Season Ender

It was the best of times and the worst of times. The Bears had a great season. Almost every week they seemed to get better and have more fun. Today the season ended with a loss to our nemesis - the Green Bay Packers. The Packers will take on the Steelers February 6 at Cowboys Stadium. Congratulations to the Packers and Steelers.

The last chance to watch some of our Bears play will be next Sunday. Devin Hester, Lance Briggs, Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher will head for Hawaii to play in the 2011 Pro Bowl. What menu do you think is appropriate for a Pro Bowl game?

Today's Sausage and Smoked Cheese Balls were good, by the way. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds pork sausage

1 1/2 cups Bisquick

16 ounces shredded smoked cheddar cheese

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mix well.

3. Form 1 inch balls

4. Place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet 1/2 ince apart

5. Back for 15 minutes or until golden brown

Season Ender

It was the best of times and the worst of times. The Bears had a great season. Almost every week they seemed to get better and have more fun. Today the season ended with a loss to our nemesis - the Green Bay Packers. The Packers will take on the Steelers February 6 at Cowboys Stadium. Congratulations to the Packers and Steelers.

The last chance to watch some of our Bears play will be next Sunday. Devin Hester, Lance Briggs, Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher will head for Hawaii to play in the 2011 Pro Bowl. What menu do you think is appropriate for a Pro Bowl game?

Today's Sausage and Smoked Cheese Balls were good, by the way. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds pork sausage

1 1/2 cups Bisquick

16 ounces shredded smoked cheddar cheese

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mix well.

3. Form 1 inch balls

4. Place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet 1/2 ince apart

5. Back for 15 minutes or until golden brown

A Chilly Welcome

Sunday's forecast is cold and snowy - perfect for the Bears/Packers rivalry. Smack talk abounds in both cities. In Chicago, even the arts community has taken a stand by creating their own "welcome" outside the Chicago Theater.

The menu has been set (Drum Roll Please) Smoked Cheese Sausage Balls followed by a celebratory Chicago Chili. Be sure to stock up on some delicious Mike Ditka's Hall of Fame Salsa. Go Bears!

The Packers Stand Between Bears and Super Bowl

Okay fans. We have one week to determine the winning recipe to beat the Packers and head for the Super Bowl. My Cheesehead Chowder has a sad 50/50 winning percentage and that won't do for the playoffs. I wondered if smoked cheese - building on today's win - would be a good base ingredient. Perhaps I should add some sort of sausage? It was time to do some research. Here's what I've found so far.

• Sausage Cheese Balls (Need I say more?)
• Smoked Gouda Chive Spread
• Smoked Cheddar Crispy Rice Balls

Apparently I'm building on a theme here. What suggestions do you have? Go Bears - Beat those Packers!

Bears Smoke the Seahawks

Again the Monsters of the Midway returned to Soldier Field. Da Bears offense joined forces with the defense to rack up 35 points. Tillman did a fabulous job handling Mike Williams - even though Peanut was getting over the flu. Cutler outrushed the entire Seahawks team and penalties were extremely low. What a great game! The winning recipe was Smoked Salmon Dip. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups flaked smoked salmon

2 TB fat free mayo

4 TB fat free sour cream

2 tsp Mike Ditka Hall of Fame Salsa

3 drops Worcestershire sauce

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine using a fork until dip is the consistency you want.

Smokin' Seattle

What menu do you fans suggest for the Seattle Seahawks/Bears game? The last time we played things went awry. The menu was Shrimp Bisque and Smoked Salmon. It was delicious and sounded perfect to me but it wasn't. Did I go overboard? Should I have chosen one over the other? Help! I'm so ready to do the SuperBowl Shuffle again. What do you think the winning recipe is?

On To The Playoffs

Thank you Bears for a great regular season. While we may have wished for another outcome to today's Packers/Bears game, no one was hurt and we're headed to the playoffs. Before we move on, let's take a moment to enjoy Charles (Peanut) Tillman's interception and 42 yard run. It was a thing of beauty! Congratulations Peanut!

Once I know who we'll be playing, I'll cook up a unique winning menu. In the meantime, I'm off to buy more Mike Ditka's Hall of Fame Salsa. It's available here in Champaign at World Harvest. Thank you Chicago Bears!