Welcome Back Football

If you aren't a football fan, you might not even realize or care that the season is officially here! This past weekend was the kickoff to NFL, but high school and college teams have been playing for a couple weeks now. While I never look forward to the end of summer, the return of pigskin fun is something our whole family looks forward to every single year. 

Let's face it, part of the fun of watching football is the food that comes along with it. Even those who don't care about first downs, penalties and the score can get behind some tasty game day eats. 

With stadiums filling up once again, you know there are going to be some outrageous tailgate parties pre-game! But even if you are cheering your favorite team from home, you can enjoy some great snacks! 

If we are going to have an entire day of football watching, I love putting out a mini spread and we graze through every touchdown. From hot dips to sandwiches or a big batch of chili, game days in our house mean something yummy to eat too. 

These pretzels have become our latest addiction. Seriously. You can't eat just one, or just one handful! They are buttery, salty and filled with flavor. I don't drink, but my husband tells me a big handful of these and a cold beer are a perfect match. 

Game days are some of the most fun, and most delicious! Football fans and non-fans alike can always agree on a big plate of tasty dishes.

If you love game day food as much as we do, please be sure to check out some of the fantastic collections I've written for Parade Magazine!

• 50 Best Game Day Foods On A Budget
• 60 Finger Foods For Football Seasons 
• 50 Crock Pot Super Bowl Must Haves  
  

 Everything Pretzels

1 lb. bag mini twist pretzels

2/3 cup butter, melted

6 TBS everything bagel seasoning 

 Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl combine pretzels and butter. Gently stir to coat. Sprinkle with seasoning. Gently stir well. Transfer to large rimmed baking sheet. Bake 10-120 minutes until butter is absorbed. *NOTE* Some of the seasoning will fall off, you can't help it. The 6 tablespoons allots for that. We like dark pretzels, so I let mine bake for 20 minutes. 

Shared at Weekend Potluck

Bagel Or Potatoes It's Delicious

 Over the past couple years, Everything Bagel Seasoning seems to be every where, almost to an obsession level. And guess what...I'm totally here for it! I can't get enough of the stuff! I always have a big jar of it in my cupboard and I'm sprinkling it on everything from avocado toast to eggs and yes, even potatoes! 

If you've never had it, Everything Bagel Seasoning is a spice mix that was originally used on top of everything bagels. It's a blend of garlic, onion, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and salt. I'm pretty sure Trader Joe's put it on the map, but you can find it in any store.

 We love roasted potatoes and I'm always coming up with new flavor combos for them. I literally stand in front of my spice/herb collection and wait for inspiration. I pick up jar after jar thinking of how different ones would taste together. That's the great thing about roasted potatoes, they take on any flavor you can dream up. 

This one was a no brainer. My big jar of everything seasoning is always in the front of all the others. It was staring at me, begging to be put to yummy use. 

You won't believe these only have three ingredients when you taste the big flavor they get. Every single bite is a party on your tongue. I used red potatoes, but yellow would be just as delicious. I would love to try this on the tiny baby ones too, leaving them whole so the skin in covered in seasoning like in my Montreal Roasted Potatoes. 

I'm sure you have a ton of roasted potato recipes too, but hey, what's one more? Especially if you're an Everything Bagel Seasoning addict like me. You have your next steak night side dish, what are you waiting for?

 Everything Roasted Potatoes

3 lbs. baby red potatoes, quartered

3 TBS olive oil

3 TBS everything bagel seasoning

 Preheat oven to 425. In a large bowl mix all ingredients. Transfer to baking sheet in single layer. Roast for 30-45 minutes until brown and tender, stirring a couple times during cooking for even browning.

 

Shared at Weekend Potluck

 

Grocery Shopping Today

Quarantine...Day....I don't even know. I've stopped counting. One day runs into the next. Every morning when I wake up, for just a second I find myself asking "what day is it and what do I have to do"...and then I remember. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not doing anything. Well, nothing of excitement that is. There is always stuff around the house to do.

Have you ventured out to the grocery store since this all began? We are weekly shoppers in this house. We don't have the space to have tons of stuff on hand. Yes, we have 2 chest freezers with our beef supply, which I'm so thankful for, but not a lot of cupboard space, and no pantry at all. So, I have always done a weekly store run.

Thus, we are those people who have to go out for essentials. Well, I say we, it's not. Adam goes. See, he works in healthcare, so he is already exposed daily, so we decided it was smartest for him to do the shopping as well. But we have a good system. I help him over the phone. I keep the list at home, and I guide him. Or we even Facetime so I can shop with him. It cuts down on him getting the wrong thing and/or adding things to the card he finds "necessary" that are in fact, not.  LOL

I planned on posting this recipe this week, because while I used deli ham for these tasty biscuit sandwiches, they would be super tasty with that leftover ham many of us will have in the fridge after Easter. But when I sat down to type this out, I almost decided not to because I know many of you are struggling to find things at the grocery, or aren't shopping at all.

After going back and forth for a while, I decided to still post. See, I need some normal in my life; and I assume most of you do as well. So I figure, even if some of you can't make these right now due to these crazy circumstances, you can always save the recipe for post quarantine as something to look forward to.

We are actually still having our big Easter dinner. Well, kind big. After we had to cancel our trip to Pennsylvania to visit my grandma and aunt, we were planning an Easter dinner here with my parents. But since Adam works where he does, we all decided that wasn't safe either, plus our governor extended our shelter in place order, so it will just be the 4 of us.

I'm making a spiral cut ham, mashed potatoes, noodles, hearts of palm salad, deviled eggs and a new lemon dessert. I'm looking forward to it, and I know my boys are too.

These are a terrific breakfast or brunch while you're working from home, or heck, maybe add these to your Easter menu. A simple brunch might be the holiday pick up you need! And if you don't have all the ingredients, use the recipe as a template and create something with what you do have!

However you're coping with these uncertain, sometimes scary, sometimes boring times, I hope you're staying safe and healthy. We wish you a very Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Everything Ham & Cheese Biscuits

8 count jumbo flaky biscuits

16 thin slices honey ham

8 slices Provolone cheese, cut into quarters

1 stick butter, melted

1 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard

1 TBS everything bagel seasoning

Preheat oven to 350. Bake biscuits for 10 minutes. Carefully split. Grease 9x13 baking dish. Place biscuit bottoms in dish.  Top each with 2 pieces ham, folded if necessary, 4 quarter pieces of cheese and top biscuit. In a medium bowl whisk together butter, mustard and seasoning. Pour over biscuits. Bake for 15 minutes until golden on top. *NOTE* Each biscuit is getting 1 piece of cheese, but cut into 4 smaller pieces to fit better. The bottoms of the biscuits are going to be extra brown and crispy, if you don't like them that way, reduce cooking time by a few minutes.