6 Football Party Food Recipes
For diehard football fans, there are essentially two seasons in a year: football season and non-football season. Enthusiastic fans are known for getting rowdy and having fun—and their appetite for both football and food is practically insatiable. Whether you’re throwing a football party to kick off the season or hosting a Super Bowl celebration, these delicious football party food recipes are perfect for entertaining a hungry group of guys and gals. From chicken wing recipes to chips and dips, these zesty appetizers and finger foods will be a huge hit at your party.
1) Amazing VELVEETA Nachos
Nachos are, without a doubt, one of the most popular items on a football party food menu. Not sure which ingredients guests like/dislike on their tortilla chips? Become a true ‘host with the most’ and set up a nacho bar, complete with various meats, cheeses and toppings. Allow them to be the master of their ‘nacho’ domain!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Take 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA and 7 cups (6 oz.) tortilla chips and mix and match your recipe from these options:
Meat Choices
- 1 lb. taco-seasoned cooked and drained extra lean ground beef
- 1 lb. extra lean ground beef, cooked, drained
- 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked, shredded
- meatless: 3/4 cup refried beans
Topping Choices
- 1 cup shredded lettuce, 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 cup TACO BELL HOME ORIGINALS Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 cup TACO BELL HOME ORIGINALS Thick ‘N Chunky Salsa
Finishing Touch Possibilities
- 1/4 cup sliced black olives, 1/3 cup BREAKSTONE’S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
- 1/3 cup BREAKSTONE’S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup guacamole
- 2 tbsp. chopped jalapeno peppers
Directions
Spread tortilla chips onto microwaveable platter; top evenly with cubed VELVEETA.
Microwave on HIGH 2 minutes or until VELVEETA is melted.
Top with meat, toppings and finishing touches to build your own nachos.
2) Ultimate Chicken Wings
It wouldn’t be a real football get-together without chicken wings, and this recipe takes the trophy. The orange marmalade and Asian Sesame with Ginger dressing in this recipe put a spin on traditional wings by adding a sweet tangy flavor. Enhance the flavor even more by marinating the chicken wings overnight or cooking them slowly in a Crock-Pot.
Servings: 24 wings
Ingredients
2 lb. chicken wings (about 12), split, tips removed
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup Asian Sesame with Ginger dressing
1 tsp. garlic powder
Directions
Preheat oven to 450ºF. Place chicken wings in single layer in shallow foil-lined baking pan. Bake 15 minutes or until browned.
Meanwhile, combine marmalade, dressing and garlic powder.
Brush marmalade mixture generously over both sides of wings. Continue baking 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
3) Chicken BBQ Sliders
You can’t go wrong with sliders—they always make great football party food. Whether you’re entertaining rough-and-tough men, sophisticated women or a little bit of both, bite-size burgers delight everyone’s taste buds. A healthier twist to the traditional beef sliders, this chicken recipe is a real crowd-pleaser. Give these mini sandwiches a slight kick by adding banana pepper rings or pepperoncini peppers to the filling, and substitute hot dog buns for Hawaiian rolls.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
1 pkg. (7.5 oz.) OSCAR MAYER CARVING BOARD Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Breast
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
8 Hawaiian rolls (2 inch), split
2 American cheese singles, quartered
Directions
Cook chicken and barbecue sauce in nonstick skillet on medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through, stirring frequently.
Fill rolls with cheese singles and chicken mixture.
4) PHILLY Cheesy Pizza Dip
What do you get when you combine pizza and crackers? A delicious pizza dip, of course! This recipe is incredibly appetizing, not to mention a cinch to make—watch it disappear before your eyes. The cream cheese gives the dip some sustenance, while the pizza sauce adds a little zest. This football party food favorite is especially ideal if you need appetizers for a last-minute shindig.
Servings: 16
Ingredients
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. each chopped red and green peppers
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
RITZ Crackers
Directions
Spread cream cheese onto bottom of microwaveable 9-inch pie plate; cover with sauce. Top with layers of all remaining ingredients except crackers.
Microwave on HIGH 2 minutes or until heated through.
Serve with crackers.
5) BLT Rollers
Scrumptious sandwiches and football parties go hand in hand—you can’t have one without the other. These BLT Rollers are super easy and super-duper delish. If your party-goers are watching their weight, reduce the calories by using Philadelphia Neufchatel Cheese, reduced-fat mayonnaise and turkey bacon. Spinach-flavored tortillas taste great, too!
Servings: 14
Ingredients
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
8 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
2 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1/2 cup shredded romaine lettuce
Directions
Mix cream cheese and mayo in medium bowl. Add bacon and tomatoes; mix well.
Spread onto tortillas; top with lettuce. Roll up tightly.
Cut each into 7 diagonal slices.
6) Oreo Cupcakes
Satisfy your gang’s sweet tooth with this easy recipe that includes milk’s favorite cookie, Oreo. The best part about a football party, or any party, is the dessert spread, and these chocolate delights will surely disappear by the end of the first quarter. And because they’re such a cakewalk to make, you can focus on what’s most important: the football game!
Servings: 24
Ingredients
24 OREO Cookies
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
Directions
Place 1 cookie in each of 24 paper-lined muffin cups. Prepare cake batter as directed on package; spoon over cookies. Bake cupcakes as directed on package. Cool in pans 5 minutes; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.
Remove paper liners; cut cupcakes horizontally in half.
Fill with COOL WHIP. Serve cookie-sides up.
10 Ways That Helping Addicted Employees Recover Benefits Your Bottom Line
As an employer, you may struggle in knowing what to do if one of your employees is an addict. You may question if it is even your business to bring the subject up with your employee, especially if the employee is handling his or her job duties acceptably, if not superbly. However, it is in your best interest to help the employee’s addiction recovery. An addicted employee can cost the company money in the following ways:
- Costs and losses associated with chronic absenteeism and lowered productivity
- Increased healthcare costs and workplace injuries
- Costs associated with the hire and training of new employees who must be hired to replace addicted employees who have been let go
Learn more about The Family Medical Leave Act and addiction in the workplace.
There are many non-monetary benefits to helping addicted employees recover as well. Below are some examples of how helping addicted employees can help your bottom line and company morale at the same time.
1. More productive behavior: A recovered employee has more energy and focus to perform job duties. He is no longer limited by the shackles of his addiction, or missing workdays due to the addiction, and can return to giving 100% to the job.
2. Better employee morale: Not only will the addict have better morale thanks to your assistance in her recovery, but the morale of other employees will increase as well. An addicted employee heavily impacts co-workers. They often have to work side by side with the addict, which may make them uncomfortable. Co-workers also may have to take on extra work due to the addict’s inability to perform her job duties. It is easy to see how resentment can set-in in these cases.
3. Lower absenteeism: Without a doubt it is in your best interest to help your employee recover from an addiction if he misses work due to the addiction. Once the employee has recovered, he won’t miss workdays due to the addiction, nor will he be limited in his work contributions by his addiction. Both of which help your bottom line.
4. Safer work environment: Depending on the type of addiction your employee suffers from you may have a dangerous work environment on your hands. It is common for both alcoholics and illicit drug users to become violent and act dangerously when they are drunk or high. If they are bringing these behaviors to the workplace then you have an obligation to your other employees to confront the addict in order to create a safe work environment.
5. Better employee attitude: All of your employees will benefit from your helping an addicted employee recover. Chances are the other employees are well aware of the situation and may feel tense or anxious due to the addicted employee’s behavior. By helping the addict recover, you are demonstrating that you value your employees and the contributions they make to your business. This demonstrates your commitment to employee welfare and lets the employees know that you will be there to support them if they ever need it. All of this will engender loyalty to your business place, which translates to better workers.
6. Better customer service: It is in your company’s best interest to ensure your front-line employees protect the image of your company that you want them to project. An addict would have a hard time being at her best every day; thus, having an addict as your customer’s first point of contact with your company could turn customers away.
7. Less employee turnover: This is a two-fold benefit. First, you won’t lose your addicted employee due to poor job performance as a result of his addiction and train a new staff member. Second, you are creating a more stable, safer work environment for the rest of your staff who might otherwise have contemplated leaving due to a co-worker’s ongoing addiction problems.
8. Culture of caring: Assisting an addicted employee demonstrates to the rest of your staff that your company cares about its employees. An added benefit is that you are leading by example and creating a culture of caring in the workplace. Perhaps your example will be adopted by your staff, who then extend it to care for each other. Once this happens, you have created a pervasive culture of caring which makes a workplace a much more enjoyable place to work and, in turn, your employees will perform better.
9. Promote healthy living and seeking help for addiction: As you reach out to assist your troubled employee, you are demonstrating a commitment to healthy and clean living and letting them know that it is perfectly alright to seek help for addiction problems.
10. Environment free of drugs and alcohol: A commitment to helping an addicted employee is a commitment to creating a workplace free of drugs and alcohol. By making an effort to aid your addicted employee, you are taking a stand against drugs and alcohol in the workplace.
About the Author:
Alan Goodstat, LCSW received his Masters in Social Work at Columbia University. He’s now a Director of Performance Improvement and contributes to the Addiction Treatment site RecoveryConnection.org. He wrote a chapter on substance abuse to the book “Put Yourself in Their Shoes: Understanding Teenagers With Attention Deficit Hyperactvitiy Disorder.”
