Footballs and Fajitas

Football is one of my favorite sports to watch.  Did you know Super Bowl XLIX was watched by 114.4 million viewers, making it the most watched television program in U.S. history?  Do you know how many footballs are used during the Super Bowl?  What do footballs and fajitas have in common?

Our son, Jeff, had the opportunity to play and win the Class D-2
State Championship with his team from Dodge in 2007. 

Our son, Scott, after a junior high football game
Scott was a quarterback for Dodge High School and
holds the record for the longest completed pass. I
have to admit I did not enjoy seeing the hits he took.

 I have to admit I watch the Super Bowl as much for the commercials as the game.  During the Super Bowl there will be 72 footballs used.  Do you know how footballs are made?  There is an excellent video about how the Wilson football is made that you can watch here. 

Before the Wilson factory can make a football they need the material that comes from a farm like ours.  Thanks to cattle we can utilize not only the great protein they provide for our fajitas but also the cowhide to make items like footballs.  One bovine animal provides 20 footballs.  Did you know the cowhide is equal to about 8 layers of human skin?  

The cattle in our feedlot could produce around 100,000 footballs a year.

Besides watching the game and commercials many of us will be snacking away on recipes old and new.  Fajitas can be a great game day food with an estimated eight million pounds of guacamole eaten on game day!  Holy moly that's a lot of guacamole!

These steak fajitas with guacamole look delicious!

Steve and I will be joining our fire and rescue squad members to watch the game at the fire station.  There will be a variety of snacks to eat and the chance to be together in a non-emergent situation.  Last year we missed the party because of a blizzard now remembered as super snow Sunday for us.  One of the items I will bring is a very simple dip recipe that I would like to share with you.  Whatever you eat tonight we just ask you to include beef in your menu!

Taco Bean Dip

1 can refried beans

                                 1-2 pounds taco meat (I use hamburger)

      1 container sour cream

                   1-2 cups salsa or picante sauce

       2 cups shredded lettuce

                     2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

        1 can sliced black olives

Layer the ingredients as listed on a round serving plate. Adjust the ingredient amounts according to the size of your plate or servings needed.  I have a plate with curved edges that helps hold everything in place if I take it somewhere.  Enjoy the game!