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Mrs. Gridiron’s Favorite Things

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This Saturday is my birthday! I believe life gets better every year, even with all of its ups, downs, twists and turns. We are so blessed this year with Baby #2 on the way – family is the most precious gift. I’m grateful for another year to learn, to grow and live life to the fullest. So in honor of my birthday, we decided to celebrate Oprah style with a list of my favorite things from over the years.  I have so many moments and memories but these are a few that stand out.

1. Getaway trip to Kuai – Coach and I spent our 1st anniversary in Kuai, HI and we completely fell in love with the island. It is not as commercialized as some of the other islands and the locals are so friendly. If you visit I highly recommend The Merriman’s Fish House for dinner. It is where we spent our anniversary and we had the most magical evening including spectacular views and amazing food!

2. A cookbook to treasure – I have my mom’s copy of Necessities and Temptations (The Junior League of Austin) with her notes and changes. As such it is one of my most prized items I inherited from her. What I love about this cookbook is its terrific blend of savory and sweet all with a homemade Southern flair.

3. A restaurant we love  – I adore risotto and Taverna has the best in town. They always have a risotto special so I get to try different flavor combinations every time I go!

4. Football season – I love football naturally being a football coach’s wife, but specifically I love college football and my LSU Tigers. 

5. Entertaining – Here’s a great entertaining tip. Keep an entertaining journal. It helps you to remember what you served to whom, what your guest’s favorite food and drinks are, what worked well and what you need to change for the next time. 

Love,

Dad MVP : Mr. Donavan

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I am so excited to introduce you all to Mr. Donavan, although I am certain many of you already know and love him as my family does. Lil Hatt has been enjoying learning from Mr. D for several years now and Coach and I love his ability to know and understand precisely the best way to reach and motivate each child individually. If you haven’t tried his services yet, I highly encourage you to check him out as soon as possible! We LOVE Mr. D at our house and I know you will too!

Hi! My name is Mr. Donavan and I am the President of  MR.DONAVAN Mobile Athletic Concepts. I help kids develop physical coordination, motor skills, social interaction and team play through fun activities, decision making, and following directions.

What is your favorite meal?   Chicken & Steak Fajitas

What is your favorite local Dallas restaurant? Ida Claire

What is your favorite kitchen/bbq gadget/tool? 3 way spatula

What is your favorite outdoor activity? Horseback riding

What is your go-to spice/sauce?  Tone’s Peppercorn/Black pepper & Sauce Sweet Baby Ray’s  original

What is your entertaining must have? AWESOME Music Playlist

Love,

Tasty Tailgate: Gridiron Graham Nut Mix

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Gridiron Tasty Tailgate hits home on many levels; we love tailgating, we love food and we love fellowship.  I am so excited to bring you up close and personal into my favorite and super simple tailgating recipes, tailgating entertaining tips, fun and favorite tailgating décor and serving ware and various other tailgating recommendations. Huddle up on Gridiron Tasty Tailgate so that you can rock your next tailgate with friends and family!  

Grade school, high school, college or pro;  there is always a reason to throw a tailgate for your favorite team.  Tailgating can be as simple or elaborate as you would like, as long as everyone is together and in the team spirit.   

As the wife of a football coach, we take tailgating pretty serious and the food is the most important part.  I like to make sure that everyone is fed and full of energy.  Gridiron Graham Nut Mix is one of my go–to menu items and is a snack that can be enjoyed before the game, during the game or after.  This tailgate snack mix is a combination of salty and sweet, can be customized with your team colors and can be scooped into mini megaphones for kid fun or the perfect hostess gift.  

Whether you are attending a tailgate, in need of a quick and delicious after game snack for the team or to survive a double header tournament games, throwing a party or looking for a fun hostess gift Gridiron Graham Nut Mix is quick, easy and super delicious!

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Gridiron Graham Nut Mix

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 12 Servings

Gridiron Graham Nut Mix

Ingredients

  • 6 cups honey graham cereal
  • 1 cup honey-roasted peanuts
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • Wax paper
  • 2 cups pretzel sticks
  • 1 cup candy-coated chocolate pieces (coordinate with your school/team colors! Party City has colored M&M’s or order them from Amazon .)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Combine cereal and next 2 ingredients in a very large bowl.
  3. Melt butter in a 3-qt. saucepan over medium-low heat; stir in sugar and corn syrup.
  4. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil 2 minutes.
  5. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture, and stir quickly to coat.
  6. Spread in a single layer on a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined jelly-roll pan.
  7. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.
  8. Transfer to wax paper, and cool completely (about 10 minutes).
  9. Break into pieces, and toss with pretzel sticks and chocolate pieces.
  10. To serve: Use team cups or megaphones in coordinated colors or with logos (stuff bottom with foil) to serve mix.

Notes

Tailgate Tip: Make up to five days ahead and store in an airtight container.

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Spring Ball Survival

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Spring ball is upon us, and I’ve made the quick transition into ‘survival mode’.  I know this sounds dramatic, but there are several things that I do religiously to help make this next month a little easier for Lil’ Hatt and myself, while Coach is busy.  Want to learn more about life as a coach’s wife? Click here.

Here are my TOP 5 Tips for Surviving Spring Ball or Football: 

  1. Schedule Girl’s Night Out.  I have our sitter on speed dial this time of year for this reason.  A good night with my girls makes everything better.
  2. Meal prep for the week.  I make sure this is done, and all the groceries are purchased at the start of the week.  This eliminates any last minute grocery store runs OR having to pick up a non-homemade meal.  A win for us all!
  3. Dinners out with family and friends.  This can go a long way to break up several days of it just being Lil’ Hatt and myself. He is always excited to see family or friends, and it is so nice to have someone else share in watching and entertaining Lil’ Hatt.
  4. Toasting. Some nights at the end of an especially long day, I have an ‘adult beverage’ and high-five myself for making it through another day.  Cheers!
  5. SELF-CARE. So this fifth and final tip is being added to MY to do list. I for sure need to get better at this for myself, so I can be better for everyone.  For me, this doesn’t need to be much, but a little something each day can make you feel rested, relaxed and ready to tackle whatever the day has in store for you.

For those of you fellow Coaches Wives or those of you who have traveling or long hour working spouses, I salute you and would love to hear about your survival tips!

Love,

Coach’s boys

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Of all the parties and all the gatherings that we have each year, this one is by far my favorite. It is a time for Lil’ Hatt and I to get to know Coach’s boys better and to celebrate their season. It makes all the hours, all the sacrifices, all of the exhaustion of football season, all the loneliness, all the time away from Coach worthwhile. Coach does it for them and we are happy to share him because of each one of THEM. This is a family, a relationship like none other and I am blessed to be a part of it! Wishing you and your family and these boys in particular sweet enchilada, rice and beans, guacamole, cinnamon cream cheese square dreams! Until next week…

Spring Ball…

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Ahh, spring football. For those of you wondering exactly what this means to a coach’s wife (I feel like my experience as a coach’s wife is a totally relatable subject to many of you whose spouse travels all week, works long shifts, or you experience moments in time where you are “mom” and “dad” to your kids.), it means the following:

1. Coach gets home about 2 hours later than normal*
2. If we are going to eat dinner as a family, we eat 1.5 hours later than normal*
3. As a result, Lil Hatt goes to bed 1 hour later than normal*
4. Therefore, my downtime at night is 1 hour less than normal*
*When I say normal, I am not referring to football season as most that happens during football season is not normal.*
5. Coach has to work Saturday mornings, either at practice or a scrimmage or a position competition or the red & white game or game planning or…..DSC_05706. Coach becomes extremely limited in his ability to fully engage in conversation, decision making, home front productivity, etc., as football is ever present on his mind
7. As a result, we talk a lot of football. A LOT…DSC_049720160514_204102 (2) - Copy8. Coaches wives start to rally and gatherings including our kids (or girls’ night out with babysitters) start getting scheduled so we can take the edge off, commiserate, celebrate and support one another in this “pseudo single parent time” (I will say that we would gladly take THIS every day of the week and twice on Sunday versus the complete “mom & dad” time period we experience during football season)
9. We start to get excited about the upcoming season and the promise of our teams and the arrival of summer time when we only have to share our husbands for a few hours each day (this is the time that the “honey do” list gets pulled out, dusted off and added to).
10. We get ready to say goodbye to the senior boys who have become family, stolen our hearts, enriched our lives and are ready to spread their wings and enter their next chapter.20160211_205507Spring ball is a wonderful, and somewhat tiring, time of year for us as coaches wives and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Love,

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Welcome to Mrs. Gridiron

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I’m Mrs. Gridiron and I am thrilled that you have found my blog! This little adventure has been a long time coming and after years of encouragement of friends and family, I’ve decided to share my story and the four F’s in my life with each of you – from homemade to hashmarks, this is a Gridiron Wife’s guide to, food, family, fellowship and football.

FB_IMG_1462679139453Food, entertaining and cooking have been an enormous part of my life from the very beginning. My mom was truly an amazing cook and my parents entertained often. When my mom was the hostess it was a special event. She was old school and knew just how to bring everything together to create a moment where time stood still and guests were present in their fellowship. My mom always made a point to know her guest’s likes and dislikes and as a result there were little personal touches throughout the entire evening. I’m sure many went unnoticed (as my mom would have wanted), but they were there to help in creating a very special evening. This type of entertaining is a lost art and largely viewed as out of style. As an homage to my mom – who passed away many years ago – I would like to reintroduce it to you, and show how it can be done with a modern twist. I am so excited to share my passion and mother’s gift through this blog, while reconnecting with her. I am honored and humbled to share my kitchen, my recipes, my family, my memories, and my mom with each of you!

READ MORE HERE

In addition to this blog and after years in sales and advertising, I’ve launched a new home cooked meal delivery and catering business where I offer all-natural, made from scratch, delicious meals delivered right to your doorstep. Weekly options include main dish, salad, bread, dessert, breakfast, snack and ice cream.  Check out our weekly menu here.

When I am not cooking or entertaining, I love spending time with my husband, “Coach”, son, “Lil Hatt” and our bonus son, “Maximus” who is in his final year of college.

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During football season you can find my son and I front and center under the Friday night lights cheering for the Lake Highlands Wildcats.

 

 

 

 

 

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IMG_0887On Saturdays we mostly cheer for, sometimes yell at, the LSU Tigers (Unless Coach is off, then we might cheer for the Kansas State Wildcats!) or watching Maximus in his final college football season (sniff, sniff).

Love,

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