Football, Food, and Fall Family Fun

Fall brings: football, food, and family fun! Saturdays are much anticipated in our house with the Alabama game being the main event. My husband, Derek, and I talk about what we want to do for dinner the day before of the game, because every football game is a reason to celebrate! Bama fans are very passionate about football; we happen to be passionate about food too! Tuscaloosa is home to some of the greatest restaurants in any college town. This makes since because, seriously good football requires seriously good food. Great ambience comes with football games; the star of the half time game should always be the food.

I have fond college memories of celebrating many Alabama wins at Dreamland BBQ; a place where Bama football fans gather with friends for good food, fun, and nostalgia. Dreamland has been around for more than fifty years and it remains the perfect marriage of pigskin and pork. I can taste those ribs now; hickory fired and melt in your mouth goodness! If you visit Tuscaloosa, Alabama it is an absolute must that you eat at Dreamland. Like they say at Dreamland, "Ain't Nothing Like 'Em Nowhere." http://www.dreamlandbbq.com/

Since it is impossible to recreate Dreamland ribs, my husband and I make sure we have our own Alabama football food traditions, traditions that make fall smell delicious. I like to imagine I'm having my own throw down, like Bobby Flay, with the opposing team in the kitchen. Great smells of good food and exciting occasions with friends and family are enhanced by the traditional compliments of the changing seasons. One of the traditional occasions that accompany the harvest moon and the Indian summer color changes is fall football. Enjoy the moments with great food.

I'd like to share with you two of my favorite family football foods. I wish you good luck and good food while you root on your favorite football team.

My football food specialty is chili. I like to make mine the color of the Crimson Tide!


Ashley's Chili
2 lbs ground beef
1 lb sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
2- 14 ½ oz can stewed tomatoes
1- 15 oz can dark red kidney beans, rinsed
1- 8 oz can tomato sauce
¼ cup chili powder
Salt and pepper to your liking
Pinch of red pepper flakes

**The above is my base, I also like to add pizzazz to my chili by adding the following: bottle of beer, pinch of cinnamon, chunk of chili pepper chocolate, then serving it over macaroni and topping with cheddar cheese and sour cream.

In a large saucepan cook meat, onion, bell pepper, and garlic until meat is brown. Stir in undrained tomatoes, drained and rinsed kidney beans, tomato sauce, and spices. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with sourdough bread. Add pizzazz as you see fit! 


Derek's specialty is Sticky Chicken Wings. These are a hit with everybody, but especially our children! They are finger lickin' good!

Sticky Chicken Wings
6 lbs. chicken wings
1 1/2 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup Marsalla wine
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 Cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed

Cut off & discard tips of wings. Cut remaining wings at joint. Place wing pieces on a shallow baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, Marsalla, dry mustard, soy sauce & garlic in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Remove wings from oven & pour off pan drippings. Pour sauce over wings & continue baking one hour longer. Turn wings every 20 minutes. Cook until sauce has been absorbed & wings are deeply glazed. As they cool, they become sticky! 

Ashley meets President and Mrs. George W. Bush: Unwavering courage and parenting philosophy courtesy of Midland '64

Midland, Texas is a flat, dry, hot, sandy, and windy place full of tumbleweeds, oil rigs and Friday night lights. It is where my Dad, Bill Wood, grew up. I think there is a Midland parenting philosophy; have love and respect for your children, parents, neighbors and elders. The small West Texas town were my Dad grew up was and still is a place to raise and nurture children so they grow up with unwavering confidence and courage.

George W. Bush once said, "To understand Laura and me, you must understand Midland. All that we are, all the things we believe in, come from that one place."

Reading Laura's book, Spoken from the Heart, I kept thinking about my parents and grandparents; the similarities of that West Texas life. Both my Mom's and Dad's fathers were in the oil business. Laura writes about her dad always having his left arm twice as dark as the right arm from driving with the window rolled down to job sites. My Mom has said countless times how Papa's arm was like that.

I had the honor and privilege of meeting President and Mrs. Bush at my parents' house last night. I mentioned to Laura that I am a second grade teacher and how proud I am to be a teacher like my grandmother, Margaret Wood. She taught English to both Laura and George in Midland. I knew Laura had been a fourth grade teacher and I read how she adored her second grade teacher. She and George had also mentioned to my Dad at the Midland reunion at the White House that my grandmother was one of the greatest educators they had ever had. This makes me extremely proud!

My daughter wanted to know about the party, I told her it was like Santa was coming to Coco and Coach's house. Well, Santa came and some friends from the Midland class of '64 turned into little holiday kids again when they saw Jolly Ol' Saint George!

In May of 2000, an article was written in the New York Times after President Bush was first elected. My Dad was mentioned in three paragraphs:

Still, former classmates say that if they had been told that one of their number would become a presidential candidate, they would not have thought of George Bush. Instead, they say, the assumption would have been that it would be Bill Wood.

Mr. Wood, as bright and ambitious as he was athletic, beat out George Bush on the football field and was the first-string quarterback on the seventh-grade team (Mr. Bush was the second-string quarterback). Mr. Wood eventually became the junior high school and high school student council president and even headed the statewide association of student councils. If any young man in Midland seemed destined for the White House, classmates remember, it was he.

"Since then, the only thing I ever ran for," said Mr. Wood, now a lawyer and a bit flattered and amused by the memories of his classmates, "was the school board."


The most exciting moment for my Mom was when she and my Dad were outside waiting to greet President and Laura Bush. Mom said, "As I watched outside in front of the house the caravan of cars pulling into our driveway I had never been so excited in my life! Looking out at our backyard now, I can't believe the President and Laura Bush were at my house."

My husband Derek and I noticed how President Bush talked with us so naturally. He connected with everyone with ease and happiness.

President George Bush is in great shape! He bikes regularly. My husband Derek (who shares that interest) heard, "Hey son-in-law!" Knowing who was calling him Derek walked over and had the best conversation about mountain bike riding. What was even more amazing is that the President showed an interest in coming up to Denton County and trying the mountain bike trails. He asked Derek what time he liked to go, how far he rides, and directions to get to Isle du Bois. At the end of the evening, President Bush called out saying, "Derek, do you hammer?" Derek replied yeah and got a thumbs up sign from the President.

George W. Bush once said, "I will always be grateful for the unconditional love of my parents. There is no doubt that that unconditional love gave me the, I guess you would say "courage," to run for president of the United States. And to my mother and my father, I can't tell you how much I love you."

Growing up, my brother, sister and I have felt that Midland parenting philosophy all our lives. I still feel it now and I hope I can emulate that love and inspiration of courage for my two children. Mom and Dad, I can't tell you how much I love you!

Photos: Ashley's Dad, Bill Wood (number 10), Midland's first-string quarterback. Midland reunion picture of the Bush and Wood family.

Good Lessons from Great Coaches

Elephants are lucky creatures. Placed on shelves or by doorways, they inspire luck and longevity. There is a dispute about which way a lucky elephant holds its trunk! The belief is that an elephant with the trunk pointed up brings luck and one with the trunk down is bad luck. I sometimes can give the trunk of one of my many elephants a stroke whenever I feel like I need a little extra help. Try it out!

When I think of elephants, I think of Big Al, the mascot for the Alabama Crimson Tide (my alma mater). It is because of Big Al that I have a fondness for this beautiful mammal. Elephants are all over my house!

How did the elephant come to represent Alabama? Well... In 1930 Alabama played Ole Miss and at the end of the quarter, there was a rumble and an excited fan shouted, "Hold your horses, the elephants are coming!" Need I say more?

Roll Tide Roll! Football season is almost upon us! My husband cannot stop talking about it! Everyday he says, "It's almost football season!" I'm excited, too, because with football comes fall, food, and family fun! Everything is choreographed around the game.

The house will smell like chicken wings, baked beans, and roll tide rolls (all served on elephant platters)! It will be filled with the noises of my husband, Dad, brother, and kids cheering on the Tide! My little ones like to get in on the action too! Like every normal SEC fan, I deck my children out in Bama gear and teach them the fight song. It's their birthright!

I am a proud native Texan and like most Americans live and breathe football in the fall. But, it's not just the game; it's the ambience that naturally comes with it! The food, Million Dollar Band, Bama cheers, Big Al, Coaches "Bear" Bryant and Gene Stallings (two former coaches who were as dependable and lovable as an elephant)...

The Big 12 is not as exciting to me as the SEC (because I went to Alabama of course). Both are competitive conferences with loads of history and following. But if you've ever actually been to an SEC game, it just feels different! I say this having been to my share of Big 12 games and they just don't compare! My dad will concur and he played football at UNC at Chapel Hill, NC! There's just something about the South and football!

I will never forget the day I met Gene Stallings (Alabama's coach 1990-1996) unexpectedly at my school! It was Halloween! I teach 2nd grade, so like all elementary teachers, came dressed up for the fun! I was dressed up like Madeline (from the children's storybook). When I saw him, I became star struck and just broke down crying and started jumping up and down like he was a Beatle telling him I went to Alabama!

I had the unique pleasure of teaching Gene Stallings's granddaughter 2nd grade a few years ago. So I met him again the year I taught her and this time I was a fairy! I know Coach Stallings has had numerous fans approach him but I wonder if I was memorable in a sea of dressed up children with fairy wings and a tiara!

I want to share these powerful words from two amazing Alabama coaches that I think can be inspirational to parents:

Coach Paul W. "Bear" Bryant once said about Alabama football:

"Every time a player goes out there, at least 20 people have some amount of influence on him. His mother has more influence than anyone. I know because I played, and I loved my mama."

"When we have a good team, I know it's because we have boys that come from good mommas and pappas."

And Coach Gene Stallings said after the '92 Ole Miss game:

"You don't have to flaunt your success, but you don't have to apologize for it, either"

To wish you luck rooting for your favorite football team this fall I suggest stroking an elephant's trunk and making "Roll Tide Rolls" Enjoy!

Roll Tide Rolls
1 cup of Big Al's Milk
1 cup mashed potatoes
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cake compressed or 1 package dry yeast
½ cup lukewarm water
2 elephant eggs
6 cups flour
½ cup butter, melted

Scald milk; add potatoes, shortening, sugar, salt, and cool to lukewarm. Soften yeast in water and add to lukewarm mixture. Add elephant eggs and beat Tennessee, add 1 ½ cup flour and continue beating Auburn. Then add remaining flour to make stiff dough. Turn out on floured board and knead LSU thoroughly. Place dough in greased bowl, grease top of dough; cover and let the tide rise until doubled in volume. Turn out onto floured surface, knead lightly, and roll tide roll to ½ inch thickness. Cut dough into 2-inch squares; pull opposite corners, dip into melted butter. Place ½ of dough in each of two loaf pans alternating positions. Let the tide rise until doubled; bake 350 degrees for 1 hour. Yield; 2 loaves