Top 5 Eating With A Game Day Snacks - Get Ready for the Super Bowl!!

Last year I did a Top 5 of my most successful Game Day snacks from the football season, so it's time for me to do that again. There are just days before the Super Bowl and if any of these strike your fancy, go get the ingredients!


My husband had some definite favorites throughout the season, so here are my Top 5! And I have to add for his behalf, GO GIANTS!!! (Sorry if you are a Patriots fan, we are NY'ers).


Number 5: Mozzarepas!

This street food was found at the Long Island Oyster Festival back in October and we loved them SO much, I had to try and make them on my own. The first time was a little rough, but they came out pretty tasty anyway and are a perfect little snack to munch on during the big game. The recipe for the Mozzarepas is here! Enjoy!


Number 4: Dips!

I made two very successful cheese spreads this season. One I couldn't eat (the Beer-Cheese Dip) and one I could (the Cranberry Habanero Cheese Spread). My husband devoured both, and I immensely enjoyed the one I could eat. The Beer-Cheese dip can be used on steak sandwiches as well! Many different things can be dipped in eat one, vegetables, chips, pretzels, etc., so they are very versatile. If you want to try a new spread/dip for the big day - try one of these!

Here is the recipe for the Beer-Cheese Dip!

Here is the recipe for the Cranberry Habanero Cheese Spread!


Number 3: Pepperoni Polenta Pizza Wheels!

This recipe was one of the more simple ones, yet one of the most delicious! I had bought a polenta log from Trader Joe's to try out and needed something to do with it. Being a lover of pizza (and all things pizza), I used the base as a crust to make a little pizza wheel. It was delicious! And the polenta is a little less carby than regular crust! These little bites would go fast at a Super Bowl party! Yum! Here is the recipe!!


Number 2: PITACHOS!!

This was one of my earlier snacks in the season, but definitely one of the yummiest. It was also the first time I made my own pita chips - and they were flavored pita chips at that! My husband and I were little piggies this day as we gobbled up this delightful snack.

Try it out, but careful, it can get a little messy! Here is the recipe!


Number 1: Chocolate Covered Pretzel Bites!

My last recipe of the season was mine, and my husband's, favorite, yet it is probably THE MOST simple recipe out there. Thanks to my friend Carly, who made it and posted it on her running blog, I decided I had to make these, and guess what? I've made two more batches since! These take just mere minutes to make and are the perfect salty and sweet snack to pop while watching the game. Try them out! Here is this recipe!


So there are my top 5. Hopefully you are inspired to make one of them!

Lastly, I leave you with this fun little snack - perfect for any football game!

Mini Football Subs!

You can't have a Super Bowl party without these tasty little meatball treats!

Enjoy February 5th everyone! I know the game will definitely be on in my house with my husband decked out in his Giants jersey, hat, slippers, etc. I know he's hoping they will win so he can buy little baby boy a Super Bowl t-shirt once they hit Modells.


PS - Also, please remember, if you, or anyone you know, plays fantasy baseball and has a draft coming up, tell them to head on over to RotoProfessor.com for lots of great tips, tricks and articles. Also, RotoProfessor's third annual Draft Guide is on sale now for just $6!! It is an electronic draft guide created on Excel and updates get sent to the buyer every 2-3 weeks before the season starts. This guide gets repeat buyers and rave reviews and is much cheaper than a magazine from the store! Also, anyone who buys the guide before March 15 is entered to win an autographed baseball by Michael Pineda!! What an awesome prize!

Spinach Balls!

So I was searching for recipes that use vegetable broth since we had some leftover from my husband's chili recipe and I came across these spinach balls from Allrecipes.com.

They looked interesting so I decided to give it a try. I didn't use egg substitute, and just used 2 full eggs.

The balls came out well, but to me, a little bland. I felt they needed either a dipping sauce or an extra spice in the mix like crushed red pepper flakes or paprika or something. But otherwise they were a tasty little side to have with dinner. Or, you can put toothpicks in them and serve them as appetizers!

They were really easy to make but took just a short amount of time because I had to chop the onion. I was able to make these one night after work though, so it wasn't THAT involved.

The recipe is for 8 servings - I halved it as usual.

Ingredients:

2 cups crushed seasoned stuffing
1 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup egg substitute (didn't use and used an extra egg instead)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients.

Stir in spinach until blended. Roll into 1-in. balls.




Place in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

A's Top Game Day Snacks

As the nation gears up for Superbowl Sunday, I felt I should post my top favorite game day snacks from this season. My husband and I carefully evaluated what I made and compiled a list for you all. Maybe this will inspire you for Superbowl Sunday!

We, sadly, planned a getaway for that weekend, which we didn't realize at the time and if the weather is nice to us (please cooperate, Mother Nature!), Eating With A will be on hiatus for a little bit but I'll be back!

I'm going to try to do some Sunday recipes for baseball season too once that gets going.

Without further delay, here are our top 5 faves!!

#5: "Quick & Easy Snacks"

We couldn't decide between 2 of my "quick & easy" snacks, so they both landed as #5 on the list. The first one is the "Crescent Roll-Ups" I made back in November. In fact, one of my readers commented that she made these for a party and everyone loved them! Thanks for trying that, Cynthia!! Glad it worked out for you.

The second "quick and easy" snack we loved is the "Snack on the Go" that I improvised while my husband and I were in Florida. I just loved these cracker treats! They are so easy to make and really delicious to munch on.


#4: Potato Chip Chicken Bites!

I made these Potato Chip Chicken lollipops for my husband and I to munch on during our New Year's Eve pig out on appetizers. They came out surprisingly good and I can't wait to try these again with a different flavor potato chip!


#3: NACHOS!!

Nachos were a theme this season, it seemed. I made several variations, but two of them really stood out for my husband and I.

Pick #1 are the Asian Style Nachos I randomly created one Sunday. Combining an Asian flavor and a Mexican flair was seriously delicious and we wouldn't hesitate to make these again.

Pick #2 is the Pretzel Nachos we created. AND I am excited that I created these before Food Network Magazine put out their January/February issue feature different pretzels you can make. I guess I started a trend, right? Haha. Unfortunately I didn't take the time to make my own pretzel - we cheated and used the frozen Super Pretzels, but it's all the same. No matter how you make it, the Pretzel Nacho was a tasty treat for the afternoon.


#2: SANDWICHES!!

The number two spot will again be split between 2 recipes we tried and loved so much. The first sandwich we picked is our Open-Faced Knish Sandwich. This is a really meaty sandwich and definitely fills you up. It's perfect for after some lighter appetizers and before dessert while watching the BIG game! Plus, it's different, and a crowd pleaser. In fact, just a few days ago my husband almost went to the store to pick up knish's so we could make this sandwich for lunch. However, his laziness prevailed and we ended up eating some leftover's we had in the house. :-)

The second sandwich is our Turkey & Pepperoni Panini. These can even be made into finger sandwiches for easy munching. Serve with some pickles (or fried pickles) on the side and you have one tasty appetizer!


#1: Pepperoni Cheese Fries!!!

Last, but certainly not least, the Pepperoni Cheese Fries. This was by far, the tastiest snack I made during football season this year. It could definitely get a little messy, but it's just too good not to try.


So there ya go - our favorite snacks and appetizers. I hope you all have a a fantastic and fun Superbowl Sunday. And if all goes well, I'll have some new recipes to post up in mid-February, so stay tuned.

Happy Eating!

Sunday Game Day Snack - Potato Chip Chicken Lollipops!

Today's Game Day snack is going out with a bang as it is the last Game Day snack of the regular season. I haven't decided if there will be Game Day snacks for the playoff games - my January is a little busy. And I realized the other week we're going to be away for the Super Bowl which means I don't need to come up with tons of appetizers for my husband and I to snack on.

So I had to make this one good...and it was! To my surprise, this was delicious. It's incredibly easy and very versatile as well. Potato Chip Chicken!! I originally found the recipe here.

I used plain potato chips this time, because that is what we had in the house, but I can totally see using BBQ or cheddar and sour cream. Or even Doritos. Or the Baked Lays variety! So many possibilities...

Here are the ingredients:

1 package chicken tenderloins (you can cut these in half to make nuggets or keep them long. I kept them long).
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups crushed potato chips
lollipop sticks from a craft or party store
seasonings...
*(I used crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper to season these up a little since I was using plain potato chips)
Your favorite dips, such as honey mustard or BBQ sauce.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Grease a baking sheet.

Crush potato chips onto a plate.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg and milk.

Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, then coat well with potato chips. Repeat this to do a double coat - it holds up better.


Spread the tenderloins onto the baking sheet.


Bake for 10 minutes. Turn nuggets over, and bake for 10 minutes more, until golden brown.

Remove baking sheet from oven, and insert a lollipop stick into each tenderloin.

Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauces and enjoy!!

"Crunchy Cheese Nibblet" Appetizers

While we were stuck in the house during the East Coast blizzard this weekend, I experimented with an appetizer idea.

I wanted to use up some leftover potato chips we had in the house, (I'm all about trying to USE the food we have lately, instead of buying more and more) and I actually found a recipe on AllRecipes.com from a woman named Janis. This is her recipe here.

I tried out her exact recipe, but I also made a batch using some different tastes.

She got mostly positive reviews on her creation...but I definitely have a few ideas on how to improve this for my tastes. All in all, my husband and I enjoyed the appetizer, but agreed it needed some tweaking the next go round.

Here are the ingredients I used for both batches:

1 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese (yellow)
1 cup crushed potato chips
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon ground mustard
crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese (sharp white)
1 cup crushed potato chips
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Bryant & Cooper BBQ sauce
parsley flakes

Directions (same concept for both)

In a bowl, combine all ingredients.


Shape dough into 3/4-in. balls.

Place on ungreased baking sheets and flatten slightly.


Bake at 375 degrees F for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack.

Serve warm.


Now, here is what I would have changed:

1. I did "flatten" the balls slightly... I think next time I am keeping them in ball shape so they can be served more like a cheese ball with a toothpick.

2. They need slightly more flavoring. Granted, I used plain potato chips...and these would have worlds more flavor if you used like, BBQ Chips or Sour Cream & Cheddar or anything you like. But, if you use plain chips, add more more spice or sauce or whatever.

3. They needed closer to 10 minutes cooking time.

Otherwise, kudos to this lady for being inventive. Here's to experimenting with food!

Sunday Game Day Snack - Working With Leftovers!

Today's Game Day Snack was a leftover affair for my husband and I. On Saturday night we had used a gift certificate to a pub near our house and ordered a few appetizers - spinach and artichoke dip as well as man n' cheese bites.

We ended up having leftovers of both and brought them home. While we were waiting for our entrees, however, we had talked about using the bread from the table and spooning some of the spinach and artichoke dip onto it and then topping it with a mac n' cheese bite.

It sounded delicious (deliciously fatty!) but we already had the appetizers wrapped up and ready to go so we opted to use that concoction as our Sunday Game Day Snack.

And that is EXACTLY what we did - and guess what? IT WAS GREAT! YUM!

If you'd like to create something similar, you can always pop into Trader Joes and get their frozen spinach and artichoke dip (theirs is my favorite!) and below are two links to mac n cheese bite recipes.

Paula Deen's recipe....Alton Brown's recipe.

Have you concocted any interesting snacks? Share!!

Sunday Game Day Snack - Halloween Theme! (Pizza Mummies)

So, Halloween is a week away and I decided to make my husband a fun little snack for football Sunday today.

He was out all morning at a baseball show so he didn't really eat lunch and I knew he would need a bigger snack. I found this adorable recipe on FamilyFun.Go.Com and I just had to make them!

This snack is a perfect family snack and is easy to make. The kids will love them and well, guys will eat anything relating to pizza!

Enjoy these pizza mummies!!

Ingredients:

English muffins
Pizza sauce
Black olives
Red or green pepper
Cheese sticks or slices (I used string cheese and pulled pieces to use as the wrappings)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350º F. For each mummy, spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto half of an English muffin (toast it first, if you like).

Set olive slices in place for eyes and add bits of red or green pepper for pupils.

Lay strips of cheese across the muffin for the mummy's wrappings.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the muffin is toasty.

Sunday Game Day Snack

Game Day Snacks are back!! Sorry for it being late in the day - we had some visitors to the house earlier.

Anyway, today I threw something pretty quick and easy together. I made Kellogg's Corn Flakes Cheese Wafers. I saw the recipe on Food Network - Melissa D'Arabian did a commercial about them. Then I found the recipe listed below on the Kellogg's website.

These are bite sized appetizers that can be munched on while watching the game. While they take about 3 hours to make... 2 of that is sitting in the fridge. It takes about 10 minutes to prep the dough, 2 hours to refrigerate and 10 minutes to bake them.

While tasty alone.. they are a bit dry and need SOMETHING. It's a corn/cheesy bite, so anything could work - a spicy cheese sauce...a fruit spread.. salsa.

Give it a shot! Recipe below!!

Ingredients

* 2 cups Kellogg's Corn Flakes® cereal
* 1 cup (4 oz.) finely shredded cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup unsalted butter*, softened and cut into small pieces
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt*
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 2/3 cup Kellogg's Corn Flakes® cereal

*Note: If desired, instead of using unsalted butter, use lightly salted butter and decrease the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.

Directions

1. In food processor bowl process 2 cups KELLOGG'S CORN FLAKES cereal and cheese until crumbly. Add butter. Process until combined. Add flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Process until dough forms.


2. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 5 to 6 strokes. Shape into long rolls with 1-inch diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.


3. Remove plastic wrap. Cut rolls into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle crushed cereal on tops. Bake at 400°F about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.


Transfer to wire rack. Cool completely.

Sunday Game Day Snack

I know it's a little late in the day already but I'm posting today's Sunday Game Day Snack!

Today I made pizza pockets. They were very easy to make with some things I had lying around the house and my husband really enjoyed his little afternoon snack.

It took me about 10-15 minutes to put them together and then I baked them for 20 minutes. These are great for party appetizers, for people watching the game or as snacks for the kids after school.

Ingredients:
1 container of Pillsbury Crescent Ready Dough
Green pepper - diced
Onion - diced
Perdue ready to eat chicken cutlet - sliced thin
Pasta Sauce
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella cheese


Pillsbury has this new product called Ready Dough - it's right next to where the crescent rolls are. It's great to use because you can cut it any way you want.

I cut 6 squares and filled the middles with all my ingredients.



I then folded them into triangles and sealed the edges. I used a little olive oil spray on the top for a golden brown effect and sprinkled some Italian Seasonings on the top before sliding it into the oven.


After baking at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes they were ready to eat!

Enjoy your football games!