Our Combined Total Works Out Today; 2011 NFL Combine.

Well, actually, 1/2 of our combined total of 2 participants in the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine works out today.

Coverage on the NFL Network began at 9am - it runs for a good portion of the day.

Offensive Linemen workout today - tune in to see how our Stefen Wisniewski fares in the on-field drills.

He's OL54 - as we know, it sometimes helps to know a player's number to be able to identify him.

NFL.com lists Wisnieswski's physique and speed as adequate, noting that he is smart, can play multiple positions and can recognize defenses easily,,,

However, they also question his lower body strength and ability to sustain blocks, stating that he lacks lateral agility and takes bad angles.  AND he "fails to show a mean streak."

Running backs work out tomorrow -

"You Can Not Be Serious!" - Ilovepsutoo joins 2theLion team!

In true superstar fashion, and in honor of John McEnroe's birthday, join us in welcoming our newest contributor, Ilovepsutoo.  We finally convinced her to join the 2theLion team!

Now we just have to come up with a clever nickname for her.

Possibly:

- Lovie? No. That would make me think of da bears; or,
- ILP2? No. I can go the restroom all by myself, thank you; or,
- Olive? Maybe. Olive PSU and the nightlife and olives; or,
- Utoo? Wait, that sounds familiar.

I'm sure we'll think of something!

Football Fan Fare Friday; Hot, Hot, Hot.

Still in a dippy mood - so I thought I'd post a couple hot dip recipes to go add to the Super Bowl menu.

Hot dips are great for smaller parties (or dinner) or, if you're hosting a larger crowd, keep your hot dips in fondue crocks (you know, the little ones heated with votive candles).

An easy, favorite and traditional hot dip is queso - or, as I grew up calling it, Chuck's Cheese Sauce.

Combine in a sauce pan, 8oz velveeta cheese product (yum!) and 3-4 Tbsb evaporated milk.
Heat on low until melted - stir in 1/2 cup salsa. Pour into dish.

serve with (everything) tortilla chips.

Levi Brown label optional.

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

1 box frozen chopped spinach
12 oz bag of frozen artichoke hearts (or 1 14oz can, drained)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon microplaned (or really really really finely chopped) garlic

Thaw the spinach, in a strainer - squeeze to get out as much liquid as possible.
Thaw artichokes, chop roughly.
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
mix all ingredients together and spread into a shallow casserole dish.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with bread toasts and/or corn chips.

Football Fan Fare Friday; Super Bowl Style.

In my opinion, every good tailgate (indoors or out) includes a dip (or 4) of some sort.  Whether you're dipping chips, toasts, vegetables, a spoon, etc., dips are the perfect party food.

Two of my favorite "cold dip" recipes are Creamy Salsa Dip and Blue California Dip.  

For Creamy Salsa Dip you'll need:

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup(ish) chunky salsa (medium or hot)

Most salsas are (IMO) a bit too watery for this recipe - so I like to drain the salsa before measuring.  

Mix all 3 ingredients together and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

**variation - substitute plain greek yogurt for sour cream 

Blue California Dip (onion dip with blue cheese)

16oz container light sour cream (or regular)

1 packet dried onion soup mix

4-6oz blue cheese, crumbled (depending on "blue-ness" of cheese)
Mix sour cream and soup mix together (regular instructions for dip).

Fold in blue cheese.

Refrigerate - at least 1 hour, but overnight is better.

**suggestion: if you're not sure if your guests are fond of blue cheese, make full "batch" of onion dip, keep 1/2 "plain" and make other half blue.

***complete slacker suggestion:  because sometimes it can be just too tiresome to open multiple packages and to stir more than absolutely necessary, you can add blue cheese to Marie's Roasted French Onion Dip for a nearly identical flavor.

Football Fan Fare Friday; It's the Super Bowl, baby.

So I'm starting my "friday" a little early (listen, it's Friday in Copenhagen, so let's just roll with it) - but it's the Super Bowl (weekend) - so who cares...?   Okay, my boss cares... but other than that whoo whoo whoo!

Pennsylvania once again has a team vying for the Super Bowl title, and once again, a Penn Stater is guaranteed a Championship ring.  As posted by Amanda, Andrew Quarless will be suiting up for the NFC Champion Green Bay Packers and Jeremy Kapinos will be punting for the Steelers.

Kapinos was asked this week what he thought about playing in front of, possibly, over 100,000 people; Kapinos replied (basically) that you get used to that playing at Penn State.

So in honor of our Penn Staters in the Super Bowl, we'll be posting a few of our favorite tailgating/football party recipes throughout the day.

Let's start with a beverage...

Yuengling Black and Tan - not the one in the bottle - the one where you layer the Lager and the Porter -

here's how...

1 lager
1 porter
spoon (round bowl - soup spoon)
Pint Glass

pour the Lager into the pint glass - until half full;
pour porter, over spoon,  to fill glass.

Enjoy.

Santa, please bring me a Porter, a spoon and a pint glass  for Christmas...

Penn State's COMBINEd total is 2; 2011 NFL Combine.

ha ha.

So, 2 Penn Staters have been invited to this year's NFL Combine: Stefen Wisniewski* and Evan Royster.

The Combine begins on February 23rd, and we'll be posting the scheduling for when you can expect to see our PSUers work out.

Of the two, Stefen probably has a better chance of making it into the draft, but Evan did score a touch down in the Shriner's game (despite really discouraging early week reviews) - so this is his chance to show the scouts if he has something.

*I still think Stefen is named after Stefan Edberg (and his uncle, of course)

I haven't thought of a punny title yet, but there's time; 2011 NFL Combine

- no wait, I just thought of one.