Best College Football Weekend!

Oh my goodness, what a weekend for college football!  To be honest, before a large chunk of our income began going to Texas A&M and now LSU, I really was not much of a college football fan.  We attended a small liberal arts college so it's never been  something we've followed.  However, the minute Brit became an Aggie four years ago, we did too.  Then, when Meg decided to attend LSU this fall, we became Tiger fans as well.  Now here we are, full fledged college football fans and love it.  How can you not?  This weekend is especially wonderful since A&M and LSU both won and upset the favorites they were playing (Oklahoma and Alabama).  Yay!!!!!!  I Love football, especially when my teams win!  Go Aggies and Tigers!!!!!!

Casseroles Galore

Fall weather has finally arrived in Texas and I'm looking forward to having the girls home for Thanksgiving.  I've always been a fan of Tyler Florence and was excited to see his Thanksgiving dinner featured on the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  Not finding the recipes in the magazine I resorted to searching their website where I found his delicious alternatives to the traditional sides I make every year.  The recipes looked fabulous and for a moment I even considered changing our usual menu to something different this year.  I  quickly came to my senses, however, knowing how my family, especially the girls, expect, love and look forward to the same meal I have been making for years.  They are creatures of tradition, kind of like me.  However, I did stumble upon, in my search for Tyler's Thanksgiving dishes, a link to Better Homes and Gardens best casserole dishes EVER.  So, after browsing through a variety of recipes I was dying to try a few on the family over the next month as the weather turns colder.  Nothing like a yummy casserole to warm you up on a chilly night.  Although it was difficult to pick one from a list of many mouth watering choices, I decided to  try the Tuscan Cheese Potato Bake as a side dish to our Sunday dinner this weekend.  It serves 8-10 so I will half the below recipe.  If it passes the "Richard test" then I will make it again over the holidays.  Crossing my fingers that it's delicious because it looks divine!

Ingredients

2 lb. red potatoes
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp. snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/4 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk
4 oz. fontina cheese, shredded (1 cup)
4 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely shredded (1 cup)
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
1/4 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Snipped fresh parsley (optional)


Directions


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2-quart square baking dish; set aside. Scrub potatoes; cut in 1-inch pieces. In large saucepan cook potatoes in lightly salted boiling water 12 to 15 minutes or until tender; drain.
2. In a 12-inch skillet cook and stir garlic and thyme in butter over medium heat for 1 minute; add potatoes. Coarsely mash potatoes. Stir in buttermilk, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Fold in fontina cheese, half of the Parmesan, and the blue cheese. Evenly spread in baking dish.
3. In small bowl combine remaining Parmesan, panko, Italian seasoning, and oil; toss with a fork to combine. Evenly sprinkle over potato mixture in dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and top is golden. Sprinkle with snipped fresh parsley. Yummm...
   

Scarecrow Festival 2010

It's hard to believe that Halloween has already come and gone!  One of our favorite things to do each fall is to attend the Scarecrow Festival.  We met Brittany there after she took the LSAT a couple of weeks ago.

Nothing better than spending a nice fall day in a small Texas town.  The weather was beautiful!  Below are some of just the few adorable scarecrows for sale.

 While in town I had to stop by my favorite store where I found the best candles in world made by The Candleberry Company.  The huge cookie jar candle Richard bought me last Christmas in my favorite scent (Hot Maple Toddy) will probably last well into next year.

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Main street is very cute and you can find plenty to eat along the way.  We stopped at the Fire House, the real fire station for the town for some Barbecue.

Richard was in charge of ordering and brought me a yummy brisket sandwich with a refreshing beverage. 

It was good and I could have eaten several!

 

More views on the downtown and the quaint buildings.

I would love to start our own pickling business like "Brittle Time" has.  How much fun would that be!!!!  I have to say our pickles did turn out fabulous, even the girls loved them.  

It was a warm Texas fall day and we found a place to sit and rest in the shade next to the local Baptist church.

The office had free books for the taking...

The church in the center of town is very pretty and traditional...

Britty met us since Chappell Hill which is not too far from College Station.   I was so happy to see her and Milo.

What's great about the Scarecrow festival is that you can get very unique items like cacti shaped like your favorite pet.

 I found a cute scarecrow to bring home who now resides on my entryway bench and...

a new quilt for our bed, both gifts from my mother for my birthday which just happens to be in October as well.

On our way home, we stopped at Chappell Hill Sausage.

I find it incredible that this small town company supplies all the Houston area and the entire state of Texas with their great products.

Richard took the pictures below...



He enjoyed looking around and of course had to buy something.

We bought a cooler and some goodies and headed home after a great day!



Where's My Inspiration?

My favorite season has come and I have to admit that I'm still not motivated to bring out all the fall stuff that I usually anxiously can't wait to display by now.  It's really different having all the kids gone.  We have enjoyed visiting Meg at LSU and attending some great tailgate parties and games but things are not the same here.

Meg at LSU Game

 I'm beginning to realize that most of the holiday decorating I have done in the past was more for them than me.  So, with Brit and Meg gone, my inspiration seems to be gone too.  Sad I know, but I am determined to rise above it.  This week I am pulling out the fall stuff including the Department 56 Halloween houses and doing what I have done the past years.  Meg has a fall break October 21st so that has become my motivation.  I want her to come home to the one she would expect, one filled with the warm sights and scents of fall.