July 31, 2012

Tailgate Recipe: Quick & easy snacks to make on the go

One fact about Clemson fans is that we travel for games - whether we're driving across state for home games, or we're driving to an away game or to a bowl game, we will make the long trips to see our Tigers play.

However, traveling makes putting together a tailgate quite tricky. You're limited on time, utensils, etc. And sometimes you need the night before to pack, not precook a ton of food. And of course, not all hotels are created equal - we don't always get the luxury of microwaves and mini fridges.
Sure, it's easy enough to swing by Zaxby's and get a giant chicken finger party plate...or snag a tray of subs, cheeses, or vegetables and dip from a local grocery store.

But here are some quick, easy, and foolproof recipes that you can whip up in minutes in your hotel room or at the tailgate itself. Some of these are so easy, you can get your kids to help! Just pick up the ingredients at a local grocery store along with any supplies you need like paper towels, paper plates/bowls, and plastic serving ware.

Creamy Cinnamon Celery

1 large celery stalk, cut into smaller sticks (most grocery stores carry pre-cut, pre-washed celery sticks)
1 Tbsp Laughing Cow Cream Cheese
1 packet Splenda
Ground Cinnamon

Directions: Mix together Cream Cheese and Sweetener. Spread on celery sticks and sprinkle with cinnamon on top. {via}

"Ants on a Log" celery snack

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Directions: This is an easy classic snack you probably grew up with... Spread peanut butter into celery crevices and top with raisins.

Snack Mix Bar

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Directions: Instead of buying a prepackaged trail mix, purchase several different bite sized items (look for items on sale or buy in bulk from Sam's or Costco). Here are some ideas: Various dried fruit, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, teddy grahams, pretzel sticks, Chex cereal, sunflower seeds, different kinds of nuts... Then purchase a box of sandwich-size Ziploc bags.

Set out each individual bite sized snack in its own bowl in a buffet-like line with plastic spoons in each bowl. Then let your tailgate guests grab a plastic bag (or bowl) and create their own snack mix. The Ziploc bag makes it easy to tote around and snack while at the tailgate -- and it makes it even easier to seal and stick in your purse to enjoy later during the game for a third quarter snack!

Mini Pimento Cheese & Egg Salad Sandwiches

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Directions: We are willing to bet that a lot of you serve these sandwiches at your home game tailgates and this easy snack might be a little obvious, but it's always a crowd pleaser and so easy to make in a time crunch. Most grocery stores carry (we recommend Publix!) pre-made packages of fresh pimento cheese and fresh egg salad.

Buy a bag (or two!) of dinner rolls (Yum!). Using a plastic knife, slice open a roll and spread a good amount of Pimento Cheese inside. Repeat with more rolls until you have the desired amount of pimento cheese sandwiches, then repeat the same process with the rest of the rolls using egg salad. In no time you'll have a full plate of mini pimento cheese sandwiches and mini egg salad sandwiches.

Fiesta Ranch Dip

1 16 oz (or 24 oz - depending on how much you need) container of sour cream
1 packet of Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch mix

Directions: Open sour cream container and empty contents of Fiesta Ranch mix packet into sour cream; stir with a spoon until well mixed. Voila! That's it...a great dip to serve with a bag of regular potato chips or vegetables.

Itty Bitty Turkey Sandwiches

1 box of whole grain reduced fat crackers
1 package of hearts of romaine lettuce
1 to 2 tomatoes
1 package of Turkey deli meat

Directions: Here's a spin on the traditional sub sandwiches you serve at your tailgate. These bite-size cracker sandwiches are as cute as they are delicious. With two crackers as your 'bread', create mini turkey sandwiches. Mix it up and get a variety of meat in addition to the turkey. Feel free to add slices of cheese or avocado. {via}

Bite-sized snack balls

Finally, add a little sweetness to your tailgate with these easy, no-cook bite-sized snack balls. Your kids will love helping you make these. Click the links below to visit the websites with the recipes!

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These quick and simple snacks would be a great addition to your tailgate for the Clemson vs. Auburn game. Especially since the Georgia Dome isn't exactly known for it's ideal tailgating space/locations.

Now it's your time to share - what are your favorite on-the-go and on-the-road tailgate recipes? Share them in the comments!


July 27, 2012

Keep Calm? No...Get Excited!

I've seen this image around a lot recently - on t-shirts, koozies, Pinterest...and yes, we repinned it too.

But we got to thinking...

Being 'calm' and cheering for Clemson doesn't really seem synonymous for us. I am rarely, if ever...well....never...calm when I'm cheering for Clemson. I'm usually jumping up and down, flailing my arms, screaming until I am gasping for air...

Calm? Hmm... not so much.

So we took a little artistic license and fixed up the Keep Calm image. This just makes more sense to us... what do you think? :)


Happy Friday - it's finally here. TGIF!!


July 25, 2012

Pink Azalea Chevron cooler giveaway winner

Phew.... well, we are a little tardy in posting the winner of today's Pink Azalea giveaway...

We had quite the time compiling ALL of those entries... you ladies sure are big fans of the Pink Azalea - and we don't blame you one bit! One lucky lady is going to win this chevron cooler tote in orange and purple!

We hope the post today inspired you to do some shopping with the Pink Azalea online. :)

So, let's get to the point of this post...the winner!

Congrats to...

{drumroll}

Kristen G. from Spartanburg, SC
(*New winner drawn after first winner failed to contact within 48 hours)

Hooray for Kristen!

Thanks ladies for all of your entries today, and a BIG thanks to the Pink Azalea for sponsoring such an awesome giveaway.

We're halfway through the week! :)

Get ready for Clemson tailgating with the Pink Azalea (+ a giveaway)

38 days and counting down! Football season will soon be upon us…

Let’s get reeeeaaaady to taaaaaailgate! :)

We are so excited about today’s post because we love the Pink Azalea boutique (located in Greenville), and we are so very in love with these new monogrammed gifts and chevron beauties they wanted us to share with you today!

Ladies, we only have about a month left to get ready for the first tailgating of the season – whether it’s in the Georgia Dome parking lot, at your local Sports Bar or in your own backyard. The Pink Azalea has everything you need to be prepared.

First things first – the outfit. Even if you’re cheering on the Tigers in front of a TV, you can still get dressed up in Clemson style. Chevron is very popular right now (did you see our skirts at the Ladies Clinic?) and for a good reason since it’s a fun pattern and flattering on everyone. How gameday perfect is this cute purple chevron dress with orange trim? And what’s even more fabulous is you can get them monogrammed!

And to make sure you look your very best in this dress, you’ll probably get in a few runs the week before the game. You don’t have to sacrifice style when exercising – how cute are these monogrammed running shorts? They are available in six different color combos!

Of course you need to accessorize the dress – how about this adorable monogrammed bangle from the Pink Azalea? It’s available in a variety of colors, but we’re partial to the orange with the purple monogram.

Next you’ll need something to carry your license, cell phone, money and lip gloss in… This Champ wristlet is the perfect size for tailgating. It’s available in 7 different colors…

Don’t show up to the tailgate empty handed, pack your favorite tailgate recipe in this super cute casserole carrier – complete with your monogram. It’s available in six different colors, holds 2 pyrex dishes, and is insulated for both hot and cold foods.

And a tailgate isn’t complete without cold beverages, right? So don’t forget to bring your new chevron insulated cooler tote from the Pink Azalea – available in orange and purple and orange and white.

You will also need one of these adorable Lilly Pulitzer monogram luggage tags. We’re pretty sure you won’t be the only Clemson Girl carrying the cute chevron cooler tote – so you’ll need to secure this luggage tag with your monogram to your tote to make sure no one takes your cooler home by mistake (or takes beverages out of it).

And for everything else you need to carry to your tailgate event, you will need one of these large totes – available in a great orange and purple pattern or an orange and white pattern. These totes are strong, can fit anything, and look great with an added monogram on them.

Finally, if you’re making the trek to Atlanta for the first game, it’s probably a good idea to keep track of your car keys.  This adorable monogrammed keychain will help you do just that - available in two different fonts and 17 different colors.

The Pink Azalea is your one stop shop to get ready for Clemson gameday! START SHOPPING!

Orange and Purple chevron insulated cooler tote giveaway
The Pink Azalea would like to give one very, very lucky Clemson Girl one of these super cute orange and purple chevron insulated cooler totes!

How to Enter
  1. Post a comment on this post with your first name, last initial and where you are from (1 entry).
  2. ‘Like’ Pink Azalea on Facebook, then comment on this photo on their page with “Clemson Girls love the Pink Azalea” (1 entry).
  3. Share this giveaway on Facebook, then comment on this post letting us know you shared (1 entry).
  4. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, include a link to this post and copy @clemsongirl (1 entry).
  5. 5. Email a link to this giveaway to two friends and copy clemsongirlblog@gmail.com (1 entry).
Deadline for entries is tonight, July 25th at 7:00PM EST. We will compile all of your entries, randomly draw a winner, and announce the winner on the blog soon after. The winner has 48 hours to contact us after we post their name or we will draw a new winner.

Special thanks to the Pink Azalea for sponsoring such a fabulous giveaway!! Good luck ladies!


July 24, 2012

2012 Dabo Swinney's Ladies Clinic Recap

We were going to post our recap yesterday -- but we were still recooperating from the long day Saturday and all of the fun from the 2012 All In Team Foundation Ladies Clinic.

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The Ladies Clinic had over 1000 women attending according to Dabo. The day was jam packed with great activities and fun - from the 'Wife Swap' game, to Elvis, to 'Dancing with the Football Stars' - I think every lady there had a fabulous time.

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Fellow Clemson Girl and Governor Nikki Haley attended!

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And Clemson student Ali Rogers, the new Miss South Carolina, was also there to participate. She is definitely a contender for Miss America in January of next year -- and we loooove her dress.

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And of course, the main reason we were all there was to raise money for breast cancer research - over $26,000 was raised! The lady in the red shirt next to Kathleen is a 94 year old breast cancer survivor - talk about inspiration!

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This year we had our very own table set up... some of you may not have found us since we were ALL the way on the end of the shopping section, and with limited 'shopping' time, we missed a lot of you.

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But for those of you who ventured to the end of the vendor carousel, it was so nice to meet you and we even saw our Clemson Girl t-shirts on a few of you. :) One girl told us she read about the Ladies Clinic on our blog and that's why she went - very cool!

We loved seeing the Clemson gameday inspired outfits - painted Toms shoes, cute new Clemson tees, homemade Clesmon belts...and how cute are these Tiger stripe inspired nails?

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We were selling our new Clemson Girl swag...which will soon be available to purchase online (details coming soon).

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We also gave away a pair of these very POPULAR Clemson Jack Rogers Navajo sandals.

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Take a look at the photos we captured from the day on our Flickr site or in the slideshow below. We have video coming soon - videos of the 'Dancing with the Football Stars' which are hilarious! Stay tuned...


Did you attend the Ladies Clinic this year? What was your favorite part of the day?

This event is always a great coming together of female Clemson fans -- it's for a great cause and it always gets everyone super excited for the upcoming football season. Can you believe it's only 39 days away until our first game?!? Whoo hoo!


July 19, 2012

Figure Eight Monograms Monogram Giveaway Winner

Wow, what a fantastic response to today's giveaway! Not that we are really that surprised - the prizes the winner will be receiving from Figure Eight Monograms is fabulous. Orange monogrammed earrings? Yes please!

After compiling many, many, many entries, and randomly drawing a winner, please give a big congrats to...

Kristi C. from Gilbert, SC

Congrats Kristi! Please email us at clemsongirlblog@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Thanks again to Figure Eight Monograms for sponsoring today's giveaway. We hope you took some time today to check out all of the cute stuff on their website!

Win a monogram prize package from Figure Eight Monograms

Happy Thursday ladies!

Today we have a fabulous giveaway from Figure Eight Monograms.

Figure Eight Monograms makes and sells wonderful acrylic products that everyone loves, including necklaces, earrings, 3 letter monograms, key rings and luggage tags (for both men and women), ornaments, cake toppers, and cupcake toppers. They also have a complete line of truly inspirational spiritual products, as well as countless adorable acrylic products made with Lilly Pulitzer fabric print!

Today, Figure Eight Monograms would like to give one very lucky Clemson Girl a pair of orange monogram earrings in a monogram of their choice! Love these!

And...in addition, they are throwing in an adorable Lilly Pulitzer monogrammed key chain in a monogram of the winner's choice.

This is a great prize package!

How to Enter:
  1. Post a comment with your first name, last initial, and where you are from. (1 entry)
  2. 'Like' Figure Eight Monogram on Facebook, then post "Clemson Girl sent me!" on their Facebook wall. (1 entry)
  3. Share this giveaway on Facebook, then post another comment on this post letting us know you shared. (1 entry)
  4. Follow Figure Eight Monograms on Twitter, then tweet about this giveaway - include a link to this post and copy @figure8monograms and @clemsongirl. (1 entry)
  5. Email a link to this giveaway to two of your friends and copy us at clemsongirlblog@gmail.com. (1 entry)
Deadline for all entries is tonight at 7:00pm EST. We will compile all of your entries, randomly draw a winner, and announce the winner back on the blog soon after. The winner will have 48 hours after we announce them to contact us or we will draw a new winner.

Special thanks to Figure Eight Monograms for sponsoring today's fabulous giveaway!

Good luck!


July 18, 2012

Clemson Gameday Look - Think Pink

Today's gameday look is really an All In Team Foundation Ladies Clinic look. This is an event that calls for orange AND pink...

Comfort is also key for the Ladies Clinic. So dressing for hot weather and comfortable shoes are a must! See you on Saturday!

Clemson Gameday Look - Think Pink

Forever 21
$11 - forever21.com

MISSTHEA cuffed shorts
$25 - yesstyle.com

Old navy shoes
$2.50 - oldnavy.gap.com

Purple handbag
$15 - etsy.com

Ben Amun neon jewelry
$28 - eluxe.ca

Nickel free earrings
$11 - modcloth.com

Essie nail polish
$8 - nordstrom.com

Sephora Collection nail polish
$9.50 - sephora.com

Flame Princesse Bib
$38 - baublebar.com

Colored Metallic Aviators
$5.50 - charlotterusse.com




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