Game Day Snack/Meal Week 16 - Pepperoni Polenta Pizza Wheels

So as my husband was getting ready to sit down to THE game, Jets vs Giants, I made him a "game day lunch." I had purchased a polenta log from Trader Joe's because I was really curious about working with it. I know, it's better to make your own fresh polenta, but I really wanted to try this.

I tried searching for recipes using the log, or even just general polenta recipes, but I couldn't find many that used polenta in creative ways. So I decided to do something simple - little pizzas. Also very game day-ish.

So I sliced up the polenta and dipped it into some olive oil that had been mixed with garlic powder, Italian seasoning and a little paprika. Then I grilled it for a few minutes on each side.

Once I felt the flavors were soaked in, I transferred the polenta wheels to a baking tray and topped them with turkey pepperoni, sauce and cheese.

Once cooked for about 10 minutes in the oven, it was ready to eat! I gave my husband his plate first as I made mine and I heard "this is really good," coming from our kitchen table before I even sat down. So I guess it was a success!

It was a lighter lunch, so these can definitely be made and served as a snack for the game, but it packed a lot of flavor.

So here is a run down of the ingredients and the steps - this is just something I threw together, I didn't follow any recipe.

Ingredients:

One polenta log from Trader Joe's
Shredded mozzarella
Shredded Parmesan
Tomato sauce
Hormel turkey pepperoni, chopped
olive oil
garlic powder
paprika
Italian Seasoning

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the log into pieces, no more than 1/2" thick.

Mix the garlic powder, paprika (just a pinch) and Italian seasonings together and then pour some olive oil into the bowl. Stir until well combined.

Dip each polenta slice into the oil mixture and place on a grill pan. Grill on each side on medium heat for a few minutes.


Transfer polenta slices to a baking sheet and top with pepperoni, sauce and cheese.


Bake until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Hope everyone has a happy holiday! I am not sure if this will be the last week of game day snacks, or if I will make one for week 17. It this is the last, it's been fun. Hopefully I have time to do this next season with a little baby in the house!

I'll try to have some Superbowl snacks up though!

Sunday Game Day SANDWICH! Turkey & Pepperoni Panini's!

Well, we're getting a blizzard today and wanted something warm to eat for lunch so I thought of breaking out our panini press, which we haven't used in quite some time.

The sandwich my husband and I created is perfect for hungry game day watchers - nice and filling! It's easy to make if you are tailgating and have a little grill - just wrap it in foil and throw it on the grill for 10 minutes.

Here are the ingredients we used:

Sliced deli turkey
American cheese
Turkey Pepperoni (you can use regular too, of course)
honey mustard (in my husband's case)
margarine
Rye bread

For our panini press, we have to put some margarine on the outsides of the bread, but I also spread some inside my sandwich. My husband used honey mustard on the inside of his.


Pepperoni went on one side of the sandwich, cheese on the other and turkey piled in the middle.



Into the panini press for a few minutes until golden brown - then dive into the gooey mess of goodness!!


We had sour pickles on the side too.

Delicious!! This one is a keeper here!!

Sunday Game Day Snack - Pepperoni Cheese Fries

Today's game day snack is..... Spicy Pepperoni Cheese Fries!!!

My husband and I just made these and inhaled them in like, a matter of minutes. They were SO GOOD! We kind of want some more... but we're having an early dinner with friends so we should be good...

Anyway, here are the ingredients:

Frozen French Fries
Diced Pepperoni (or Italian Salami)
Spicy Queso Cheese (like the Tostito's kind) - we had a "medium" spice
Diced scallions

First we cooked the french fries till they started getting warm (10 min).


Then we topped them with the cheese, pepperoni and scallions.


Back into the oven (375 F) for 5-10 minutes until desired warmth and crispness.



These are super easy to make!

Enjoy!

(This is going to be a new staple at our house for when we have people over to watch the games or parties, perhaps!)