Football Fun

This past weekend, Jonathan's best friend and his wife got us tickets to the Auburn v. South Carolina game. So, we headed down to Auburn for the big game, and we had the best seats in the house! We were so close to the field that I felt like I could touch the players. Here's a pic of the four of us:

Erica, Buck, Jonathan, and me

We drove back after the game Saturday night so that we could go to church Sunday and attend our small group. We are LOVING our new small group and are making friends with other married couples. Fun!

Yes We Cam

War Eagle!!!! Tonight we had fellow Auburn grads over to watch the Auburn v. Clemson game. What a game! Auburn pulled off a win in overtime, and we screamed so loud it probably woke the neighbors :) I fixed some yummy snacks for tonight's get-together. The menu included:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars
2. Fruit Platter with Pineapple Cream Cheese Dip
3. Ham and Cheese Sliders
4. Rotel Dip

All the treats were a huge success. Jonathan helped out by making his signature Rotel dip, and he added ground beef into the mix, so it turned out really well, too. Here are a couple of pictures for you.

P.S. If you're wondering about the misspelling in the title of my blog post, it's in honor of our Auburn's quarterback Cameron (Cam) Newton.

The fruit platter (notice the dish is a stadium and the dip is in a football)

The spread (yes, I am using orange and blue plates leftover from the groom's cake at our wedding, lol)

I think the biggest hit were the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars, but I LOVED the ham and cheese sliders (recipe modified from Annie's Eats). Here's the recipe if you want to give it a shot:

24 mini Hawaiian rolls
24 slices honey ham
24 slices swiss cheese
Mayo
1.5 Tbsp. yellow mustard
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Poppy seeds (for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut rolls in half and spread a very thin layer of mayo on the insides. Fold a slice of ham to fit on each roll, then top with a slice of cheese. Place in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. In a bowl, combine the butter, mustard, onion, and Worcestershire sauce. Drizzle over the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes, then remove foil and bake for 2 more minutes. Serve warm.

Labor Day Weekend

On Labor Day weekend, our friends Walt and Maryanne invited us to go to the Alabama State Fair with them. Neither Jonathan nor I had been to the fair in ages, so we tagged along, and we had a blast! Here are a few pics from the night:Me tearing it up with some fair games :)

Jonathan and I hanging out in some hot air balloons

Riding the ferris wheel with Walt and Maryanne

We left bright and early the next morning to hang out with Buck and Erica (Jonathan's best friend and his wife) in Pensacola. We watched the first Auburn game of the season (War Eagle!), and we stopped by the beach for a few minutes. It was hot but beautiful!

Group shot

After leaving Pensacola, we swung by both of our parents' houses to visit. All in all, it was a very good weekend. We were exhausted after all that fun, but it was worth it!

Big, Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have an amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe that I use as my staple recipe. However, this weekend, I was feeling adventurous and tried a new one. They were SOOO delicious. It's a hard decision whether they're better than my normal recipe, but I decided I can like them both :) Here's the recipe (courtesy of Annie's Eats blog):

2 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm

1 cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl; set aside. With electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly combined. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat at low-speed just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll a little less than half a cup of dough into a ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull apart into two equal halves. Place on cookie sheet with jagged surfaces facing up, leaving ample room between each ball. Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy (approximately 11-14 minutes). Do not overbake.

Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

The result:

I let a few of my classmates have some, and they flipped out. Try this recipe...you won't be disappointed!