Have your chips and eat 'em too!

Kettle chips aren't just for snacking. They are for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the most important part of the food pyramid. We played around in the kitchen and came up with a couple recipes that include our favorite ingredients: Kettle chips!

Not yo' Mamas Tuna Casserole

2-6 oz cans tuna
2-14 oz cans kernal corn, drained
2 cans mushroom soup
1-9 0z bag Buffalo Bleu Krinkle Cut Kettle chips

Mix the first 3 ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Next, cover the bottom of a 9x12 casserole dish with broken chips, about half of the bag.
Cover with the tuna mixture.
Top with the remaining chips, broken.
Bake for approximately 40 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit.
Serve with Standing Stone's Common Sense, or your favorite local brew.
Serves 6, or 4 really hungry college students.



"Breakfast" Cookies

1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup crushed Lightly Salted Kettle chips

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
Cream the butter and sugar.
Mix in the vanilla, flour and chips.
Drop small balls onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 7-12 minutes (depending on cookie size)
Pretend like cookies are nutritionally sufficient and enjoy for breakfast.
Best served with a glass of chocolate milk.

Spring Break at Timberline

Once again Team Kettle members were blest with late season powder. We, Verelle and Travis rode at Timberline ski resort on Mount Hood for our spring break vacation. We were able to ride for two days. With 13 inches of freshy on Thursday and 3 (a lot more during the day) on Friday we had endless runs of untracked lines.

We did our usual late night drive from Ashland on Wednesday and stayed at our Aunt and Uncle's house in Newberg. Kyle, Verelle's step-brother, met up with us for our first day of riding. Kyle is new to the sport of snowboarding and this was only his second time riding a lift, but he is picking it up quickly and by the end of the day was flying down the hill and having a blast. We primarily rode the newest lift at Timberline, which is also the longest lift in the state. Jeff Flood offers access to the largest portion of terrain on the mountain and we tried to ride all of it. We got hooked on one run and completed it a good 10 times. After riding Mt. Ashland it is a treat to ride long runs that offer so much variety in terrain.

Snow so deep he can't see his feet!

Hoodoo

Hoodoo! Hoodoo!! Hoodoo!!! Incredible snow, terrain, and a friendly ski/board patrol are the memories we will retain from this small Oregon ski resort.

We got lucky again with late season fresh snow. This team trip included Cullen, Brad, Steph, and baby ninja Jonah! We were stoked to have them join the team for some turns. After eating an unpleasant breakfast in Sweet Home we journeyed out Santiam Pass to the ski resort. We were all excited to see the parking lot practically empty and a lot of fresh snow on the ground.

With a high speed quad chair that allows for access to whole mountain it was easy to quickly learn our around. The views from the summit are indescribable.

Dan and Travis taking in the views at the summit.

Cullen and Dan taking a break in the basin.

Cullen goes for a little air.

Travis taking on a cliff.

Dan looks rad on his skis.

Willamette Pass

On Friday March 13th Team Kettle went on a team trip to Willamette Pass Ski Resort . We were accompanied by our good friend Angela Bombacci on this trip, and it was the first time riding at Willamette Pass for all of us.
Angela, Verelle, and I left Ashland around 10 pm and arrived in Corvallis at Dan and Cullen's place around 1:30 am. Going to bed right away was not an option because Thursday was the fourth annual Irish Car Bomb night. After a couple beers and a Car Bomb we all crashed on the living room floor.
We had a late start to the day due to the late night we had, we managed to be at the ski resort by 11:30 am. Even still there was plenty of fresh powder to spare.
The snow was amazing. It was very light and plenty deep. The forest that Willamette Pass is in is very mature and had little to no underbrush which meant amazing tree runs for us. The tree's are spaced out perfectly and we got some of the best tree runs we have ever had. Willamette Pass is also home of the steepest run in the state of Oregon. Dan and I ventured down the 52 degree slope, and it was definitely steep.
We rode hard until 4 pm and then jammed it back to Corvallis and dinner at Mcmenamins. The combination of good snow, good friends, and awesome hosts (thank you Cullen and Dan!) made for an awesome trip. Willamette Pass is a resort we will definitely ride again soon!

Enjoying a lunch break.

The lodge at Willamette Pass.

One of the many beautiful trails.