Tag Archives: tailgate

Nov 11 2012

The “Real Best” Chili

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Fall is in full swing and you know what that means: time to enjoy some warm, filling, comfort food! We decided to kick off the Fall recipe season the right way with something you can enjoy at home, at a tailgate, or smothered on top of some cheese fries and hot dogs- thats right, we’re talking about chili!

The contenders:

The nitty-gritty:

Each chili was scored on a scale of 1-10 (where 1= that’s food? and 10= the best chili that has ever entered my mouth) for overall score, the boyfriend/husband test, and the leftover test. We also provide other comments.

Jamie Deen’s Chili

Overall score: 9

The boyfriend/husband test: 9

The leftover test: 9

Comments:  This was pretty good and we are not very big chili eaters around here. I will definitely plan on making this recipe again with a few minor adjustments such as adding a full pound of both beef & sausage each (hubby is a carnivore!), removing the black beans (love them but they just didn’t seem to “go”), and replacing the whole peeled tomatoes with more diced tomatoes (hubby avoided them like the plague and I didn’t care for the huge tomato hunks either). This was a great base and I definitely recommend it to others and playing around with the ingredients to fit your tastes!

Taste of Home Spicy Chili

Overall score: 8.5

The boyfriend/husband test: 9

The leftover test: 8.5

Comments: This was really good.  We both liked it a lot better than my normal go-to recipe! I would definitely make this again!

Boilmaker Tailgate Chili Recipe

Overall score: 8.5

The boyfriend/husband test: 8

The leftover test: 8.5

Comments: This was very delicious! However, it does not beat our go-to chili recipe, so this will not replace it. The Fritos do not add much to this recipe, so I would recommend nixing them if you do not want the added expense. Also, this makes a LOT of chili– you’ve been warned.

The winner:

Jamie Deen’s Chili!

Special Diets:

While we can’t guarantee the results, here are some ideas you can use to customize the winning recipe to your dietary needs:

  • Gluten-free: Ensure that your ingredients are gluten-free
  • Vegetarian: Forgo the meat!
  • Vegan: Drop the meat and suggested dairy toppings
  • Lower fat: Use lean ground beef in place of fattier beef products. Consider using ground turkey.
  • Lower sugar/calories: You can cut the calories by using some of the suggestions above.

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Oct 14 2012

Pinterest Tested: Cheesecake Factory “Buffalo Blasts” Copycat Recipe

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Who doesn’t love fried food? I mean- talk about classic Americana. I know, I know, its so bad for you but it’s sooo good that sometimes that I just can’t resist! One of my favorite places to eat is the Cheesecake Factory (Fun Fact- did you know their menus cost $12 each to make? Thats why they have ads.) I digress. Hubs hates it there… I don’t know why… its soooo yummy! The only thing he likes loves about Cheesecake Factory is their Buffalo Blasts. I have to admit, they are not my first choice on the 3 page appetizer menu but they are pretty good. When I found this copycat recipe from Tasty Kitchen on Pinterest I knew I had to give it a try. Hubby was so excited that I was making these along with my homemade blue cheese dip. How did they check out? Find out below!

Overall rating: 9.5

Cost: $$ (scale: $-$$$)

Difficulty level: Advanced (scale: beginner, moderate, intermediate, advanced)

Thoughts: Umm… how to put this lightly… these were a pain in the butt! They literally took me a few hours from start to finish! I would definitely recommend just grabbing a rotisserie chicken from the store and shredding it up rather than buying raw chicken breasts and baking, then shredding them. You will not notice a difference and it will save so much time. In any case, my biggest peeve with this recipe was the wonton wrappers. They were so small it was hard to get as much chicken mixture into each little wrapper as possible without overflowing and then causing a big mess when trying  to seal the edges together. I had wing sauce all over me. Next time I will try to find larger wrappers for these so its less of a mess and also less tedious work. It took for-ev-er to get a bunch of these scooped, sealed, and dipped in the coating to fry. I’m not sure what type of wrapper the Cheesecake Factory uses because their Buffalo Blasts are larger than these but I highly suggest trying to find out. If I do, I will post an update to save you time too! In the end, I finally got these plated and we really liked them. Or should I say, hubby L-O-V-E-D them. I liked them a lot but after all the time I put into them I was a harsh critic. I probably would’ve loved them too if someone else made them for me. In any case, I will definitely be making these again if I can find the larger size wrappers. I’m not sure how these would go over at a party unless you made them on the spot because typically fried foods don’t travel well. However, take my recommendation and do give these a try with my minor adjustments, you will be glad you did!

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Sep 9 2012

Pinterest Tested: For #Sunday Supper- Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeño Bites

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For this week’s #SundaySupper we are featuring tailgate food, a football season must have! This week, I decided to test out an amazing looking recipe I’ve had pinned for a while on Pinterest:

Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeño Bites

I chose these because I LOVE jalapeño poppers and my hubby LOVES bacon. I also wanted to find something new to bring to football parties besides the usual chips & dip. This recipe comes from Doughmesstic.com.

Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeno Bites

makes 24

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Old Bay
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 12 Jalapenos, halved & seeded
  • 24 – six inch pieces of bacon, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine cream cheese and spices in small bowl.  Spoon mixture into each pepper half, until level.  Wrap each in bacon, and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Remove and enjoy!

And now for the Real Best Recipe “Pinterest Tested” Results…

Overall rating: 7

Cost: $ (scale: $-$$$)

Difficulty level: Beginner (scale: beginner, moderate, intermediate, advanced)

Thoughts: I had high hopes for these. They were okay, but not what I was expecting. While the concept was amazing (spicy+creamy+salty), there was something amiss here… I think it was the seasoning in the cream cheese. I found it a little strange to be putting a common seafood spice (Old Bay Seasoning) in these but figured if thats what the recipe called for, it should be fine. But after taking a bite of these, I knew I should have listened to my gut reaction and made some without it. Hubby is not a very big fan of these types of snacks but he liked them more than I expected so I give this recipe a 7 out of 10. Would I make these again? Yes but I would alter the spices in the cream cheese (i.e. no Old Bay Seasoning.) and maybe mix some parmesan cheese into it. I probably won’t make these again soon but I am glad I finally got to try them! I have already been eyeballing another recipe on Doughmesstic.com that looks very similar but is a bit different- Bacon and Jalapeño Popovers.

For new home cooks, here is a tip you will thank me for (I learned the hard way!): Make sure you really get those seeds out of the jalapeños. Those are the spice in the pepper and trust me you will taste any seeds you miss because your mouth will be on FIRE! I love spicy foods and even I was kicking myself for leaving a few hard to reach seeds in these because I was just too lazy. You can always whip out a dairy product (i.e. milk, ice cream, yogurt, etc.) to calm your tastebuds after a hot pepper incident but its better not to experience one  at all! :)

In any case, don’t forget to check out what our friend’s at #SundaySupper are making for their football tailgates this season! I have to tell you, some of the best meals I’ve made at home lately come from this group and they all turn out AMAZING!

Join us on Sunday as we share our favorite tailgate recipes and tips. Hop on twitter at 7pm EST for the live #SundaySupper chat.

The Lineup

Pre Game Warm-ups:

On the Sidelines:

Main Events:

Overtime:

From the Cooler:

Wine Pairings by Wine Everyday

Happy Gameday!

 

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Jul 1 2012

The “Real Best” Burger

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Nothing is better on the 4th of July than the classic American standby: The burger! Find out what the best burger recipe is so you can please your patriotic palates this Independence Day!

The contenders:

The nitty-gritty:

Each burger was scored on a scale of 1-10 (where 1= that’s food? and 10= the best burger that has ever entered my mouth) for overall score,  the boyfriend/husband test, and the leftover test. We also provide other comments.

The Hungry Cat’s Pug Burger Recipe

Overall score: 9

The boyfriend/husband test: 7

The leftover test: 8

Comments: These were pretty good. Next time I would make them without the blue cheese!

Guy Fieri’s Killer Inside Out Burger with Worcestershire Tomato Ketchup

Overall score: 7

The boyfriend/husband test: 7

The leftover test: 7

Comments: I was so sad that this burger was just not good… there are so many ways to make it better but here are the main problems:

  • Need to season the beef (there was no seasoning what so over, just the stuff in the middle)
  • WAY too much beef (this recipe calls for 2 pound of beef but only makes 4 burgers… they are HUGE… and take a bit longer to cook then the recipe says)
  • Need to disperse ingredients throughout the beef (instead, you just put the yummy-ness in a hole in the middle… only get a few real good bites)
  • Need to put extra cheese on top (only cheese is in the middle)
This burger was a decent amount of work and it just did not live up to the time and money I put into it. Many people could tell you I (Jen) am a ketchup connoisseur (note from Megan: She really is. She even puts ketchup on macaroni & cheese…) and the ketchup here was just ok… nothing special, or that I would make ever again. Hubs said it was “okay” too but definitely not worth all the time he waited for it… the leftovers tasted exactly the same. Overall, I would try this again but mix the ingredients into the meat, season the meat, and make smaller burgers as a whole!

Allrecipes.com- Bacon Wrapped Hamburger

Overall score: 5

The boyfriend/husband test: 8

The leftover test: 8 (according to the boyfriend)

Comments: I (Megan) didn’t really like this burger. It was really dry and not super flavorful, in my opinion. In addition, it took FOREVER to get the bacon to cook (I’m still not sure it cooked all the way…), which caused the burger to be way overcooked. However, my boyfriend loved it. If I made this again, I’d definitely precook the bacon and add cheese at the end. But.. I probably won’t make this again.


The winner:

The Hungry Cat’s Pug Burger Recipe

This burger is sure to please on a hot, summer, 4th of July day! Enjoy!

Special Diets:

While we can’t guarantee the results, here are some ideas you can use to customize the winning burger to your dietary needs:

  • Gluten-free: Check your grocery store (or a specialty store) for gluten-free kaiser rolls or gluten-free hamburger buns. Double check that everything else you plan to use is also gluten-free!
  • Vegetarian: Skip the bacon, and consider other options instead of the sirloin… for instance, black bean burgers!
  • Lower fat: Use ground turkey instead of ground sirloin, and turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. Also, look for lower fat mayo options.
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