and my health first. I'm not saying that I am ridiculously, but I am out of shape, have gotten a little too comfortable, and my food choices haven't been the best.

So I'm taking a stand and for the 46 days of Lent, I plan to really give it my all. What is that old saying.... you have to try something at least 10 times before saying you don't like it. Well I'm quadrupling that! I know there will be great results and some fails along the way, but I really hope that I can get my mindset trained on healthier habits and make working out a part of my daily life.

So how do I plan to start? I have been doing research for about a month and found resources that I will use and follow. Pinterest has been a major player in this. I have been pinning recipes and workouts nonstop. The workouts are things I can do at home or with a DVD (the library has an amazing selection), and the recipes are simple twists on my favorites. It's amazing how many calories can be cut by just swapping some ingredients.

Why am I waiting until Wednesday and not starting now? I did a 10 day trial run already this year and noticed some results. Then we had Polar Vortex #34978 and I just got a little bummed out and stressed. So I had a bad few days that counteracted the work. I think that was a good thing for me to see just how quickly I felt crummy after so many good days. So I picked a day that starts (for me) with a fast between meals, and will continue the healthy living at least until Easter Sunday. I really hope this is a lifestyle change for me.

By then, I think I will have some things really figured out and will have had the opportunity to realize what I can and cannot do in order to get myself to where I want to be. I have a goal weight in mind, but it's for me only. If I hit the goal, you guys will be told that I did it, but I don't feel there is a need to tell numbers. If I feel great and look great, isn't that really what matters? I don't need to be judged by my number.(I'll just judge myself with it until then LOL JK JK)

This doesn't mean that I am going to hole up in my house and not have any fun. This is a fun blog isn't it? I just have to make smarter choices and maybe not be quite so gluttonous when I go out. Downtown Waukesha has so many great restaurants with amazing homemade creations. There is no need to for me to special order, but maybe I just don't need to eat the full meal and have the second half of it later that day. Trust me Waukesha, there is no way that you are getting rid of me.

And once the weather warms up a bit more and I can tolerate being outside for longer than getting the mail, I will hopefully be frequenting the downtown area more. Even just for a nice stroll and if something catches my eye, I will just have to check it out in one of Waukesha's fabulous shops. :)

I am asking for support and I hope that some of you can use this for support in your world too. Maybe you don't need to lose weight or get in shape, but maybe you do need to put yourself first more. Or maybe one of my recipes will spur your creative juices and get you doing something you have always wanted too. Today is the first day of the rest of your life, so live for the future because you cannot relive the past.