Penalty!

There is a flag on the table for premature celebration! Last week I celebrated the end of the pre-season but there is one final pre-season game. Tonight the Bears play the Cleveland Browns.

That's the $1 Billion Cleveland Browns. The team was recently sold to Jimmy Haslam III - owner of the Pilot Flying J travel centers. There are 294 locations in the US and, yes, one of them is in Champaign. Tonight's menu could be McDonald's courtesy of Pilot Flying J. However, the NFL hasn't voted to approve the sale yet so perhaps a menu more traditional for Cleveland is appropriate. Make your choice Bears fans. Kick off is at 6:30.

TGIFF

"Our Starters Are Better Than Your Second String" Somehow I don't think that bumper sticker is going to fly off the shelves.  Bears fans should be glad we don't have to play Eli Manning's Giants this year.

The night began with a hearty Thank God it's Football Friday, by half-time my enthusiasm was fading. The announcers shared my attitude when they declared twice in the second quarter that the Bears were having "no fun at all." The substitute referees didn't seem to be having much fun either.

With one quarter remaining for the players to show what they've got before this week's big roster pruning, Joe Anderson made a beautify leaping catch followed by a touchdown run to give the Bears a 2-1 pre-season record.

The magic of television allowed Eli Manning to appear on the Letterman Show "Live from New York City" after the game. Speaking of New York, my New York Strip was delicious. The Merlot Sea Salt added a delightful finish. TGIFF Pre-Season (Thank God it is Finally Finished.) Now we're on to the real season. Bear Down Chicago Bears!

The Bears Were In The House

Cutler's first play was a 41 yard pass to Brandon Marshall - Complete! 5 plays later, Score! The second series - Score! RG3 was sacked 3 times in the first quarter. Oh yes, gentlemen, that was Chicago Football. My house was rocking and rolling. Lovie and Mike Tice didn't need to see much more from the starters so at 17-3 Cutler was called to the sidelines.

At that point, it returned to a pre-season game until the very end when Mr. Consistency - Robbie Gould - won the game for the Bears with a 57 yard field goal. Today Bears fans everywhere are wearing a special grin.

Did you guess the secret ingredient for last night's menu? It was Acorn Squash.I made the recipe as it was printed and it was good.I think that next time I'll add 1/4 cup of chopped apples or I'll double the raisins. Let me know what you think.

Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:
1 TB brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp butter, melted
1 large acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 TB olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 cup garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 cup raisins
2 1/4 tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
7 oz chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked couscous

Directions:
1.  Preheat over to 350
2.  Arrange squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes or until tender
3.  Dissolve the sugar in the melted butter and brush squash with the mixture
4.  Keep squash warm while preparing the stuffing
5.  Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic celery and carrot and cook 5 minutes
6.  Mix in the garbanzo beans and raisins. Season with cumin, salt and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring until vegetables are tender
7.  Add chicken broth to the skillet and mix in the couscous. Cover and turn off heat. Couscous will absorb the liquid in about 5 minutes.
8.  Stuff squash halves with the skillet mixture and serve.

Serves 2

Pork Seems Too Obvious

Da Bears play the Washington Redskins in the 2nd pre-season game of 2012. After last weeks Caleb Hanie appearance, I sure hope we're not watching Rex Grossman tonight! Hopefully, we will see Brian Urlacher on the sidelines recovering from his knee surgery. For a minute he suggested he would play tonight despite having knee surgery on Tuesday. I'm sorry - that's just crazy talk.

What's on the menu tonight? Since pork is too obvious a choice even for pre-season, I've decided to go with a vegetable introduced to the settlers by Native Americans. A good friend shared this vegetable from her garden with me and I am trying a new recipe. Any guesses?

Rather Unsatisfying

I am the first to admit that it's hard to tell much from a Pre-Season game but last night can only be described as unsatisfying. First, the game wasn't televised here so I could only listen online. Then, Cutler didn't play and who was on the field most of the night for Denver but Caleb Hanie. Who Knew? Not me.

High spirits over Major Wright's interception were dampened when he left shortly thereafter with a hamstring injury. At least I enjoyed my Mile High Salad.


Mile High Salad
Based on the Denver Omelet, I created the Mile High Salad. This seemed perfect for a pre-season menu against Denver.

Ingredients:
2 slices bacon, baked and chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped green onion
1/8 of orange bell pepper, diced
1 Hard Boiled Egg, chopped
4 or 5 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1-2 ounces grated cheese
Sprinkle of McCormick's Salad Supreme
Greens: Romaine, Spinach and Cilantro

Combine and add your salad dressing of choice.

Speaking of salads, did you know that you can create perfectly portable salads by layering them in Mason Jars? Begin by putting the dressing in the bottom of the jar. Layer with crunchy vegetables, followed by soft vegetables, followed by greens. Salads can be stored for 3 days in the jar. When you're ready to eat, shake the jar and pour your salad into a bowl to enjoy.

Let The Games Begin

It's been a long time coming but Training Camp has opened and this week will be the first Pre-Season game. We will get our first look at the dream team of Jay Cutler/Brandon Marshall. Is it possible that Fall will actually happen and cooler temperatures will follow? More importantly, have our Bears done a good job of conditioning during the off-season?

Based on the new roster - and the agreement Finally with Matt Forte - we look great on paper. As always, I'm prepared to do my part. Here's how this works. Based on an old Southern tradition that serving food appropriate to the opponent takes away their power, I will prepare a recipe every game day designed to give Da Bears that extra push they need to claim victory. Last year, I didn't post the recipe until after the game following the theory that you don't share your play book. What do you readers think? Is there more power in many Bears fans consuming the same winning recipe or should I keep my secrets until after the win? Packers fans - your vote doesn't count here!

This season I have an additional "weapon." At Otis Wilson's 2011 Super Bowl Party I successfully bid on an autographed Mike Singletary jersey. While I understand that most people would frame it, I plan to pull it out each gameday as an added talisman for the team. Bear Down Chicago Bears! Stay healthy. I'd love to go to New Orleans where they really know cooking!