So football and I aren’t really best buds. I dont hate it but I’m really rather indifferent. Basically if it involves a bunch of friends and people and food, I love football – but if those other pieces are missing, I’m watching Food Network or TLC instead.
Yesterday was the proper combination for me to be a Football fan for the day. the AF vs UNLV game was here and so a bunch of us AF folk had a tailgate and went to the game
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| At the end of the tailgate |
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| In the stadium =) we bought the cheap end zone seats and then made our way to the 30yard line in the family section because, really, we’re all just one big AF family, right?
So my tasking for the tailgate was to bring dessert. An excuse to bake? Why, yes please.
There was a new recipe for reeses peanut butter cup cookies that I had been needing a reason to try out!
Are you ready for this? Its pretty complicated.
 First, take 24 indiv wrapped Reeses PB cups, place them into a food processer
 Add ONE egg to the 24 cups
 Blend in Food Processor until smooth  Place on cookie sheet and pat down to about 1/2 inch thick  Bake for about 15 minutes at 350*   Delicious little peanut butter cup cookies!! I’m not going to lie, I was pretty shocked that these actually turned into crisp little cookies, perfect for ice cream, milk, or a tailgate! But that batter did not make enough cookies for a tailgate (it made about 20 or so) and so I decided to go for an oatmeal cookie for round two! I don’t have the recipe right with me because I am in Starbucks right now typing this [hopefully home internet will be running by Tuesday] But the jist of it is
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1.5 cups flour
2 eggs
4 cups oatmeal
2 Tbsp milk [I used almond milk]
1.5 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
…actually I think that may be everything
But I wanted to be spirited so I added dried blueberries instead of raisens
and I had extra cinnamon chips from the cupcakes I made last week and so I added those to the batter too – about 1-1.5 cups or whatever just under half a bag is.
 yum
 Then I dropped them by 2Tbsp balls onto parchment paper about 2 inches apart and added blue sprinkles for extra AF spirit!
Baked them at 375 for about 13 minutes each and TA-DA!!
  Delicious cinnamon oatmeal cookies. I couldn’t eat them since they had flour but they seemed to be quite the hit at the tailgate, everyone seemed to be going back for more. I thought they looked just divine!
So the tailgate was fun and the football game, well, the ending was not pretty…at all….hate to say it but I’m pretty sure our defense never left USAFA. But it was so fun being surrounded by grads from all different years as well as others from work coming out to support the team.
At about 3 minutes left…when we knew there was no chance…everyone was ready to leave but I said “No, we have to wait for the third verse!” — I def got a bit of teasing for that. My rule is if you stay till the 4th quarter starts, you have to stay for the third verse.
I have never hid my cynicism towards the Academy football program but the one thing I think that they [and the other service Academies] do right is the singing of the third verse. I really feel like it brings everyone together as a family, as a school, as an air force.
For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, at the end of every AF football game, home or away, win or lose, the football team comes over to the corner where the band is seated [if it is away, all the fans move closer to the band as well] and hold hands [yes, the fb team, the fans, etc] and the band plays the third verse of the Air Force song and we all sing.
The lyrics are:
Here’s a toast to the host
Of those who love the vastness of the sky, To a friend we send a message of his brother men who fly. We drink to those who gave their all of old, Then down we roar to score the rainbow’s pot of gold. A toast to the host of men we boast, the U.S. Air Force! Basically it just kind of brings it back to what we are really all about and what the Air Force does when the game is over and we go back to our daily lives. I almost always get goosebumps when we sing it because it is just so sad and beautiful and youre always either really happy or pretty upset [ie youve either just won or lost] when it plays and so you already have some sort of emotion just bubbling away.
But back to the grind tomorrow and then Thursday one of my bestest friends is coming to see me =) stay tuned for next weekends shenanigans!
xo
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