super bowl

I’m going to be completely honest with you guys & tell you that the main reason I love the Super Bowl isn’t for the football game being played. I love the Super Bowl because I’m a big fan of the parties (mainly the food) & the halftime show. I know, football fans everywhere are crying a little inside. But in my defense, my team hasn’t played in the Super Bowl in a very long time & let’s all be honest with ourselves, who doesn’t love the party food!?

With that being said, I thought it might be fun to put together a post for you guys with a few tips, recipes & must-haves for your Super Bowl Sunday festivities.

TIPS

-Get all of your shopping done Friday evening or Saturday morning. This will save you time & a headache because the stores aren’t as crowded. Trust me, I’ve made the mistake of going on a Saturday afternoon & it was a nightmare!

-Make a list beforehand & stick to it! This way you’re not wandering aimlessly & picking up things you don’t actually need.

-DON’T FORGET THE FEBREZE! Sorry for the caps but this is one of the most important (and often time forgotten) things that every Super Bowl Party needs. With all of the chips & queso, pizza & cheese platters, you CAN’T forget the Febreze! You guys know I keep a bottle of Febreze in every room of our home & I can promise that it will save you – and your home – from all of the smells of your favorite Super Bowl foods & their after-effects (gross but we all know it happens with a house full of guys)! If you want to have a good laugh, go watch this video Febreze created with Terrell Owens! I seriously couldn’t stop laughing & know you guys will get a kick out of it as well!

-Last tip – Prep everything you can the night before! I like to put up all of the decorations once my boys are in bed & prep any food that I can. This makes the day of the party so much less stressful!

RECIPES

-Our family loves bite sized caprese skewers. They’re so simple to make & absolutely delicious! Grab a toothpick (or appetizer stick if you want to be fancy) & skewer 1 cherry tomato, 1 rolled up basil leaf & 1 bite sized piece of mozzarella. Then right before the party starts, drizzle balsamic glaze over the top of the skewers.

-It’s not a Super Bowl party without chips & queso in my opinion! We love to keep it simple & combine 1 can of vegetarian chili with 1 jar of queso dip, heat it up on the stove & serve. When you’re cooking for a big group of people, it’s nice to save a bit of time on some of the appetizers!

-A cheese platter is one of my favorite things to eat so it is a party staple for us! Some of our favorite things to include are: Dried apricots, almonds, candied walnuts, jalapeño jelly, honey & assorted crackers. Always make sure to have a good assortment of cheese as well! Some of our favorites are Unexpected Cheddar, Port Salut, Gouda, Honey Goat Cheese, Brie & Pepper Jack for our boys.

-We love a good Stromboli in our house & I love that it’s easy to make as well as easy to serve. We have used the recipe below for years except I use a veggie meat substitute since the boys & I don’t eat meat. Also, I love that you can switch up the ingredients to whatever you prefer & use different sauces depending on your preference! (Tip: Buy pre-made pizza dough to save a ton of time!)

SPICY CHICKEN STROMBOLI

Dough

3/4 cup warm water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons yeast

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour as needed

Filling

1 pound boneless chicken breast (or Veggie Meat Substitute)

1/4 cup sauce (we use All Spice Cafe-Chipotle Garlic)

2 tablespoons butter melted

1 cup diced onions

1 3/4 cup Pepper Jack (or cheese of preference)

Oil, Parmesan & Fresh Parsley for topping

Directions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, sugar, and yeast. Stir and let sit until
yeast becomes active and mixture looks foamy. Add in remaining ingredients (except
white flour) and begin to mix with dough hook. As dough comes together, add as much
white flour as you need so that dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl.
Once dough has enough flour, let mixer run for 5-8 minutes longer in order to knead
dough. Once done, spray with oil and set aside. Let rest for 45 minutes.
• While dough is rising, cook chicken (We bake ours in the oven but anyway works)
Once chicken is cooked through, dice into 1-2 inch cubes and combine with Sauce and
Butter (your Sauce to Butter ratio will determine the heat: More Sauce=hotter.)
• Pre-heat oven to 425˚ with a baking stone (we just use a baking pan)
• Once dough has risen, role out into a 16 inch rectangle with the 16 inch edge parallel to
your body. Leaving a 1 inch border, spread chicken over dough (drizzle a little of the extra
Sauce over the chicken-about 2-3 T). Sprinkle Onions and cheese (the amount of
cheese is really up to you- I give you suggestions.) Beginning with the side closest to you, begin to roll the Stromboli away from you. When finished, seal each end edge and
the long edge by pinching the dough. Cut three-four slits in the top and brush with olive
oil and sprinkle with fresh parsley and parmesan. Slide onto baking stone (or sheet tray)
and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the filling begins to bubble out and the crust is golden. Let cool slightly before cutting.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! I would love for you guys to comment below with
your favorite Super Bowl recipes as well, so I have a few new options! Have a fun & safe Super Bowl Sunday!

**Special thanks to Febreze for being the real MVP of the Super Bowl AND for sponsoring this post!**