I am a veteran of many many years of tailgate meals...we are at least 1 1/2 hours from tail gate site....and "back in the day" the Iowa Hawks often started a game at 11:)0 for the TV crowd. One game was always designated as "The quiche game"....and I made at least 4 quiche... I made and par baked the crusts the night before....shredded the cheese, cooked and crumbled the bacon, chopped the scallions and sauteed the mushrooms. Then in the AM....as I staggered around waiting for the coffee to drip and the oven to heat, I mixed in the blender, eggs and milk and cream and seasonings. dumped the veggies, cheese and bacon into the pie crust, filled it with seasoned milk, cream and eggs and into the oven for 40 minutes while I showered and drank coffee and DH loaded the car with blankets, wine, bloody marys etc. When the quiche were done I put them directly from the oven into a cooler lined with many layers of newspapers and a terry towel, covered the pie with another overturned pie plate, a towel and more newspaper. I could stack 2 pies to a cooler ( or a Hotter...but how do it know>>:-) Fritattas can be made in a similar manner....bake and refrigerate the night before, re heat and pack into a cooler. Also sausage gravy works too....make the night before....re-heat and put into a thermos....bake biscuits and re heat over the grill in foil. Also make a fritatta and a big pan of sticky buns....and you will be a princess in everyone's eyes.

Linnea, here you go. Scalloped Chipotle Sweet Potatoes 1 or 2 canned chipotle peppers pureed with some of the adobo sauce 2 cups heavy cream 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin Preheat the oven to 350 F. Puree the chipotles in a food processor until smooth. Stir in cream. In a large casserole dish arrange a fourth of the sweet potatoes and pour a fourth of the cream over all. Repeat with the remaining potatoes and cream, forming 4 layers. May be prepared up to this point one half hour ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Bake covered for 30 minutes, remove cover and continue baking for 30-45 minutes or until the cream has been absorbed and the potatoes are browned. ~variation of a Bobby Flay recipe

Not a stupid question. I think most of us were thinking "no it's not safe" but too lazy after eating all the leftovers to find some scientific proof to provide. And of course I personally was bothered by your declaration that you should not be eating gravy. I felt you reached through my computer and judged me as a gravy eater who has no shame in partaking of the food of the Gods. But tis the season, so I will forgive you. :)

We are all triangles, lol. Such an interesting observation about the internet and forums. I know eyes probably roll at most of my posts, but someone somewhere might use my non-recipe jumble way of cooking or use a hint since we cut out most sugars and salts a long time ago. Mentioning pharmacists Barb...i've done the same. I wandered into a pharmacist in the city....seems to be one on every NYC block...two young girls behind the counter, young meaning younger, probably early thirties. This was a couple years ago, but i decided to ask about a possible urinary tract infection and we ended up chatting for 20 minutes. They were so helpful and suggested a non-invasive over the counter thing to try first before seeing my primary care as i just had no time...they were a fantastic wealth of information. And made me promise to seek doctor help if it was not solved in a few days. Researching on our own is just good knowledge to have along with your primary care office. We really are responsible for our own basic needs at home and to eat as healthy as we can. It is difficult to start making changes to a dish that is so familiar but i feel pretty shitty after eating comfort food. DH made red-eye gravy, scratch biscuits, the day after a party. With leftovers after i made a de-salted roasted ham NewYears day...we ate tiny portions and it was a treat, then felt crappy all day. We just don't eat that way anymore. (it was delish going in!) Not had tuna casserole since my my mother made it when i was a kid. Loaded with wasted calories. Lots of ways to replace that with vegetables and still be creamy and filling. I've been making a no-mayo nicoise tuna salad for years. Even better, With your prep bowls...6 or 8 soup bowls near your chopping block...chop a half red onion, or white, a half red pepper, a couple ribs of celery, some green onion...pull some peas, limas, spinach, out of the freezer,,,,(i buy the bags over the rectangle cube boxes from the freezer section). Any good veg choices you like...) in the bags you can just take a handful, then wrap it back up with a rubber band. A veg in each bowl, the frozen as well and they start to thaw a bit. Some olives if you like them, capers if you have them. A half a chopped apple and some lemon zest with a 1/4 juice...grate a couple cups of cauliflower. Or chop. Even chopped mushrooms. Saute your onions and celery, grated carrot, garlic...whatever you want and place in the bottom of a casserole, add all other veg and layer with tuna and cooked rice pasta or regular egg noodles but use a 1/4 portion. Just replace all that pasta with 3/4 veg. Cauliflower is such a great pasta/rice replacement. We use non-fat greek yogurt mixed with cottage cheese, feta, or a slice of goat cheese...we like all of those and usually have them on hand. I use a bit of water but skim milk is a good choice for some moisture. And egg stirred in is good but not necessary. I always have citrus ice cubes frozen with some herbs. a couple of those on top...cover and bake...then cover off near the end of oven cooking to get a nice bubbly light brown top. Browning a bit adds flavor. Packed with lots of veggie you can eat a bit more. The rest of the fresh chopped veg and apple/lemon/herb, olives etc goes into a fresh tuna salad for the next day or two. Cucumber and avocado is super on that salad. You then have a crisper drawer of leftover veg not cut up for another few meals at the end of the week. Half a red pepper, half and onion, etc. My veggie lasagna and Shipwreck pie, both are 75% veg and keep winning cooking contests. Because they are baked casserole dishes they have all the elements of comfort food without the high starches and empty calories though very filling and comforting...and we don't feel shitty the next day.