Wednesday, August 31, 2011

martha moments: tailgating treats!

i will preface by saying that MAN have i been slack with the blog. wow. sorry to any hardcore, faithful followers. i'm sure you're still wiping away your tears of longing for me to come back. :-)

now, onto more important things....FOOD!

as you know, i love me some college football! and one of the best parts of it all are the tailgating foods. i am a dip junkie. i love dips, sauces, snacks, finger foods. i can easily make a meal off of them.

having said that, here's a smorgasbord of some of our favorites. enjoy!



Buffalo Chicken Dip
(my must have, hands down.)

(2) 10 oz. cans chunk chicken, drained
(2) 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 cup ranch dressing
3/4 c. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Heat chicken over medium heat in saucepan with the hot sauce until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing.  Cook until all ingredients are well blended. Mix in half of the cheese and stir until melted.

Pour into casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 until bubbly OR transfer all dip to a slow cooker and top with remaining cheese and cook on low until ready to serve.

Best served with celery sticks, carrot sticks and my favorite...Chicken in a Biscuit crackers.


Crockpot Weenies
LOOOOVE these! My grandmama always makes em at Christmas time, but I also love them for tailgating.

2 packs all beef weiners, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large jar yellow mustard
1 large jar grape jelly

Mix equal parts of the jelly and mustard in crock pot and then add weenies. Cover well to coat and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve with toothpicks.

S.O.B. Dip
Stands for South Of the Border, of course....

(2) 8 oz. packages cream cheese
2 cans Hormel chili with beans
2 cups shredded cheddar

Press cream cheese blocks into bottom of large casserole dish. Pour in the 2 cans of chili and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Can top with jalapeno peppers if you wish!  Serves best with scoop style tortilla chips.

Best Crab Dip
8 oz cream cheese
2 T. whole milk
1 T. horseradish
1/2 lb. crab meat
1/3 cup toasted almond slivers
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything in small casserole dish and top with almonds. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Serves best with Ritz crackers.

Asian Slaw
16 oz. bag coleslaw mix
1 bunch of green onions, chopped thinly
small package sunflower seeds
small package slivered almonds
2 packages chicken flavored Ramen noodles (just the uncooked noodles...set packets of flavor aside)

1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 packages of the seasoning from ramen noodles from above

Mix top group of ingredients except for raw noodles in large bowl.  In another bowl, mix second group of ingredients well and pour over slaw mix. Cover and refrigerate over night. Before serving, add raw ramen noodles and mix well for great crunch!

Cornbread Salad
1 package ranch dressing mix
8 oz. sour cream
2 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
3 large chopped tomatoes
2 green onions, chopped
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
6 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
1 cup mayonnaise
9' pan cornbread, (i use jiffy mix in the box)
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar

Combine ranch mix, sour cream and mayo and set aside.

In your serving bowl, place half of the cornbread, crumbled up.  Top with half of beans.

In medium bowl, combine chopped tomatoes, peppers & onions and layer half of the mixture over the beans. Top with half o the cheese, bacon and corn, then the reserved salad dressing mix. Repeat layers, using remaining ingredients. Cover and chill at least a couple of hours before serving. MMMMM!!!

Goodie Bars
these should be the 8th deadly sin.

1 box yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 T. butter, melted (and yes, that is TABLEspoons...)

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
8 T. butter, melted (mmhmmm, another tablespoon. )
1 16 oz. box powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, 1 egg and 8 T. butter with mixer. Press into the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish.

In large bowl, beat remaining ingredients, adding the powdered sugar in a little a time.  Spread over cake crust in the casserole dish and bake 45 minutes at 350.  Be careful not to over cook em! They're supposed to be gooey in the middle.

Happy Tailgating and happy start to college football season!

Can I get a GO GAMECOCKS?!