football -

by Emily

Super Bowl Snack Zone: Baked Buffalo Cauliflower

One of our favorite eating holidays of the year is here! Well, almost here. The Super Bowl is THIS SUNDAY! If you’re a dedicated snacker like the rest of the ES team, you’ve probably been making some extreme Super Bowl party eating plans, so I respect the fact that your football food may already be decided. But but BUT! You should make a little bit of time to include this buffalo cauliflower in your Sunday Funday.

I’m not telling you to make this recipe because it’s healthy, I’m telling you to make it because it’s GOOD. So good it could replace the wings in your menu. There, I said it. I think the trick to making this particular kind of buffalo cauliflower especially amazing is the double-baking method. You coat the cauliflower bake it once, baste it in delicious sauce, then bake it again to seal in the flavor and texture. The result? Seriously binge-able finger food that everyone will be raving about the whole game. Trust me on this one.

**Note: these cauliflower bites are pictured with another absolutely delicious football app we recently made: baked almond chicken nuggets. I can’t claim any credit for the chicken recipe, but those lil’ guys are perfect for serving alongside your cauliflower and I highly recommend adding them to your snack spread as well!

Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

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by Emily

Party with Homemade Pretzels!

The best part about football is the FOOD. Don’t get me wrong, I like watching the game as much as the next person (possibly even more, when the Seahawks are playing) but the snacks at tailgates, stadiums, and watch parties are the most exciting part besides the event itself. Every year I like to challenge myself to make new and exhilarating Super Bowl snacks for everyone to enjoy, and this year is no different. Of course, the football cooking extravaganza has been going on all month… and last week it was all about the pretzel.

Pretzels are always good, but pretzels with cheese sauce are better. Last weekend my lovely friend Holly had the brilliant idea to make our own pretzels (yes, with cheese sauce!) so for the first time in my life, I learned how to make homemade pretzels! It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, especially because we followed Alton Brown’s pretzel guide, which of course was hella thorough. The finished pretzels were so, so good. I definitely recommend serving them warm and don’t skimp on the salt! Mmm… salt. Perfect paired with a frosty beer during the game.

If for some reason you don’t want to make the cheese sauce included in this recipe (why not though?!) I recommend serving with dijon mustard or spicy mustard.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

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by Emily

Endless Super Bowl: Top 10 Recipes for Your Football Party

Yeah yeah YEAH SONS!!!!! This Sunday is the Super Bowl and the Seahawks are BACK, BABY! Loyal ES readers may remember that I am from Seattle and loooove me some Hawks and made this ultra-handy Super Bowl Snacks for Seahawks Fans last year, and that post still stands because OBVIOUSLY THE SEAHAWKS ARE BACK IN THE ‘BOWL.

(If you want me to stop typing in all caps, SORRY NOT SORRY I CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP because I LOVE THE SUPER BOWLLL)

This year, though, to add to my Seahawks-centric list, I thought I’d share a Top 10 list of general football recipes guaranteed to please any Super Bowl partiers. There is NO shortage of Super Bowl recipes online but these are the tried-and-true snacks we’ve successfully made in the past, and/or new (to us) recipes I’m excited to try this weekend. Need even more inspiration? Take a gander at our Endless Super Bowl Pinterest board.

Big Popper Hot Buffalo Chicken and Bacon Grilled Cheese from Half Baked Harvest

What… even… ARE YOU? Once again, one of my personal favorite food blogs, HBH, comes through with an amazing recipe and gorgeously mouth-watering photos. I want, no, NEED this sandwich in my life.

Baked Garlic & Swiss Dip from Endless Simmer

I developed this recipe two years ago and it is GOOD. Your breath might smell, but so will everyone else’s, so you’ll be just fine.

Buffalo and Blue Cheese Lil’ Smokies from Inspired by Charm

Lil’ smokies are one of Rob’s favorite football snacks (and one of mine, and one of probably most of America, let’s be real…) so obv they’re a Super Bowl staple. The addition of creamy buffalo dipping sauce and blue cheese inside the “blanket” ?! A stroke of genius.

by Emily

Southwest Slow Cooker Hatch Chicken Chili

I finally gave in and got a crock pot this past weekend. (I say “finally” because I feel like slow cookers are really experiencing a renaissance in my generation, thanks to Pinterest and other domestic-y sites – I’m one of the last 20-something girls I know who didn’t have one.) It was perfect timing because for the first time since, oh, March, Austin was cold (aka, in the low 70s) and wet. Pair that gloomy, stay-inside weather with a weekend full of football, and you’ve got yourself an ideal slow cooker combo situation.

This recipe is just something I threw together on Sunday morning, and it turned out so well. The bonus: unlike a lot of football snacks, it’s completely healthy. Take about 10-20 minutes to prep this in the late morning or early afternoon, leave it on high for 4-5 hours, and you’ll have a hot, spicy meal just in time for the evening game.

If you don’t have a Crock Pot or other slow cooker, guess what? You’re in luck. You can achieve the same results by cooking low and slow in a stockpot on the stove. Just make sure you’ve cooked your chicken breast most of the way through and add ingredients from there.

Note – this recipe uses hatch chiles, grown in New Mexico, which are really popular in the southwest this time of year. If you don’t have them in your neck of the woods you can feel free to use whatever chile pepper you prefer. Canned chipotles are always a favorite of mine, and they’re easy to find in practically any grocery store.

Southwest Hatch Chicken Chili

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by Emily

Top 5 Super Bowl Recipes for Seahawks Fans

OKAY. This Sunday is the Super Bowl to end all Super Bowls. Seahawks vs. Broncos. If we had a Denver writer on our staff, things might have turned out differently here on Endless Simmer today. But we don’t, we have ME, a ride-or-die West Coaster for 25/27 years of her life, most of those in Washington. This means we’re going to talk about Seattle-themed Superbowl recipes today, and you’re going to read it and you’re going to cook it and most importantly, you’re going to LIKE IT. Even if you aren’t a Seattle person, unless you’re a die-hard Broncos fan, your NFL team of choice is already out of the running so you might as well take this opportunity to embrace the glory of the Seahawks and just enjoy the ride.

Besides, Seattle has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to signature regional delicacies: salmon, shellfish, cherries, apples, craft beers, fine wines… need I go on?

For your Super Bowl XLVIII party, represent the great state of Washington with one (or all!) of these crowd-pleasing recipes, each showcasing one of the state’s beloved flavors. Even if you and your friends aren’t Seahawks fans, you’ll be fans of these snacks.

5. Duke’s Clam Chowder from Smashed Garlic (& originally from Duke’s, of course)

I know lots of people think that the East Coast runs the show when it comes to chowder, but I guarantee you the Pacific Northwest can give it a run for its money. Washington clam chowder is thick, creamy, and chock full of fresh clams. The two most well-known and beloved recipes are from Ivar’s and Duke’s chowderhouses. If you’re an Ivar’s fan, you can find their recipe online, too.

Anyway, most of the country is still cold and miserable, so a bowl of piping hot clam chowder (maybe even in a bread bowl?!) is sure to keep your party guests warm and happy.

4. Washington Apple Martinis from Santa Barbara Chic

Do people in other parts of the country know about the Washington Apple? When I moved to Austin, I was shocked to learn that most of my Texan friends had never heard of it. This was a staple of my college years—of course, back in those days, we drank it as a shot, not a cute little cocktail like this one. (I completely condone imbibing in either fashion!) While this boozy beverage isn’t exactly the same as a fresh, organic Honeycrisp apple plucked from a Washington orchard, it gets you much more drunk. And that’s important when watching sports.

3. Chipotle Cherry Chicken Wings from The Foodie Couple

Why this recipe? The reasons are threefold: 1. Wings are a quintessential sports-watchin’ food. Everyone can agree on a good wing. 2. Cherries are one of Washington’s top crops – have you ever had a Rainier cherry? Delicious. 3. There are lots of cherry BBQ wings recipes out there, but this one is from a blogging couple in Tacoma, and you KNOW these people are rooting for the Hawks on Sunday. Credit where credit is due.

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by hungry monster

Sensible Sports Snacks: Baked Taco Roll-Ups

Are you finding that you are going to more get-togethers lately? That”s how I feel about fall. When the weather is nice, people love to gather. And you know what? When people gather…they eat.

So, if you have a few friends over for the big game (Go, insert relevant sports team name here!!) why not make them some secretly healthy taco roll-ups to fill their bellies?

They will thank you for it.

(Healthy) Baked Taco Roll-Ups

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by hungry monster

Sports Snacks: Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip

Well. Fall is basically here, guys. Football season just started, so it’s time to bring on the bevy of snack and appetizer recipes.

Instead of having you heat up some deep fried frozen snacks for your guests, I thought I’d bring you some super simple sinless snack options (try saying that five times fast). That way you can cheer on your team with delicious treats while maintaining your figure. Skinny snacks, for the win!!!

This one is soooo good. I recommend making a double batch because this will be gobbled up by family and friends. You will be the hit of all football (or any other type of) gatherings!

Yes, might have a buffalo chicken obsession.

(Healthy) Buffalo Chicken Dip

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