I like football for the football. My wife likes football for the game day snacks. What’s a college bowl game without your favorite football treats? Here are our favorites. These appetizers are our own version (usually lower fat/calorie) of classic football food.
1 – Easy Boneless Buffalo Wings
Ingredients: frozen chicken nuggets, Franks brand hot sauce, butter, celery, blue cheese or ranch salad dressing.
Prep: microwave the chicken nuggets as directed. Douse hot nuggets with copious amounts of hot sauce and a small slice of butter. Return to microwave for 1-2 minutes. Serve with celery and blue cheese dressing.
2 – Frito Pie
Ingredients: Frito chips, canned chili, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions or chives, pickled jalapeno peppers.
Prep: warm chili and pour over a bed of Fritos. Dollop sour cream and add remaining ingredients and enjoy.
3 – Chicago Dog Sliders
Ingredients: hot dogs, hot dog buns, fresh tomatoes, dill pickles, pickled jalapeno peppers, mustard, hot dog relish, poppy seeds.
Prep: prepare hot dogs as directed. Add diced tomatoes, dill pickle slices, jalapeno slices, and condiments, sprinkle poppy seeds over top and slice each Chicago Dog into 4 bite sized portions.
4 – Easy Guacamole
Ingredients: 3-5 avocados, 1 cup sour cream, garlic powder, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper.
Prep: Open avocados and remove pits. Mash avocados with fork. Add sour cream, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp lime juice, minced cilantro and a dash of salt and pepper and serve with your favorite chips.
Tip: keep one avocado pit and place it in the bowl of guacamole in the refrigerator to keep the guacamole from turning brown.
5 – Jalapeno Poppers
Ingredients: Fresh jalapeno peppers, package of bacon, cream cheese
Prep: Carefully cut peppers in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and veins of the peppers. Stuff peppers with cream cheese. Wrap stuffed pepper half with a slice of uncooked bacon. Place peppers on cooling rack and place a cookie sheet or drip pan under rack to catch bacon drippings. Bake at 400 degrees until bacon is crisp.
Note: Dr.W. cheers for The Ohio State University Buckeyes, who are bowl ineligible this year. His other team (Utah State) already won their bowl game this season.
