Baby it's cold outside...

Well last weekend's road trip to Northwestern officially ended our regular season for football. It was cold and rainy and let me tell you THIS girl is very happy that the B1G championship game this weekend is indoors!!! My niece Laura was here for Thanksgiving break from her freshman year at UNC Chapel Hill. It was great having her and she appreciated going to a "real" football game! Sorry Carolina fans...

Just arrived at the stadium in time for the rain. Here with my good friend Katie Schoenwolf, Laura, Jen and Drew

me with my great friend Chet Tetta (former National Sales director at Genentech and now in the same role at Celgene), his main squeeze Katie, Drew and Jen

Awwww

in front of Spartan Football truck. Can you tell that my only Spartan rain gear belongs to my hubby? i.e. XXL hahaha! I think I have 3 layers on underneath and was still freezing!

post game after the great win!

there's Coach Hoke

then we came home and this is what we woke up to yesterday!!

8 inches of snow! It was beautiful and the kids had their first snow day!

Murphy is less than thrilled however when trying to find a place to go to the bathroom. Corgis and short legs and deep snow do not mix...

Off to the B1GFCG in Indianapolis this weekend! Despite being a 10 point underdog and not ONE SINGLE sports pundit has picked us to win.... I believe we will come home victorious with a championship trophy and a trip to Pasadena! Here's hoping anyway...

Stay tuned and as always...

GO GREEN!!!

BIG TEN LEGENDS DIVISION CHAMPIONS!!!

A quickie entry in the midst of a crazy, whirlwind college football season to say how proud I am of this team, it's seniors and their focus! They are on their way to a back to back BIG TEN Championship year and a Rose bowl berth! Hope to see y'all in Pasadena but in the meantime, see ya in Indy on December 3rd!

GO GREEN!!!!

ESPN GAMEDAY and an unbelievable finish!

WOW! That's all I have left to say after the amazing ending of Saturday night's epic win over the Wisconsin Badgers! It was a 60 minute battle that we just came out on top of. When Kirk threw the Hail Mary pass into the endzone and Keith caught it we thought he got the touchdown from what we could see from our seats. It was completely silent in the stands with everyone holding their arms up in the "TOUCHDOWN" signal until the ref came back and said he had crossed the line and got in. Then the stadium ERUPTED!!! I can't remember ever being at Spartan stadium for a more exciting game and finish. Of course the oddmakers had us as 8 point underdogs, no one really gave us a chance to win. I BELIEVE in these guys and this team! They are working towards something special this year and I hope and believe they will achieve it!

we had backstage passes for ESPN GAMEDAY!

They had these signs everywhere...I wish I had taken a picture of the guys shirtless in the front row of the student section that had "FREE WILLY" painted on their chests! Hilarious!

Herbstreit

I wasn't surprised when Corso put the Badger head on...but he's now 0 for 3 in picks against us!

some hilarious signs!

kids by the stage

Here are a few of my faves...

had a few former players swing by the tailgate and even was graced by Coach Hoke's presence for a few minutes! Tommy with Jehuu Caulcrick

My neighbor Don was an exceptional "Grill Daddy"

fun tailgate with old friends from college days

Dino, Jenny and Alex

with my friend Andy who came up from Texas for the game!

Greg Jones now of NFL Giants fame stopped by!

It was a great day and a better night! Now onto Nebraska next weekend where it will be an arguably bigger game and have more weight for winning the Legends division.

Here's to another SPARTAN WIN in Lincoln next Saturday!!

GO GREEN!!!!

STATEMENT WIN!!!

It's rivalry week and of course that means our annual matchup Michigan State vs Michigan game. The guys came out rocking brand new, one game only Nike Pro Combat uniforms just for the Michigan game! They looked fantastic and I'm happy to say that the guys played great in em! The end result, 28-14 Michigan State wins! A clean sweep and 4 in a row for the Seniors! Next week is BIG, BAD Wisconsin and a night game to boot. Should be a grudge match as I'm certain Wisconsin is still stinging from their last loss...last year in Spartan Stadium! Hope we can make it a repeat!

Making an entrance in those sweet Pro Combat unis!

Props and credit to the team photographer who took these amazing pics... Matt Mitchell I think?

If not my apologies to the amazing photographer who took these.

it's a rough day for Shoelace

Oops not again...

ouch

I invited my work colleague Tony and his friend Dan. They come to every Michigan game with me and have been our good luck mojo!

Team rushes to the student section post-game to sing the fight song

A beautiful sight - 28-14

Jean, Drew, Jen and me feeling pretty happy!

carrying the Paul Bunyan trophy back to it's rightful place in the Spartan Football building!

catching up post game with some of my favorite former players, Otis Wiley, 

Javon Ringer and Mark Dell

Even Zeke the Wonder Dog was rockin the Pro Combat jersey!

Jen poses with Zeke (who's real name is Beaucoup!)

Jen and I pose with Paul (we're on a first name basis now) as the equipment managers bring him home for another year. He's gotten very comfortable here and has no intention of moving!

Onto next week versus Wisconsin!

GO GREEN!!!!

Homemade Chinese night featuring General Tso's Chicken!

WOW! That's all I can say about this recipe! Easy to make and everyone raved about it! This is certainly a restaurant quality recipe. I tweaked the recipe a bit and added a few touches that others who reviewed it suggested and it was fantastic. My recipe was adapted from this one:

http://chinese.food.com/recipe/mean-guys-general-tsos-chicken-52488

Ingredients:

Servings:

  4   4

4

Units: US | Metric

• 1 lb chicken thigh, boned and cubed
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup cornstarch, plus
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 5 dried chili pods
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons rice wine
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

1. 1
   In a large bowl, thoroughly blend the 1/2 cup of cornstarch and the eggs; add the chicken and toss to coat.
2. 2
   If the mixture is too thick, add some vegetable oil to separate the pieces.
3. 3
   In a small bowl, prepare the sauce mixture by combining the 2 tsp cornstarch with the wine, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce.
4. 4
   First-Stage Frying: Heat 1-2 inches of peanut oil in a wok to medium-high heat (350-400).
5. 5
   Fry the chicken in small batches, just long enough to cook the chicken through.
6. 6
   Remove the chicken to absorbent paper and allow to stand (this step can be performed well in advance, along with the sauce mixture, with both refrigerated).
7. 7
   Second-Stage Frying: Leave a tablespoon or two of the oil in the wok.
8. 8
   Add the pepper pods to the oil and stir-fry briefly, awakening the aroma but not burning them.
9. 9
   Return the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until the pieces are crispy brown.
10. 10
    The General's Favorite Sauce: Add the sauce-mixture to the wok, tossing over the heat until the sauce caramelizes into a glaze (1-2 minutes).
11. 11
    Serve immediately.
12. 12
    Serves 4, along with steamed broccoli and rice.

Read more: http://chinese.food.com/recipe/mean-guys-general-tsos-chicken-52488#ixzz1YOUyVgcn


I had way more chicken than the recipe called for and had planned to double the amount of sauce but ended up quadrupling it. I likely had 3-4 pounds of chicken so it ended up being the amount the original recipe called for as far as the sauce goes. It was fine but for a pound of chicken I would double it next time. I added about a tablespoon of sesame oil, fresh grated ginger, crushed garlic (of course) and some crushed red pepper to the sauce. I also sauteed broccoli with the red peppers and topped it off with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. It was the best General Tso's chicken recipe I've ever tried and everyone who tried it, kids, hubby and some of the ladies from the 'hood absolutely raved about it!!

I dried some red peppers that I grew in our backyard first

This is by far the best batter I've ever used. Just whipped up eggs and cornstarch.

Fry up the chicken in small batches in peanut oil. I had too much chicken in the pan here...

I sauteed broccoli with the red peppers. I wish I had crushed a few of the peppers because there was very little heat to the dish. The more red peppers you crush the spicier the dish.

Top it off with chopped green onions and sesame seed and enjoy!

Served it over brown jasmine rice and YUM!