#10DaysofTailgate: Chicken Bacon Ranch Taquitos

So.

On Saturdays when we're home for football, J and I often have grazing-type meals with a hot dip, carrot and celery sticks, chips and salsa, and something sweet.  It's even better if the hot something can come out of the freezer to be reheated so there's no real work on Saturday morning before the 12 hour extravaganza that is college football Saturday begins.
These taquitos are perfect for tailgating:  the recipe makes a ton (I got 15 whole small tortillas), uses staples in our house, and are hand-held for snacking.  They'd even transport well wrapped hot in foil.  If you cut the tortillas in half before filling and rolling, they'd be a great appetizer that would serve even more.
When I made these the first time, we enjoyed them with a bowl of tomato soup, but you could also serve them with a salad or carrot and celery sticks as a quick dinner.
Quick, hand-held, delicious.  Who's ready for a football marathon?  From Six Sisters Stuff, I present to you now Chicken Bacon Ranch Taquitos:

#10DaysofTailgate: Diabolo'd Cheesy Bacon-Onion Pinwheel Rolls

So.

I have a confession to make.  I've made these rolls for a long time, and thought I had pictures of them somewhere.  I don't.  The only one I can find is a slightly blurry picture taken with my old BlackBerry Torch at the old house.  It's the picture I'm planning to use after the jump.  I've just run out of time to make a fresh batch of these.  When I was thinking of things for tailgating, though, these sprang to mind immediately.
J and I often have soup on Sundays, and chili during football season.  It makes a ton, and then we can eat leftovers for lunch during the week.  What goes better with soup or chili?  Fresh rolls!
I found these rolls in a Holidays Best put out by Canadian Living in 2005.  I started playing with the different filling ingredients until I found something that we really liked.  Upon receiving a 6-pack of mustards from El Diabolo Mustard, I figured I could kick these up a notch again with the medium spicy and absolutely delicious Steakhouse Mustard.
Remember when I displayed some of what I received for participating in #10DaysofTailgate?

I decided that I needed to try the mustard in something.  Then time ran short.  I can't wait to make these again and use the mustard!!
So whether you're eating chili at your next tailgate, or just have these as a side, there's enough protein to keep you satisfied for a while.  With the addition of spicy mustard, how yummy!
I present to you now from Canadian Living's Holidays Best 2005, Diabolo'd Cheesy Bacon-Onion Pinwheel Rolls:

#10DaysofTailgate: Linebacker-Sized Chocolate Chunk Cookies

So.

The beauty of tailgating is that almost anything goes - so long as it travels well.  When J and I were dating, and I would go to football with him and his family, I was always trying to find something that I could take for tailgating that would travel well.  These cookies would have fit the bill.
J's favourite cookie is chocolate chip.  He doesn't think that there should be nuts or coconut or anything else.  While I don't agree, this recipe is a classic.  The high butter content of the cookie means that it is flat and chewy.  The size means you only want one.  Even it you're sitting out all afternoon waiting for the game to begin.
I present to you now from the September 2006 Everyday Food, Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

#10DaysofTailgate: Bacon Cheeseburger Eggrolls

So.

You know how sometimes you make something, and your husband thinks it's so good he eats *6* of them in one sitting and then can't figure out why he doesn't feel well?  No?  Just my house?
This would be the latest recipe that has caused my husband's overeating.
I think the most important thing about food for tailgating is that it is easily portable - not just yummy.  Although yummy is important.  It's always important.  Most people want finger food so that it's easy cleanup and you can try a bunch of different things.  Or one thing.  It's really up to you.
I found this recipe during one of the other fun things I do:  the Secret Recipe Club.  With all the flavours of a bacon cheeseburger in a crispy roll, what's not to love?
I present to you now from Flavours by Four Bacon Cheeseburger Eggrolls:

#10DaysofTailgate: Soft Pretzels with Buffalo Cheddar Dip

So.

Welcome to the opening kickoff of the #10DaysofTailgate!!  Today, all the bloggers involved are posting a recipe to whet your appetite for everything that is to come over the next 10 days.
Soft baked pretzels are a treat in and of themselves.  When J and I have an early game for Michigan, we order breakfast sandwiches and a Game Day from Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor.  The Game Day is 2 fresh baked pretzels, sliced into rounds, and a container of their house made pimento cheese for dipping.  While I am not sure that I would normally be a fan of pimento cheese, Zingerman's is amazing.  So are the pretzels.
But being at home for football (or nowhere near Ann Arbor) means that if I want something involving bread-like snacks to dip in cheese with a kick, I'm on my own.  Enter this recipe I pinned last year, thinking that they looked like something J and I would enjoy.  It's not pimento cheese, but it's hot and customize-ably spicy.  And despite the fact that you have to boil the pretzels before baking, don't let it deter you!  This is a really easy thing to make.
I present to you now from Half Baked Harvest, Soft Pretzels with Buffalo Cheddar Dip (links to the other bloggers, and ways to enter the giveaway are after the jump):

#10DaysofTailgate: My First, and We're Giving It Away!

So.
I'm losing my virginity.  It had to happen at some point.  Welcome to my first multiday/ multiblogger/ giveaway event that I have ever been a part of.

Thanks to Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla who organized this venture, and my own sense of whimsy, I signed up to be a part of this event.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  It's been a ride of new recipes, finally getting around to setting up my Facebook page for this blog and actually using my Twitter account.
Like a true big event, there are sponsors!  And lots of them!  In the coming days, all the bloggers will introduce you to the products furnished to us for use at our tailgate.  Some of those products are even up for grabs for US readers (to my Canadian friends, I have received more sponsor products than I would use in a good long time.  Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement!)
But let's get on with it, shall we?

Welcome to #10DaysofTailgate! We have nearly two dozen bloggers with over one hundred recipes scheduled to inspire you through an entire tailgating season. Think chicken wings, skewers, sweet nibbles, and cocktails. The event runs September 20th through September 30th. Just remember: your fork does not go into your monitor...no matter how much you might want to taste some of these dishes. Okay? Get ready...get set...

Go! Let's start with a huge - HUGE! - thank you to our event sponsors who have graciously donated prizes for our readers. These sponsors have contributed great prizes for a gigantic giveaway. We have an incredible giveaway for this event. There are fourteen different prize packages which are detailed in the rafflecopter. The rafflecopter is below and will go live on September 20th. Please check back, if you're reading this before our kick-off.

Our #10DaysofTailgate Sponsors

in alphabetical order with links to their homepages

Bob's Red Mill

El Diablo Hot & Spicy Mustard

FireWire Grilling

Gourmet Garden

Intensity Academy

Maple Leaf Farms

Mr. Bar-B-Q

Not Ketchup

Pick Your Plum

Quirk Books

The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop

ThermoWorks

Our #10DaysofTailgate Bloggers

in alphabetical order with links to their homepages

A Day in the Life on the Farm 

A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

CafeTerraBlog

Cheese Curd In Paradise

Cooking In Stilettos

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Curious Cuisiniere

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

Eliot's Eats

From Gate to Plate

girlichef

Love and Confections

Making Miracles

Miss Laura's Kitchen

OnTheMove-In the Galley

Sew You Think You Can Cook

Summer Scraps

The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

The Pajama Chef

The Spiffy Cookie

Things I Make (for Dinner)

And...THE giveaway!

Terms & Conditions

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment with What's your favorite tailgate dish? Many more ways to enter in the Rafflecopter widget [below].

This giveaway is open to residents of the United States only, age 18 and older. The #10DaysofTailgate 2014 giveaway runs from Saturday, September 20, 2014 12:00am PT through Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at 6:00pm PT. Winners will be randomly chosen and announced on October 1, 2014. Winners will also be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond to the email. If a winner does not respond in that time a new winner will be chosen. For more information, see the full terms and conditions in the Rafflecopter widget.

Disclaimer: Our generous sponsors are providing the prizes free of charge.  Participating bloggers may have received product related to these brands to use for #10DaysofTailgate. All opinions stated are their own.

Scroll through our fourteen prize packages!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Soup for Sunday: Chicken Parmesan Soup

So.
You know what the problem is with today's public school system?  They are germ factories.  We've been back 4 days, and I'm already sick.  I sat on the couch watching football last night with J, and realized that my throat was getting sore.  I'm now stuffed up and grumbling.  A good patient, I am not.
Cold or no, I'm still responsible for making sure we eat.  Thankfully, I'd already put this soup on the menu for Sunday so that I would have leftovers.  It's a snap to put together, and then cooks itself while you do things; which in my case would be lie on the couch, blog and generally be pathetic.
I love chicken parmesan, but never make it because of the work involved.  Here are all the flavours with little of the pesky work.
Even better, the leftovers are delicious the next day for lunch.
I present to you now a Foxes Love Lemons' Chicken Parmesan Soup:

Secret Recipe Club: Cinnamon Rolls

So.
I'm doing a second post for the Secret Recipe Club this month.  The great thing about Secret Recipe Club is it gives a chance to explore a variety of blogs every month.  The problem is that the posting is Monday, and when I'm working I don't have a whole lot of time to make the rounds and read all the other great posts.
But summer has just ended!  And when there was a call for someone to pick up an orphan blog while I was not working, I jumped at the chance.  I really won't have time to volunteer and explore for more than my one assigned blog for a bit after this month.  But I'm so glad I had the chance this month.
My assigned blog this week is Della Cucina Povera.  I loved looking at Francesca's travel pictures, and spent time considering falafels, tiropitakia, and sicilian pistachio cookies.  But ultimately, the carbs won out and I decided to make something for breakfast that drips with icing - cinnamon rolls.
I have posted my mom's cinnamon rolls in the past.  They're carmel-ly, full of pecans, sticky and lovely.  Francesca's rolls are classic cinnamon and cream cheese icing.  They looked gooey and delicious.  They were a perfect treat for my first morning back at work.
I present to you now from Della Cucina Povera, Cinnamon Rolls:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Garlic Marinated Chicken

So.
I started making this marinade in the summer because it was part of the Bride of Magazine Challenge.  I continued to make it because it's delicious.
I haven't spent as much time in front of the grill as I might have liked to this summer, but the things that we have had have been good.  I didn't even manage to get out our skewers or the vegetable grilling basket.  With things like burgers on the menu, neither of those get much use.
What I like about grilling is that the cleanup is quick.  Being able to put meat in marinade and leave it for a bit while I prep everything else is also nice.  This recipe is actually a part of a larger recipe which I haven't made - the potatoes and vegetables sound good, but I just haven't done it.  The marinade though?  Delicious.
I present to you now from the July/August 2006 issue of Everyday Food, Garlic Marinated Chicken:

Freezer Friendly: Breakfast Sandwiches

So.
I haven't been very good about eating breakfast.  In the summer, I spend each morning with a cup of coffee, orange juice and toast or muffins.  But during the school year, I get up as late as I feel I can (I'm still at school an hour before classes start) and blow through the kitchen to make my lunch, a coffee to take with me and a glass of juice while I read my email and texts so I know what I'm walking into in my day.
Work means I don't always get around to lunch.  When students eat, I'm running the halls supervising, and I often don't stop until I realize I'm nauseous/light headed/parched; usually around 2.  I know I need to eat, and I'm trying to come up with ways to eat quickly and easily in the morning, even if it means taking breakfast with me to eat at my desk.  I have been pinning recipes for breakfasts for a while now.  Mostly, they are things that can be frozen and reheated.
J and I have a tradition on Sundays of going to McDonald's for breakfast before church.  We order egg mcmuffin combos to eat at the restaurant and large cafe mochas that we take with us to the theatre where our church meets.  Every week, I order a bacon and egg mcmuffin.  When I saw a variety of recipes for frozen mcmuffin copycats, I decided to give them a shot.
I present to you now my take on freezable Breakfast Sandwiches:

Mug Swap 2014: The Conundrum

So.

After having so much fun in last year's swap, I decided to participate again this year.  This year, Kim encouraged us to bless others - through a donation and a box beyond just a mug.  The box I received was delightful.  The box I was to send...well, we'll get to that.
I got a happy box from Rachel.  It was happy:

Right down to the strawberry rhubarb and triple berry jam that it contained.  I've finished the strawberry rhubarb already.  It was delicious.

Rachel encouraged me to drink large amounts of coffee.  She decorated the mug herself :)

She also encouraged me to be hydrated, or at least look like I am.

She sent a replacement notebook for meal planning, which was just as well seeing as I had almost finished the last notebook I was using for planning.

Finally, I am encouraged to keep up the attitude in my kitchen.  I love this.  I've already found a spot to hang it in my kitchen.

So thanks Rachel.  This was awesome.








On to the not so great.  I am still in the possession of the box I am to send.  I took it to send, and I was informed that the address didn't exist.  I came home and googled the address.  They were right.  The address doesn't exist.  I emailed the girl I am to send to, and she hasn't responded to either of my emails.  So here I sit, in possession of a box for someone, and no idea what to do.  Anyone?  Bueller?

Secret Recipe Club: Bacon Cheeseburger Chowder

So.
It's August, and as I write and schedule this post, it is amazing that it will go live after football starts, and the day before school starts.  The end of summer, the beginning of fall.  I commented to J recently that this will be my 36th Back to School.  I've never done anything since I was 5 but go back to school in September.  This year will be no exception.  Today's weather was even reminiscent of fall - we didn't reach 70F.  I wore jeans and at one point considered finding a cardigan.  It's August.  I KNOW.  J says it's to get me ready for school again.  I say it's a cruel, cruel joke in the middle of my vacation.  Ahem.
This month for my Secret Recipe Club assignment, I was given the wonderful Wildflour's Cottage Kitchen.  Kelly lives on a lake in New Jersey with her husband and the really cute Gilbert the wonder kitty.  I'm guessing he's as spoiled as the cat here - and he had an even more traumatic experience than Missy's voyage in the washing machine before arriving in his current home.
I had a good time looking through Kelly's blog, trying to choose something to make.  I'd had in my head that I wanted to make a dessert, preferably ice cream from the blog I was assigned in September.  I'm not sure why I decided this before knowing whose blog I would be perusing, but I did.  And none of the desserts spoke to me.
I mean, the butter rum ice cream sauce sounded divine, and the Peppermint Fudge Brownies looked really good too.  I'll need to make them in the future.  But as I poked around, and looked at the weather for this week, I finally settled on this delicious sounding soup.
I don't often make cream soups.  I'm much more likely to make something broth-based and full of vegetables and pasta.  When I read this, I wanted to try it - with just a couple of modifications.  I'm not a fan of Velveeta or cabbage, and it sounded that there was a lot of butter and cream going on.  But like all good Secret Recipe Club recipes, it demanded that I dirty every dish in my kitchen.
And the taste?  So good.
I present to you now from Wildflour's Cottage Kitchen Bacon Cheeseburger Chowder: