Super Bowl eats {2017}

Posted in Food, Holidays, Homemade by mszerwo

SuperBowl LI ~ 2017

We didn’t go all out for this year’s Super Bowl, like we have in the past (2016, 2014), but we tried out some new recipes and rekindled some old favorites!

We’ll start with dessert.

Cocoa Krispies Football Treats

I used my very favorite rice krispie treat recipe and swapped normal Rice Krispies for Cocoa Krispies. These take less than 5 minutes to make and they’re delicious!

Cocoa Krispie football treats

Make a batch of the rice krispie per the instructions and spread them out on a jellyroll pan instead of a 9″ x 9″ pan, making them thinner than a normal batch (about 1″ tall).

Once cooled, use your football cookie cutter to cut out your treats.

Use icing (I used store-bought icing from my pantry, but you could easily make your own) to draw on your laces.

And… Enjoy!

Cocoa Krispies football treats

We also enjoyed a large plate of shredded pork nachos, topped with my infamous black bean and corn salsa (recipe below!), which I can’t believe I haven’t shared here yet.

We went basic (but SO delicious): shredded pork nachos

Our delicious SuperBowl nacho plateWe also made pretzels from scratch!

First-time, homemade pretzel bites

I hope you had a great Super Bowl 51. I’d love to hear about any favorite recipes from your game day celebrations!

Megan’s famous black bean and corn salsa

Megan’s Black Bean and Corn Salsa

I’ve committed this recipe to memory and trigger that memory by going through the colors of the rainbow: red (tomato), orange (and orange), yellow (corn), green (cilantro, lime juice), blue (no ingredient, but a stickler for Roy G Biv), and purple (shallots).

Combine the following in a bowl:

1 can corn, rinsed
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 Roma tomato, chopped (or a handful of grape tomatoes, whatever you have on hand!)
2 shallots, chopped
The juice of one orange
~2 T lime juice
~2 T White balsamic vinegar (I haven’t tried the normal balsamic vinegar because this one is too good! Buy it. It’s worth it.)
A liberal drizzle of honey (maybe 1 T?)
Salt and pepper to taste

The nachos were a hit, especially with Michael!

Nacho lover: Michael

1Sep2016

Football season… already!?

Posted in Around the house, Food by mszerwo

So, it’s September. Along with Brandon’s last school year starting, Michael turning one, and fall TV and weather returning, it’s time to dust off our football gear and get ready for the NFL and NCAA football seasons.

We’re Seattleites who support the Seahawks, but the Broncos are our main NFL team. (And here.)

Of course, we have to dress the part!

We’ve got Bronco spirit!

Michael outgrew last year’s outfit (he was so little!)…

Our little fan watching the pre-game

And this year’s arrived last week.

Michael’s 2016-17 Bronco outfit is here!

While we were ordering Bronco gear, I went ahead and updated my look too: new orange sweatpants! Brandon has been an avid Bronco fan since he was in utero and he has a plethora of game day attire. My sister gave Brandon this Bronco sweater for his birthday this year, so I imagine we’ll see it a lot this fall!

Since the Broncos are the reigning football world champions, we’ll of course be celebrating the season kick off and SuperBowl 50 rematch on Thursday.

I’m thinking something easy and delicious, probably pulled pork. Maybe pulled pork tacos? Or nachos? If you have any great ideas, I haven’t made the menu yet, so I’m all ears! Please share your great plans for the 2016-17 NFL (and college! Our fan photos will come soon!) season and enjoy! Go Broncos and go Seahawks! (That’s for you, Peter and Molly!)

14Oct2015

{Wine Wednesday} Game day wine pairings

Posted in Drinky drinky, Food, Wine Wednesdays by mszerwo

VinePair always has the best wine pairing ideas and infographics! (See Halloween candy, Thanksgiving, and Christmas cookies.)

They scored once again with these football foods and wine pairings. I’m sure these would all be great with beer, but that’s not my thing, so this is especially poignant for me. Especially since I’ll be spending the bulk of my sportsball-watching at home, in front of the TV with my little guy. Don’t nachos and malbec sound delightful right now?!

2015-9-16 football-gameday-wine-pairings-infographic

Happy drinking and go Huskies, Broncos and Seahawks!

9Sep2015

It’s football time!

Posted in Crafts, DIY, Homemade, Q13 by mszerwo

‘Tis the season to get ready for football season! I’ve been gearing up on Pinterest and have compiled some of my football favorites here for you. We even went to a preseason faceoff between our hometown Seattle Seahawks and Brandon’s beloved Denver Broncos. (The Broncos won~ Go Broncos!) Baby-dependent, Brandon will be heading to the first home Husky game of the season on Saturday. I’ll be at home cooking something delicious. Maybe these ‘chos? {Better yet: pineapple and pork are supposed to induce labor!}

Since the season is long and we’ll have plenty of opportunities to share our tailgate and game day eats, I’m focusing on football crafts today. Specifically, AstroTurf crafts.

I had a lot of fun with AstroTurf last year, with my debut on Q13’s morning show.

Looked good on TV!

I made koozies, coasters, platters, wine tags, “wreaths,” and more. {Full blog post and tutorial here} But those were so 2014.

Beer koozies

AstroTurf platters: works with any size tile!

AstroTurf wine tags

One of my most favorite crafts to date: An AstroTurf W!

For the 2015-16 season, I’ve purchased a new roll of AstroTurf rug and found some new ideas:

An upgrade on my coaster idea: circles!

This AstroTurf table is pretty amazing

An AstroTurf bulletin board

I have several ideas swirling in my mind right now, and potentially a couple more weeks of free time to act upon them, so check back for my new 2015 AstroTurf ideas! Happy football season to you! Go Huskies, Broncos and Seahawks!

18Aug2015

Close encounters with the Denver Broncos

Posted in Adventures, Baby Michael, Exploring Seattle by mszerwo

Our pregame view: Amazing!

Last Friday Brandon and I attended the first NFL preseason game here in Seattle between the Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. (And my first NFL game!) Brandon was born in Denver and attended his first Bronco game in utero, so it was pretty special that we were able to go to Friday’s game, even if it was just preseason.

We are lucky enough to have a friend who works for the Seahawks who hooked us up with sideline passes, so of course Brandon was in heaven.

Pregame ON THE FIELD!

It also made the perfect week 35 photos for our baby book! It was pouring down rain on Friday, we had an inch-and-a-half of rain in just a few hours, and I don’t have a rain jacket that covers my massive belly, so I look a bit like a wet dog, but that’s ok. It just adds to the story.

A little rain didn’t dampen our spirits… just our hair.

Soaking wet and so, so happy!

Baby Michael’s first Bronco game: in utero, just like his Dad!

So close to the players!

We left the sideline before the game started and were a little bummed that we didn’t accidentally run into anyone famous, but our seats were under cover and we were ready for warm and dry.

As we were deciding which way to go to get to our seats, Brandon’s hero John Elway emerged from one of the back hallways, with his entourage of management and security. We froze in our tracks and I had to pick his jaw up from the floor. We followed him, obviously, and ended up near the VIP elevator bank, where he was waiting to get up to the owner’s suite. John was just waiting there (cornered) and many people started to take notice.

(Of note: Brandon would have this reaction to pretty much four people: John Elway, Sylvester Stallone, Matthew McConaughey and Rachel McAdams. So seeing John Elway was BIG.)

We happened to bring a Broncos bib and sharpie (you never know when opportunity will strike!) and Brandon jumped at the chance to a) talk to his hero and b) get an autograph for Baby Michael.

Here they are, Brandon and John. Broncos historian and Broncos legend. Together at last. Turns out that John has never signed a bib before, so in addition to being slightly weird (his words) it was hopefully memorable too. And hopefully Baby Michael loves the Broncos as much as his Dad and Grandpa do!

Brandon and his hero: John Elway, Bronco legend

The bib won’t be used, and instead will be memorialized forever in a shadowbox frame. I’ll post an after photo of the final product once it’s done, but for now you’ll have to be impressed with this wrinkled version. Thank you, Mr. Elway!

Coolest baby gift EVER! (Especially for the ultimate Broncos fan!)

And some cool shots of the Seahawks, if they’re more your thing…

Beastmode: Up close and personal!

Seahawk stretching

Have a great week!

4Feb2015

Super Super Bowl successes!

Posted in Drinky drinky, Food, Parties! by mszerwo

Using ideas featured in last week’s “super Super Bowl” posts (snacks and sips), the following ideas were inspired by Megan’s Island!

Football bean dip with sour cream laces!

Skittles vodkas for the whole party!

A homemade football bread bowl with kale dip!

A big thank you to my readers for a) reading and b) sharing your works of art with me!

UPDATE: The kale and artichoke dip in the football bread bowl received rave reviews! Here it is for you to enjoy!

29Jan2015

Super Super Bowl snacks

Posted in Drinky drinky, Food, Gone Pinning, Holidays, Parties!, Q13 by mszerwo

Yesterday I shared some super Super Bowl sips. To help soak up some of that booze, here are my super Super Bowl snack ideas.

Chili bar

Chili bar

Nacho bar

Nacho bar

Football bowl

Dip in a custom football bread bowl

A guac football field

A guac football field

Team-specific candied popcorn

Everyone loves popcorn!

And on to dessert!

Chocolate-covered strawberries

Healthy, cute and delicious! The perfect combo!

Cupcakes!?

So many ideas!

Chocolate peanut butter football cookies

Peanut butter + chocolate + football = Yes, please!

Ice cream sandwich footballs!

So cute, so tasty!

Brownie footballs! (As featured on my Q13 segment to kick off the 2014-15 NFL season!)

However you end up snacking, you know it’s going to be good! Let me know if you end up trying out any of these great ideas! Oh, and GO HAWKS!!

27Jan2015

{Wine Wednesday} Super Super Bowl sips

Posted in Drinky drinky, Parties! by mszerwo

It’s that week! It’s a big, big weekend for Seattle (and New England) football fans! It’s also a big weekend for those of us who like to throw parties (me) and watch the best-of-the-best TV commercials (me, again).

While I won’t be throwing a party this year (I’ll be working), I love to plan them and I love sharing my tips with you. Today’s post is all about the drinks of Super Bowl. Tomorrow we’ll have appetizers and on Friday, decor! There is plenty of time to make Sunday memorable. (Even if you’re not the Seahawks re-Pete-ing!)

Enough with the puns. On to the cocktails! Cheers!

Jell-O shots

Seahawks Jell-O shots made by my friend Laurel

My friend Laurel made these and they’re beautiful! I’ll bet they taste amazing too!

Washington Apple Twisted Shotz

Washington Apple Twisted Shotz

I can’t find these online for the life of me, but I did see them at the Downtown Seattle Cost Plus World Market. They’re blue and green whisky-flavored liqueur and sour apple shots. Doesn’t sound the most appetizing, but they fit the bill in terms of Seahawks colors!

Skittle vodkas

Skittles vodka! Given some time, these will be vibrant

I made these Skittle vodkas for my Q13 debut at the beginning of the NFL season. They’re super easy and super quick! Literally: you open the bottle and pop in a Skittle or two! Voila!

12th Blend Wine

Seahawks 12th Blend: Red, White and Rose!

Now we’re talking! There are several “12th {wo}man” wine options out there. These come from the Eye of the Needle in Woodinville. It’s not one of my most favorite wineries, but I do enjoy popping by there from time to time!

Plain old beer

Beer koozies

Nothing wrong with plain old beer! While the alcohol content is there, you can still step up the presentation for this super SportsBall drinking event.

Drinking wine?

AstroTurf wine tags

Spice up — and identify — your glass with a football-related tag.

Water

Water!

Oh yeah, and water. You need water to live (or to sober up after the game!) These are a cute presentation to your standard plastic water bottle. Don’t forget to reuse or recycle them when you’re done!

CHEERS!

16Dec2014

3-D Husky tailgating cake

Posted in DIY, Food by mszerwo

I kept a lot of you in the loop via Facebook and Instagram but for those of you who only follow me here, I wanted to show off this year’s tailgating feat: My husky cake!

Woof! Here’s my University of Washington Huskies cake

It didn’t turn out quite as well as I had hoped, but I was pretty pleased with the final product. (This cake was for the University of Washington football game against UCLA. Unfortunately the rare November Seattle sun turned the purple cake Bruin blue. Totally not cool. 100 percent Wilton food coloring fail!)

And now it’s a Bruin cake!

This was the goal cake and I followed the instructions very closely. Unfortunately I didn’t have a large enough plate, so I had to freehand the shape, hence the squatty pup.

The original inspiration

Here are some photos of the progress of the cake. Please excuse the poor lighting:

Baked cakes!

Frosting, I mean glue, I mean frosting!

Cake progress!

Huskies cake: assembled but not frosted! It’s 3-D!

Might I suggest you try making this cake for the Cactus Bowl on January 2? Gooooo Huskies!

Woof! Here’s my University of Washington Huskies cake

18Aug2014

My Q13 debut with tailgating treats and crafts!

Posted in Crafts, DIY, Drinky drinky, Food, Parties!, Q13 by mszerwo

I woke up early on Friday and made my way to the Q13 studio for my debut. It went really well and hopefully I’ll be back for future segments!

In case you missed it Friday morning, here is the segment:

Find more information, including recipes, templates, and step-by-step instructions on the blog!

Here are some photos from my big morning. A very special thank you to my friend, and regular blog reader, Megan, for her help with the prep and execution of the segment. I couldn’t have done it without you!!

All set up on the weather deck

Watch out! Live microphone! Thanks, Walker.

Cracking up Kaci — maybe we were talking about frosting laces?

Photo of the spread by Travis

My first “tease”

Looked good on TV!

And we’re live in 3…2…1!

Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful week!!

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Tag Archives: Football