Review: Cougar Football Cookbook by Brigham Young Cougars

Cougar Football Cookbook by Brigham Young Cougars, compiled by Holly Mendenhall, NF, 2013, 155p, Rating=5
Source: provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Game day just got better! Whether you're tailgating at the stadium or watching the game at home, football and food are a winning combination. This collection brings together 150 favorite recipes from BYU players and coaches, past and present. Categories include:
Pre-game Warm Ups (Appetizers)
Rise and Shout (Tailgating Treats)
First Downs (Salads)
Cheers from the Sidelines (Side Dishes)
Bowl Games (Soups and Stews)
Touchdown! (Main Courses)
The Point After (Desserts)
Water Break (Beverages)
Proceeds from this cookbook will benefit Thursday's Heroes through Bronco and Holly Mendenhall's Fully Invested Foundation, a nonprofit initiative to help children and families who are facing significant life challenges.

Don't throw tomatoes at me again but I'm not a big football fan.  Just didn't grow up in that atmosphere (basketball was our thing) and my hubby's not into it either (martial arts is his thing) so I'm clueless with who's who in football.  However, food is another story.  I love food and a cookbook with favorite recipes was right up my alley.  Not the cooking part, but the eating!  Unfortunately, I had a couple of weeks before this review was due and my other "life" took a hold of me ..another mini vacay, sharing time lesson, back to school preps, piled laundry, dishes, and dusts, etc.  That said, I wouldn't have been able to cook much of the recipes for a proper review.  Hence, I enlisted a couple of my church pals to help me out.  How cool were they to come to my rescue?  Super cool, that's how!!  Thanks a bunch, Lauree and Becky!

I was surprised that this cookbook had many dishes I wanted to try out.  I'm not one for recipes that have fancy ingredients and time consuming directions so when I was going through the book and found many "Hey-I-can-do-this!" dishes, I was thrilled!  For now, I tried three.

Although this cookbook did not have images of the final creations, I still found the book very attractive and user friendly.  The recipes really did speak for themselves.  Plus, I enjoyed the commentaries below the pages that stated who the creators of the recipes were and when appropriate, their relationship to a BYU Cougar.  This background gave the dishes a tried and true homemade feel.

I highly recommend this cookbook.  A must have for homemaker cooks.  I noticed that most of the recipes were simple, easy, and quick.  Perfect ingredients for busy moms or dads.  Also, I'm an okay cook but these dishes made me look like a pro. Discovering the coconut buns alone was worth it.  My husband and oldest son, picky eaters, really likes the cranberry chicken so I'm happy that I can add another dish to the usuals for them.  I'll have to find something that will hit the spot for my two youngest munchkins ..probably on the dessert section!  Overall, thank you Cougars!  What an awesome cookbook with charity in mind.

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**Recipes I cooked (so proud of my beautiful pictures!)**

Catalina Cranberry Chicken by Orrin Olsen, defensive end and offensive center, 1971-1975

Delicious!  This is now my new Thanksgiving go-to dish!

O-Line Poppers by Sara Brown, wife of Terence Brown --offensive lineman, 2005, 2008-2011

Can't go wrong with cream cheese and bacon and boy did those jalapenos have kick!  Be sure to have some milk/chocolates ready to calm your tongue/throat! Yum!

Kassie's Pani Popo (Coconut Buns) by Kassie Feinga, wife of Ray Feinga --offensive lineman, 2004-2008

Best rolls ever! Lightly sweet and melts in your mouth creamy.  Absolutely heavenly!!

**Recipes that my friends cooked**

Chocolate Chip Cake by Pat Edwards, wife of LaVell Edwards --head coach, 1972-2000

"The Chocolate Chip Cake was fabulous!!!  Oh, that cake was the best!  Ten of us tried it and it's a total winner!" ~Lauree

Breakfast Burritos by Laura Denney, wife of Ryan Denney --defensive end, 1997-2001

"Super easy to make and my whole family loved them! Definitely a thumbs up." ~Becky

The Best Italian Meatballs by Brianna Reynolds, wife of Matt Reynolds --offensive lineman, 2007-2011

"Also super easy to make. They weren't my favorite recipe, but very quick which is a plus! We had ours over spaghetti.  My four year old did not like them, but my two year old loved them." ~Becky

Purchase and help a good cause.  :)