GEORGIA TECH vs BOWLING GREEN

BACK TO BRUNCH…

Georgia Tech faced Clemson last Saturday, and OUCH!

So, sadly, we limp into this game with a 1 – 3 record. Injuries plague the team unfortunately, BUT, we WILL win the tailgate!

This coming week they face Bowling Green and – – – the kickoff is back to 12:00pm, so we’re hosting yet another brunch tailgate and hoping for a win this week.

GEORGIA TECH

BOWLING GREEN

ATLANTA, GA

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

TAILGATE START: 9:00AM

MENU:

GT FRUIT WITH CREAM CHEESE DIP

SCRAMBLED EGG MUFFIN SLIDERS

SPINACH BALLS

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM BREAD

GEORGIA TECH M and Ms BARS

DRINK DU JOUR:

ORANGE CRUSH

GT FRUIT WITH CREAM CHEESE DIP

I’m gathering up some yellow and blue fruit (bananas, pineapple, blackberries, blueberries etc.), and serving the fruit with this yummy dip!

1 – 7 oz container of marshmallow creme

1 – 8 oz package of low-fat cream cheese (room temperature)

Mix the ingredients together, and you’re done!

It’s a very quick yet yummy dip to serve with any fruit you like!

SCRAMBLED EGG MUFFIN SLIDERS

(Adapted from My Recipes)

This recipe makes 12 muffins. These savory muffins are great, as not only are they delicious, but you can make them in advance and freeze them until ready to serve. Just thaw, reheat briefly in the microwave and serve with scrambled eggs. You can also throw in a slice of cheddar cheese!

6 bacon slices

2 cups self-rising white cornmeal mix

1 TBSP sugar

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

4 TBSP butter, melted

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Vegetable cooking spray

8 large eggs

1 TBSP water

1/2 tsp Creole seasoning

1 TBSP butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat 12 to 14 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon.

Heat a 12-cup muffin pan in oven 5 minutes. Combine cornmeal mix and sugar in a medium bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Stir together buttermilk and egg.

Add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in melted butter, cheese, and bacon.

Remove pan from oven, and coat with cooking spray. Spoon batter into hot muffin pan, filling almost completely full.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan to a wire rack, and let cool 10 minutes.

This next step will be done at my tailgate:

Whisk together eggs, water, and Creole seasoning in a medium bowl.

Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a large nonstick skillet. Add egg mixture, and cook, without stirring, 2 to 3 minutes or until eggs begin to set on bottom. Gently draw cooked edges away from sides of pan to form large pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes or until eggs are thickened and moist. (Do not overstir.) Cut muffins in half, and spoon eggs over bottom halves. Cover with top halves of muffins.

*Muffins can be made in advance and either frozen till ready to serve, or stored for a day or two in an airtight container.

SPINACH BALLS (GF)

(Adapted from Sweetashoney.co)

I needed to have something healthy on this menu, and these spinach balls fit the bill. They’re made with fresh spinach, cheddar cheese, Gluten free panko crumbs, and eggs. But more importantly than being healthy, they have to be delicious – and they are! Makes roughly 24 spinach balls.

6 cups fresh spinach leaves trimmed, washed

3 cups boiling water

3 eggs

1/2 cup grated cheese (whatever sounds good to you – I’m using cheddar)

1/4 cup fresh herbs of your choice (such as basil, cilantro, dill, parsley)

1 cup Gluten Free Panko Crumbs

1/2 tsp garlic salt (I omitted this ingredient since I used seasoned panko)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Trim and wash the fresh spinach leaves. Place the leaves in a large mixing bowl and over with boiling water. Cover and set aside for 3 minutes.

Rinse the spinach with cold tap water. Drain using your hands to squeeze all the remaining water. You should end up with about 2/3 cup of packed cooked spinach leaves.

Place on a chopping board, and finely chop the cooked spinach. Transfer into a mixing bowl. Add eggs, cheese, herbs and panko gluten free crumbs. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

Combine with your hands, until it forms a batter from which you are able to form balls. If too moist add slightly more crumbs until easy to roll as ball with your hands.

Place the balls on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or tin foil.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden on the top. Serve immediately or serve later cold.

***These can also be made ahead (not cooked) and frozen easily (for up to 3 months). Then bake them directly from the freezer and enjoy!

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM BREAD

(Adapted from GeniusKitchen.com)

1 3⁄4 cups flour

1⁄2 tsp baking powder

1⁄4 tsp baking soda

1⁄2 tsp salt

1⁄4 tsp cinnamon

1⁄2 cup butter, softened

3⁄4 cup sugar

1⁄4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1⁄2 cup sour cream, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 1⁄4 cups strawberries, coarsely chopped

3⁄4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

In small bowl, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beat 1 minute or until light and airy.

Add brown sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in sour cream and vanilla.

Stir into flour mixture only until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in strawberries and nuts.

Pour into a greased 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 60 to 65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let stand 10 minutes in pan. Turn out on rack to cool.

*Freezes easily

GEORGIA TECH BARS

(Adapted from Fantastic Family Favorites)

2 1/8 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

12 TBSP butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 6 oz bag gold M and Ms divided PLUS 1 6 oz bag navy M and Ms, divided

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with foil, letting the excess hang over the edges of the pan by about 1 inch so you can grab those edges and pull the bars from the pan after they have baked. Spray the foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk the melted butter and sugars in a large bowl until combined.

Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix.

Fold in 1 cup of M and M’s and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Sprinkle remaining M and Ms on top and press in slightly.

Bake until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan, 26-28 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the foil overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into squares.

***I purchased these navy and gold M and Ms here:

1lb Bag My M&M'S® Bulk Candy - Dark Blue

1lb Bag My M&M'S® Bulk Candy - Gold

ORANGE CRUSH

(Adapted from AllRecipes.com)

Since Bowling Green’s colors are Orange and Brown, I thought we’d serve up an “Orange Crush” since naturally we want Georgia Tech to “crush” the orange wearing team!

Sounds yummy to me AND there’s OJ in the recipe, so that’s breakfast drink right? Right????? 😉 I’ll just multiply the ingredients so I have a large pitcher of the drink for easy serving. So excited to serve this drink – especially since the temperatures will still be hot and humid in Atlanta, GA!

2 cups ice cubes, or as needed

2 oz. orange-flavored vodka

1 oz. triple sec

2 Valencia oranges, juiced (or just buy freshly squeezed OJ from the store)

1 splash lemon-lime soda (such as Sprite zero or Fresca, optional)

1 slice orange

Fill a pint glass with ice cubes. Pour orange-flavored vodka, triple sec, and orange juice over ice; top with lemon-lime soda. Mix well and garnish with orange slice.

*Even better: throw the ingredients in a blender for a fabulous frozen concoction!

GAMEDAY FASHION TIME

So it’s still going to be a hot one in Atlanta in the low to mid 80s, so I’m going with a comfy sundress this time that I snagged on J Crew on sale here:

Strappy knit midi dress in stripe

They have it in several different colors, but for me going to a GT game, navy and white stripes were perfect.

I ordered an adorable gold top that I was excited about wearing but…it won’t arrive until next week sometime for some reason. Not a bad plan B outfit though!

I’ll pair the dress with gold accents like these earrings from Bauble Bar here for $12.99 and be good to go!