Awesome Looking Food Trucks

Check out these awesome food trucks!  I'd love to see these in the tailgate lot!

And the original:

WindowFanz

There are a handful of ways to show your team pride while driving to your favorite tailgate lot to cheer on your team.  We've all seen the magnets on the doors and flags stuck in the windows.  But what most haven't seen is a new product called the WindowFanz.

The WindowFanz is a half mini helmet that sticks to your window as you drive down the road.  As you can see, it is held in place by three suction cups, and also a tether strap that mounts inside the car.  This great design allows you to put your window down partially while driving without having to worry about the helmet falling off your ride.  If this were a flag, it would be laying on the side of the road!

If you choose, you can also remove the tether strap and place it almost any flat, smooth surface, be it a home window or an RV window.  As you can see in the pictures, I have even attached it to the side of a bookcase!  You can also see how shiny the helmet is.  The construction of the helmet and tether are both very solid.  I have no worries about it failing anytime soon.

 

  
 

Driving down the road, there is no vibration or wind noise generated by the WindowFanz.  You will, however, get a lot of looks from others in traffic.  I had multiple people ask about it while driving around town.

Currently, there are a number of college and high school teams available for $29.99.  And it is worth mentioning that the WindowFanz is made and assembled right here in the USA!

You can find out more about WindowFanz at: http://www.windowfanz.com/
You can also follow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/windowfanz

The Beer Beard

I wonder if you can smuggle beer in using the glorious Beer Beard?

Monday Morning Wakeup Call: Wisconsin

What a week this will be.  College football is fast approaching.  Get the funnels out!

Corndog Bites, Artichoke Dip, Chili & Puppy Chow

This post is from our friend Aimee D with Gridiron Girl (www.GridironGirl.org, @gridirongirlorg).  She has been kind enough to share some of her families go to recipes for the tailgating season.

CORN DOG BITES

•  2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 milk
• 2 tbsp honey
• 18 little smokies (or 18 slices of hot dog, about 3/4?)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray three mini muffin pans generously with cooking spray or line with mini cupcake liners.  Prepare muffin mix according to directions and stir in honey.  Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full.  Cut little smokies in half and put in the center of the muffin batter.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes then serve with ketchup and mustard.  If you are making these the night before like I did, you can reheat them in the oven of wrap them in foil and heat in a pan over medium heat on your grill.

ROASTED RED PEPPER AND ARTICHOKE DIP

This dip is adapted from a beautiful layered dip my friend Alicia makes.  I’m just too lazy to layer it.

• 1 1/2 packages (12 oz) neufchatel or cream cheese
• 1/2 cup diced roasted red peppers
• 1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts (if you don’t have marinated ones, just use plain and add a couple tablespoons of italian dressing)
• 1/2 packet of ranch dip mix

Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until the dip is a slightly lumpy texture.  Serve with crackers or bread.

WENDY’S CROWD PLEASING CHILI

My mother-in-law raised four kids and they were social, so she was often cooking for a crowd.  I can always count on her to make large portions and this chili is no exception. This recipe makes a lot of chili, but don’t worry, you will eat it because it is delicious. I’ll post a picture of my bowl loaded with chili, cheese, Fritos and green onions later.

• 1 very large (1 gallon) can chili con carne
• 1 equally large can tomato sauce
• 3 cans kidney beans
• 3 cans pinto or chili beans (or 2 pkgs dry beans, soaked overnight)
• 3 cans diced tomatoes with onions and green peppers
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with lime and cilantro
• 3 cans Ro-Tel (or tomatoes with green chiles)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 lbs cooked ground beef or turkey
• 3 tsp chili powder
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in an 18 qt. roasting oven.  Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes (about 350 degrees).  Turn the oven to low (200-250 degrees) and cook for another 1 1/2 hours, stirring regularly to avoid burning on the bottom.  Serve chili topped with shredded cheese, sour cream and crunched up Fritos or tortilla chips.

PUPPY CHOW

My friend Jessica and her mom made this treat all of the time when we were growing up.  We regularly request Jess makes it these days when we go on trips together. It is an addictive snack and I could eat an entire batch!

• 9 cups rice cereal (Chex, Crispix, etc)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar

Pour cereal into a large bowl.  Melt butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter in a sauce pan over low heat until smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour mixture over cereal and stir well.  Dump cereal into an extra large zipper bag or plastic container with a lid.  Add powdered sugar and close container or bag.  Shake and turn until cereal is coated with powdered sugar.  You can then spread the mixture on wax paper to cool if needed but I usually just pour it from the bag into a large bowl and it is cool enough.

Monday Morning Wakeup Call: Green Grass

One more month until we are all worshipping the green fields of football.

How To Choose The Healthiest Drinks

Here's a nice infographic from Greatist on how to choose the healthiest drinks by type and calories.

 

EZ Grill - Portable Grilling Made Easy

Sometimes, you want great grilled foods, but don't have access to a grill.  The EZ Grill is a portable, disposable grill that is fully recyclable. When you open the package, you will fina a foil pan, stand, grill grate and all natural instance charcoal.

Simply unpackage the grill and light the bag with a match, and you are good to go in about 10-15 minutes.  The amount of sustained heat from such a small package was impressive.  We were able to grill 4 thick burgers without issue, and still had heat to spare.  It should produce usable heat for 1-1.5 hours.  We've also run hotdogs and beer brats on this grill, simmering the brats on the EZ Grill for 15 minutes before grilling them.

   

 

I never thought a portable grill would be as handy as this unit. It is as easy as can be. Grilling is easy, clean up is easy, and the cost is down right cheap.

I keep a spare EZ Grill around for those terrible times when you are grilling on a propane grill, and you run out of gas (we've all had it happen).  The EZ Grill is certainly a winner!

Monday Morning Wakeup Call: Volleyball

Summer is in full swing.  Strike a pose.

Monday Morning Wakeup Call: NFL

Hope you have a great week.  This should help it start out okay: