Wildcard Playoff Thai Kale & Carrot Salad Giants @ Packers

Wildcard Playoff

Thai Kale & Carrot Salad

Giants @ Packers

Pregame

We made it!  The Packers ran the table and got a home playoff game in the process.  In the middle of the season, this day seemed very unlikely.  The Packers will only be without Quentin Rollins and Jayrone Elliott.

This game should be a tight one.  Eli Manning has won twice in Lambeau during the playoffs and eventually leading to two Super Bowls.  Right now the Packers offense is hot for the last 7 weeks but the Giants have an equally hot defense. Probably the key to the game will be whether the fairly poor Giants offense or equally inept Packers defense are going to step up and win the game.  The weather will be in the teen's but it shouldn't be much of a factor as both teams are used to playing in cold weather.  

Go Pack Go!!

Recipe

Thai Kale & Carrot Salad

by Debra Byczek

Salad:

1 bunch of Kale, torn and tossed with 1 tsp lime juice

1/2 head of purple cabbage, sliced thin or chopped

1/2 bag shredded carrots

Dressing:

1/2 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts

2 T. low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup coconut sugar

4 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp red chili flakes

(Blend all of the ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth)

Maple Curry Nuts:

1 cup unsalted nuts (I used cashews, peanuts, and pecans)

1 T. maple syrup

1 t. curry powder

(Toss the nuts with the maple syrup and curry powder.  Baked on a parchment lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes)

This is a delicious crunchy salad that my friend Mrs. Plant taught me how to make at a cooking class.  

Tip:  Don't toss the salad with the dressing or nuts until ready to serve.  It will get too soft if you add the dressing ahead of time.

Check out Mrs. Plant's website for lots of great, healthy recipes.

www.mrsplantintexas.com

Dressing Ingredients

Enjoy!

Game Recap

Packers WIN!!!  They beat the Giants 38-13!  This game was not won till after halfway in the 4th qtr.  The Packers had an extremely slow start but the defense miraculously only allowed 6 points when the Giants were dominating.  Then the Pack scores a td halfway through the 2nd qtr and topped it off with a hail mary to Randall Cobb going into halftime.

Then the Packers had another slow start to the 2nd half and gave the Giants a chance to take over the game but they just couldn't do it.  Then the Pack took over the game towards the end of the 3rd qtr and never let up.  

I said in the pregame the difference maker would be either the Giants offense or the Packers defense and the Packer's D bent but never totally broke.  Clay Matthews didn't make a play all day until the 4th qtr when he hit Eli Manning, dislodging the ball, then running 10 yards downfield and recovering the ball. The Packers were still playing hard with seconds left and Demarius Randall returned an interception for 70 yards.

Now it's onto Dallas for next week's game.  The Packers lost to the Cowboys earlier in the year but then the Cowboys lost 2 of their 3 games to the Giants while the Packers have beat the Giants twice.  

Here's a prediction.

So the Cowboys can't beat the Giants.

The Packers can beat the Giants.

The Packers lost to the Cowboys at home.

The next logical progression in the pattern seems to be:

THE PACKERS BEAT THE COWBOYS AT HOME!

It will be an interesting week here in the Dallas/Ft Worth area of having to put up with all the Cowboys' fans ribbing but hopefully it will be worth it next Sunday.

GO PACK GO!!