Five Favorite Appetizers for Superbowl Sunday!

Since the Superbowl is this Sunday {Go Panthers!!} I am thrilled to share five of my very favorite, tried and true appetizers. I don't know about you, but my favorite way to enjoy the Superbowl is to have a nice, big spread of appetizers. Nothing better! Yes, I will watch the game {and actually be interested} but the food is of course the very best part. 

CRESCENT SAUSAGE BITES

I haven't made these in a while, but oh my goodness, these things were DEVOURED at our tailgate the very first time I made them. Just a few ingredients for these tasty bites. Mixing sausage with cream cheese and crescent rolls is pretty much perfection!

EASY CHICKEN AND WAFFLES

My latest appetizer favorite. Since good old Chic-fil-A isn't open on Sunday, you could either get the nuggets ahead of time, find a similar version in your grocery store, or even better- pan fry your own chicken tenderloins. I promise, you won't be disappointed with this insanely easy app!

HAM BISCUITS

Raleigh {my hometown} has a fabulous little bakery that has THE BEST ham biscuits. I mean, they practically melt in your mouth. I've made my own little version of them, and while they aren't quite the same thing, they still are pretty darn good. Pictured below is the Ladyfingers ham biscuits we had with soup this week:

This is my version:

MINI HAM BISCUITS

-1 Package Sister Schubert Yeast Rolls

-1/4 pound shaved ham (I think ours was oven baked, we couldn't find country ham shaved)

-1/2 stick butter

-3 tablespoons brown sugar

Bake rolls according to package directions.

Melt butter and mix with brown sugar.

Stuff each roll with ham and return to tin pan.

Baste top of rolls with butter and brown sugar mixture.

Bake for another 10-15 minutes until rolls begin to brown on top.

BRUSCHETTA WITH PEPPERS AND GORGONZOLA

This is such a good recipe, and a fun twist on bruschetta. The combo of the sweet and spicy peppers, mixed with the gorgonzola- oh goodness it is tasty! Side note, when I make them I leave off the capers and basil, although I am sure it is great with that addition. I think the original recipe I used did not include them so that's the way I have always made them!

TEXAS CAVIAR

We love this dip and in terms of dips- it isn't all that bad for ya! My Mom usually makes a big batch of this in the summertime when we are all at the beach house. We can pull it out of the fridge and snack away on it. It definitely makes a lot, so you can feed plenty with it!

So those are five of my very favorite appetizers and I am officially ready to snack away on Sunday night. One thing I am thinking about making is this Hissy Fit Dip, because you have to have a cheesy dip for the Superbowl! I would love to hear your favorites as well. Enjoy your weekend!

Linking up to Five On Friday:

Tailgate Menu Number Four: Best Ever!

Our last tailgate was hands down, my favorite tailgate so far. Our game was at 3:30 and we opted to have a late light lunch tailgate and then dinner at halftime. The weather finally cooled off around here, and even though it rained a little bit, we really enjoyed being outside.

The Menu: Part 1

Babyback Ribs

Loaded Baked Potato Dip with Potato Chips

Champagne Toast (always fun!)

The ribs were perfect for a late lunch {good job Mom!}, and the baked potato dip was a great complement. The best part was this whole meal was prepared ahead of time so all we had to do was set it out- no prep at all once we arrived!

Loaded Baked Potato Dip
Warning, this dip is addictive. All of your favorite baked potato toppings in a dip. The recipe suggested using waffle fries (the potato part) to dip, but we made it simple with a few different kinds of potato chips. So good!

The Menu: Part 2

-Chili Bar-

Chili, Grilled Hot Dogs, Tortilla Chips, Shredded Mexican Cheese, Sour Cream

We started out with the idea of a big batch of my Mom's chili and then the rest stemmed from there. 

Did you ever have Chili Chips and Cheese back in the day at Wendys? I remember we used to get it on our way home from church for lunch and it was so good. So we decided to recreate that goodness for those who wanted to snack. While we were at it, we threw in hot dogs to keep the guys nice and full. It was so nice to have the option for so many different meals: a bowl of chili, chili dog, or my favorite, chili chips & cheese!

{Artist T so soft and comfy, Tassel Scarf- my new favorite!}

Happy Tailgating!

Tailgate Menu Number Three + Weekend

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Our football game last week fell on Thursday night- which means dinner tailgate!

I made probably the biggest hit I have ever made for the tailgate and it was by far the most simple thing- ever! 

Enter Crescent Sausage Bites!

I ended up dividing these up and saving a handful to keep at home. All of the bites at the tailgate were eaten, and we heated them up for breakfast the next morning. I think they were even better the second day! I am not a big sausage person, but these are simply amazing with the cream cheese. And what's better than crescent rolls?!

CRESCENT SAUSAGE BITES

1 lb. hot sausage (pork or turkey)

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

2 packages crescent rolls

Dash salt & ground black pepper

Directions:

-Brown sausage; drain. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Blend in cream cheese until the cream cheese is melted.

-Unroll one package of crescent rolls and place on a baking sheet- {I covered mine with foil to make it easy to wrap up later}. Press the seams together to seal them. Spread the sausage mixture evenly over the crescent roll dough, and leave about a 1/2-inch border along each edge.

-Unroll the second package of crescent rolls and place on top of the sausage mixture. Press seams together again and the edges together to seal. 

-Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until crescent roll dough is golden brown.

-Use a pizza cutter to slice into small squares.

Other things we had at our tailgate-

-Buffalo Chicken Wings

-Freshly popped popcorn in personal bags {found at Hobby Lobby}

-Veggies

We were so excited that Weeks got to meet Mr. Wolf! He was so cute looking at him. To be honest, I think he was a little scared! Please check out his football Babylegs socks- they got a lot of attention. So cute.

Since a weeknight game left us with the whole rest of the weekend, we were able to attend a wedding at home. Nothing beats this view!

This poor guy had his 6 month checkup last week and was left with a high fever from his shots. He has always done fine so I'm thinking it was the flu shot this time. It was pitiful and I was terrified. He's always such a trooper, even when he doesn't feel well. 

Sunday morning breakfast at home...

And our little guy was feeling much better and let us know splashing around in his bath tub!

Hope your week is off to a great start ;)

Tailgate Menu Number Two

We had a birthday party to celebrate for my Dad, brother (and a 6 month birthday for Weeks!) so we centered the menu around buffalo chicken - something all the men love.

Buffalo Chicken Sliders (see below)

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Vegetables with Ranch Dip

Smoked Chicken Wings

Creamy Feta Dip wth Jalapenos
Savory Saltine Crackers

CREAMY FETA DIP WITH JALAPENOS

We served the dip with pita chips, but like the recipe suggested it would be a nice bite with some kalamata olives as well. If you are a feta lover, you will love this dip. My only complaint is we took the whole dip out there, when we could have saved half of it at home. It makes a lot! The feta is a nice complement to the chicken that packs some heat. The other crackers you see below are the savory saltine crackers I mentioned last week. You can find their seasonings here. So easy and SO good!

BUFFALO CHICKEN SLIDERS

4-6 chicken breasts, boneless

1 bottle hot sauce (Mild Texas Pete)

1 pkg dry ranch dressing packet

Mix hot sauce and ranch dressing together in a bowl, place chicken in crock pot, pour sauce mix over chicken, cook on low 6-8 hours

Shred with a fork

Serve on Hawaiian rolls and ranch dressing

Add a little more sauce before serving if necessary.

Welcome Football + Tailgate Menu One

I'm a little excited to welcome a new season in, and with that comes our beloved college football games. I would be lying if I didn't say my favorite part is coordinating and planning the menu each week with the rest of the family. We have some tried and true favorites but we also like to mix things up. I thought it would be fun to recap our menu from each week for all my fellow tailgaters. Let y'all know what was a hit at our tailgate so you can try it next week!

First things first though, Weeks wore his NC State bubble that my sister gave me at my baby shower back in January. So fun to finally see this sweet face in it.

Back to the food!

Menu One:

-Ranch Cheese ball

-Mini Ham Biscuits

-Saltine Crackers with Savory Seasoning

-Mexican Bean Dip

-Burgers and Brats

-Champagne Soaked Strawberries

 Our game was at 12:30 on Saturday, so we prepped a bit on Friday night. I saw a pinterest recipe I wanted to try- Champagne Soaked Strawberries. Like so many pins on pinterest, it was somewhat misleading. Originally, I thought I was going to simply soak my strawberries in champagne, but the recipe was actually champagne soaked & chocolate dipped strawberries. Well I attempted to dip a few in the white chocolate and it just was not turning out pretty. After soaking the strawberries in champagne they became soft and that didn't mix well with the melted chocolate. I opted to keep it simple and just bring the strawberries in champagne- yum!! The adult version of vodka soaked fruit I guess?!

My other contribution was ham biscuits. They were SO good but I did not take any pictures of our food and I am so sorry, especially since I am doing an entire post on food. The thought came after the tailgate! However, if you like ham biscuits, this is a simple recipe that is really good. 

MINI HAM BISCUITS

-1 Package Sister Schubert Yeast Rolls

-1/4 pound shaved ham (I think ours was oven baked, we couldn't find country ham shaved)

-1/2 stick butter

-3 tablespoons brown sugar

Bake rolls according to package directions.

Melt butter and mix with brown sugar.

Stuff each roll with ham and return to tin pan.

Baste top of rolls with butter and brown sugar mixture.

Bake for another 10-15 minutes until rolls begin to brown on top.

How cute is this boy at his first football game! Everyone loved those little football socks. Weeks got to stay at the tailgate with his Mimi and Pop Pop during the game because it was SO hot and we aren't going to chance a baby in the sun. I actually didn't stay in the game very long because I wanted to check on him! 

We left early and escaped to the AC and cuddled and watched the rest of the game. Perfect. 

Hope y'all had a great Labor Day Weekend!
Let me know your thoughts on the weekly tailgate menu post idea!