Are you ready for some football?! I know you hear the exact voice that says it in your head. And with all honesty, I can say no, I’m not ready for some football. But I am ready for some football game day snacks! So while my husband and son glue themselves to the TV each weekend and plot their fantasy football strategy during the week, I will whip up some delicious food for them to eat in front of the TV. There will be plenty for when friends stop by too! I put them all in our game room, which I rarely show on the blog because it is definitely a work in progress. But here’s a little peek at that too!
So let’s start off with the fact that wings are the natural “go-to” food for football. And while I love them, sometimes I get bored with them. Once I’m sick of them, the best part about getting wings is the the veggies. I ALWAYS eat the carrots and ranch that come with the wings. I NEVER get sick of those. Maybe it’s because it makes me feel a tad bit healthier! Ha! So I’m keeping the veggies and dip as football food. But I’ve individualized them. Now you can hold them while sitting on the couch and cheering. You don’t have to worry about spilling or a carrot rolling off of the plate. Double dipping is definitely encouraged!
Stuffed mushrooms are also a favorite party food for me. Anything with sausage, really. And given that these little mushroom caps are bite sized, they are perfect for popping one in your mouth during a commercial. Heaven forbid my boys miss a really good play for some food! You can get the recipe for my stuffed mushrooms here.
Now for the big one. The football game day snack that eats like a meal. The mini meatball sub. Of course you could make this in full size, but these are more fun. I honestly used store bought meatballs and a jar of marinara. Cook it up and put them on a nice crunchy roll. I added some shredded mozzarella to a few of them just for some variety. Fun, right?
And what manly afternoon wouldn’t be complete without bacon? Yep, bacon! I made candied bacon. It tastes like a dessert and is oh so satisfying. It’s crunchy and salty and sweet; the perfect bite! Super easy to make…. pop some strips of bacon in a 375 degree oven on a cooking rack with a cookie sheet below it to catch the grease. This is very important! If the bacon cooks in its own grease it won’t crisp up enough. Cook for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with some brown sugar and some maple syrup. Pop them back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Take them out and allow them to cool. You can serve them as a whole strip or dice them up as little bacon bites. But beware! They are addicting!
I set up all of these foods on the poker table in our game room. The poker table that I hate. But it came with the house so I have to deal with it. The room with the poker table and the pool table (also came with the house) connects to our main TV room. I call the whole thing the game room. Some day I will make over this space. And I mean REALLY make it over! For now, I love the color and the curtains and it’s a fun place to hang out. So by setting up the football game day snacks on the poker table, there was direct access to the TV room and the sofa so no game watching had to be missed. And it was also kept out of reach of our 2 hungry dogs.
