Feeding the Coaches

In case you all didn't know, my sweet hubby is the head football coach for the school at which we both work. It's a lot of fun, a lot exhausting, and completely rewarding. Some of the things football season brings I would be happy to do without. And with the regular season finished up (we're 5-4 heading into districts!), I'm most looking forward to simply having time with my husband again.

BUT there is one thing I think I might miss, and that's the Friday night dinners. Every Friday, after every game, win or lose, home or away, the coaches come back to our house to have dinner and recap the game. This was a tradition started by the former coach and it was one Coach and I chose to continue. Typically I feed anywhere from 8 to 12 hungry men every Friday. For this FCS teacher it was still a challenge. I didn't want every meal to be a casserole or crockpot dish- those get old fast in my opinion. And in honest truth, I only have about 3 casserole recipes. So I focused on dishes I could prep before and would cook in about an hour. That way I could race home after the games and have hot food ready by the time the coaches arrived. I also try to have an appetizer out so the first arrivals have something to snack on  till the whole group's ready to eat.

So what did I make? Well here's the list:

1. Baked ham, hashbrown casserole, green beans, dinner rolls, and birthday cupcakes (since the first game was also on my birthday!)
2. Frogmore stew, biscuits, and brownies (also called low-country or shrimp boil depending on from where you hail)
3. Home-made supreme pizza, ranch salad, mozzarella sticks, blonde brownies
4. Taco bar (beef, shredded chicken, chips, tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, sour cream), queso and guacamole dips, assorted cookies
5. Spaghetti and meatballs, Italian salad, garlic bread, mozzarella sticks, assorted cookies
6. Breakfast casserole, biscuits, cinnamon rolls
7. BBQ beef chili, hotdogs, cheese sauce, biscuits, chips, and crackers, cheesecake
8. Sloppy joes, French fries, tater tots, green beans, cinnamon crisps
9. Kettle beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, dinner rolls, stuffed mushrooms, brownies

Delicious right?! It's been a lot of work but since I love to cook it's not so bad. It's actually pretty rewarding to have the chance to make food that's well appreciated. I also get to use all my fun new appliances and serving ware that we got for our wedding. Eventually I get all these recipes posted so you can make them yourself but in the meantime you can probably find something good on Pinterest!