8 Game Day Recipes

A round-up of my favorite gameday recipes.  From drinks to breakfasts snacks and meals there is something for everyone.

Yay College Football season has begun.  The first games were Thursday, but my team plays Saturday.   I love football season it's one of my favorite sports to watch and I like to have snacks and/or meals to go with the games.  I thought it would be great to share some of my favorite gameday recipes.  I mostly enjoy these recipes during football season, but they are great for watching any sport.

My #bestrecipes for #collegefootball #gameday  [Tweet this]

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

Nothing's like a spicy bloody mary to help you wake up.  With 6 AM kickoff (we're 6 hours--5 when daylight savings ends--behind eastern standard time) on Saturdays they are necessary.  My husband recently bought us an espresso machine so I hope to share some espresso recipes during football season this year.  Stay tuned.

A spicy #bloodymary to #wakeup for #collegefootball in the AM.  [Tweet this]

Loco Moco

Enjoy a Hawaiian breakfast of rice topped with a beef patty and fried egg smothered in brown gravy.  Loco Moco is a great gameday breakfast whether you're at home or tailgating.

Wake up with a Hawaiian #breakfast on #gameday  [Tweet this]

Bacon Wrapped French Toast

I love bacon for breakfast...anytime really.  Nothing says football like bacon.  This is an easy breakfast finger food for early morning football snacking.  It can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen until ready to bake.  Then, it only takes 15 minutes in a 350 degree F oven to have a delicious crisp morning snack or breakfast on the go (time will vary if baking from frozen).

Breakfast fingerfood | BaconWrappedFrenchToast | for #gameday  [Tweet this]

Bacon Pecan Maple Sticky Buns

These are not health food but will certainly make early morning football viewing a treat.  These buns are decadent and delicious.  Made with 3 sticks of butter, 1 1/2 cups of sugar/maple syrup, and 1 pound of bacon these are not ideal for everyday consumption, but great for a special gameday treat.

Bacon Pecan Maple Sticky Buns: a yummy start to #gameday  [Tweet this]

French Onion Dip

Late morning and afternoon games need to be served with dip.  When it's late enough to not want breakfast anymore; dips are a perfect snack food for gameday.  This is a homemade version of my favorite potato chip dip.  It's beefy, oniony, creamy, and delicious.

Dip into #collegefootball w/ French Onion Dip  [Tweet this]

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

This dip is like a loaded baked potato on a chip.  When it makes an appearance at a gameday party it disappears in no time.  What's not to love?  It's made with football snacking staples; potato chips, sour cream, cheese, and bacon.  I think this could easily be called gameday in a dip.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip it's #gameday in a #dip  [Tweet this]

Loaded Baked Potato Skins

If you like Loaded Baked Potato Dip then you will love these skins.  They are basically just dip on hollowed out pieces of baked potato.  They may be simple, but they taste awesome.  Again, bacon and potato products are great gameday foods.

#Bacon & potatoes are great #gamedayfoods Loaded Baked Potato Skins  [Tweet this]

Slow Cooker Roast Beef Sandwiches

Most of our football watching is over by late afternoon, but I know that's not the case for most of the U.S. so I had to include a meal in my gameday round up.  During a football game, simple slow cooked meals and sandwiches are the best (you don't want to spend too long in the kitchen and food that doesn't require utensils is preferred).  This recipe incorporates slow cooked beef, beer, and sandwiches making it a staple for football fare.

#Slowcookedmeals and #sandwiches are best #footballfare  [Tweet this]

Sit back, watch some football, and enjoy.

Go Pirates!

For more gameday recipes check out:

Guinness Barbecue Brisket Sliders

Bacon Wrapped Potato Wedges

Blue Cheese Buffalo Chicken Dip

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How to Make a Great Baked Potato

Baked potatoes are a simple and tasty side to any meal.  They can even be a great meal all on there own.  

I wasn't always a big fan of baked potatoes.  When I had them I would load them with 'fixings' and only eat the insides.  Everyone would tell me that the skin had the most nutrients in it, but it never tasted good.  However, when at a restaurant I would love the baked potatoes with salty, chewy skin and I would gobble up the whole thing.  For the longest time I could not duplicate this at home until, finally, I found the secret (I searched how to bake a potato online and found great instructions). Here are the steps I follow to make a great baked potato.

First it is important to thoroughly rinse and scrub your russet potato.  With these simple steps the potato skin turns out delicious and you won't want to waste it.

Then you will pierce the potato all over with a sharp knife or a fork (about 10 times, a couple of centimeters deep).  I use a sharp knife just because it is easier for me to insert and remove.

Next pour about 1 Tbsp of olive oil over the potato and rub/massage the oil all over the potato.

Sprinkle on about 1 tsp coarse sea salt or kosher salt and rub it in.  Not all of the salt and oil will adhere to the potato but some of it should. You can adjust the oil and salt to suit your tastes.

Bake in a 350 degree oven (right on the rack) for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until soft.

Depending on the size of the potato it may take longer (you can bake sweet potatoes the same way).  I usually only bake 2 potatoes so I use a toaster oven, but I think that baking is very important.  I know a microwave is quick, but once you try a potato this way you won't want to go back.  The skin is lightly salty and has a great texture.  I kind of want to try this, sometime, with butter instead of oil, I don't know how it would turn out but I am curious.

Enjoy.

Other posts with baked potatoes:  Loaded Potato Skins, Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin (baked sweet potato), Twice Baked Potatoes

Original post 12/24/12 (50 views and 2 pins) re-posted with new pictures and minor editing.

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Loaded Baked Potato Skins

Warm potato skins loaded with cheese, bacon, sour cream, and green onions.  A delicious gameday snack.

The first College Football Playoff National Championship is tonight (this afternoon for us in Hawaii) so I thought I'd share a football snack.  These Potato skins really hit the spot.  They are slightly salty and crisp baked potato skins loaded with all my favorite toppings.  These skins are baked and not fried so they don't get as crisp as the deep fried kind you can get at restaurants but they are delicious and easy to make.

Declicious #bakednotfried Loaded Baked #PotatoSkins  [Tweet this]

First off you need to start with great baked potatoes and I have a trick that makes them awesome.  You rub the potatoes with olive oil and sea salt before baking them (it's super simple but makes a huge difference).  Click the link for more details.  Then cut into wedges and slightly hollow each wedge.  Now you have the base potato skin.  Don't throw away the potato insides.  I saved them to make Gnocchi (I'll post that recipe eventually) or add them with some eggs and sausage/bacon to make a breakfast hash...there are plenty of things you can make with it.

Start with great #bakedpotatos for Loaded Baked Potato Skins  [Tweet this]

Loaded Baked Potato Skins

Ingredients:

4 baked russet potatoes, cooled (even refrigerated over night would be fine I think)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Bacon, cooked and chopped
Sour cream
Green onions, sliced

Cut each baked potato into wedges.  I had medium to small potatoes so I cut them into quarters (cut in half long ways then cut each half in half again--longways) if you have really big potatoes you may be able to get more.

Carefully scoop out, you don't want to tear the skins, all but about 1/4-1/2 inch of the potato insides making the wedges concave so they can hold toppings.  At this point I refrigerated them to make the next day (or just make them the same day) but I bet you could freeze them laid out on a sheet pan for about 1-2 hours then store in a freezer bag until you want to use them too.

Lay out the skins, skin side down, on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle on as much cheese as you like and bake at 400 F for about 10-15 minutes.  Then switch to broil and broil for a little while until cheese is well melted.

Remove skins from oven and top with bacon bits, a dollop of sour cream, and some green onions.
(alternatively just use a dollop of Loaded Baked Potato Dip on top of the re-baked skins)

Serve immediately.  Makes about 12 skins which was fine for 2 people but we would have liked even more...they're delicious.

Enjoy.

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Recipe Remake: Twice Baked Potato

A remake of my original Twice Baked Potato with some slight differences.

Yum.  Twice baked potatoes are so tasty.  If you've never had one you just don't know what you are missing.  One weekend I was trying to think of an idea for lunch for my husband and myself and I thought twice baked potatoes would be great (and they were).  This time I had normal sized potatoes so I used one each.  They made for one filling lunch.  I don't think these are very healthy but they sure were good.  Warning:  do not drive or operate heavy machinery for 1 hour after eating.  My husband and I were so full and happy that we passed out (napped) for about an hour immediately after eating.  

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 baked potatoes
3 strips crispy bacon, chopped
1/4 cup butter or olive oil
1-2 hand fulls cheese
1/4-1/2 cup green onion slices

Take two baked potatoes (see the tutorial on How to Make a Great Baked Potato) and cut off a small strip along the top.  Scoop out the insides of the potato leaving about a 1/4 inch thick shell.

In a bowl mix the potato insides, bacon, butter, cheese and green onions.  Mix until thouroughly combined and the potato is slightly moistened.

Load the potato mixture back inside the potato shells, packing it in as best as you can, it will mound out of the shell, but you should be able to get it all back in.

Put the top back on (I thought about leaving the top off, but it helps keep the filling in and after baking it is crispy and delicious) and bake for about 30 minutes at 350F.  Enjoy.

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Prime Rib

A juicy and tender beef rib roast served with a baked potato, cauliflower, and Au jus.  The perfect anniversary dinner.

My husband surprised me, for our anniversary, with a prime rib roast.  I did not want to cook (and clean) on my anniversary so my idea was "lets go out".  However my husband had an even better idea, he was willing to cook and it turned out great (my pictures hardly do it justice).

It's really funny, all of my husband's coworkers think he can't cook.  He is always telling them about what I made for dinner, and I enjoy cooking (and usually do it) so his coworkers just think that he can't cook.  My husband is a great cook, he has actually taught me a few things over the years.  I cook mainly because he works, and I have fun experimenting, and he is not picky.  He usually enjoys what ever I make and is happy that there is dinner when he gets home.  But occasionally he likes to cook, and often he comes up with great ideas.  This whole meal was planned and executed by my husband.  It was the perfect anniversary dinner.

This is the roast before cooking, he rubbed it (all over) with a steak seasoning blend and some rosemary.  It sat out at room temperature for about an hour to take the chill off.  Then he seared it in a hot pan with butter on all sides.  Finally, he baked it in the oven at 275 for about 2 hours until the internal temperature reached 120.  Then he tented it with aluminum foil and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes.

This it the cooked roast.  While waiting for the roast to rest he made a kind of au jus dipping sauce. Right after he seared the meat, he poured 1 cup of water into the cooling skillet.  To this he added some beef bulion and the pan drippings from the roast and let it simmer for a couple minutes.

We had our prime rib with baked potatoes, cauliflower, and red wine.  this served the two of us with 1 pound of meat leftover.  This prime rib was delicious, I think it was just as good, if not better than any I've had at a steak house.

After our amazing dinner we had our own personal fireworks display.  They shoot off fireworks over Honolulu harbor at midnight for the new year.  This year our fireworks didn't start until about 15 minutes after midnight.  We were starting to think we wouldn't have any this year but we could see all kinds of other fireworks from other places on the island (off in the distance).  Just as we were about to give up and go inside the harbor fireworks started.  Here is video of the fireworks.  Enjoy.

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