The thought of planning a tailgate party from start to finish makes me want to assume the fetal position. Planning a tailgate party is not something that I normally do because we are not big entertainers… and I usually steer clear of most games. But when asked to share some tailgating party ideas, I was up for the challenge. I do anything (within reason) that gets my creative juices flowing.
After taking a moment to breathe, I realized that hosting a tailgate party doesn’t have to be stressful… especially if hosting for a small group. To make things easier as a host, ask guests to bring a dish or snack. If you are a guest, offer to do the same. Easy right?
Wings and finger foods are always a hit at football gatherings, so I decided to whip up some DELICIOUS beer battered drumettes and sweet pepper poppers, an alternative to jalapeno poppers that won’t fuel my pregnancy heartburn. The recipes are below! For the kitchen or time challenged, I stumbled across some Football Oreos and Edy’s Touchdown Sundae ice cream while shopping for the drumettes and poppers. The ice cream has little chocolate footballs filled with caramel. Fun and easy. And of course no tailgate party is complete without freshly popped popcorn. *crunch*
Do you have any favorite dishes or ideas for tailgate parties?
The printable treat baskets were designed by Jen St. Clair from Little Sprout Creations, offered by Hostess with the Mostess.
- 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 8 ounce bag shredded Cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup crushed bacon
- 1lb sweet peppers, seeded and halved
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs
- 2 quarts oil
- In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Spoon cheese mixture into the pepper halves. Feel free to smooth with fingers.
- Pour milk and flour into two separate small bowls. Dip the stuffed peppers into the milk then into the flour, making sure they are well coated with each. Let each coated pepper dry for about 10 minutes.
- Dip the peppers in milk again and roll them through the breadcrumbs. Allow them to dry. If necessary, repeat to make sure the entire surface pepper is coated.
- In a medium skillet, heat oil to 365 degrees F.
- Deep fry the coated peppers 2 to 3 minutes each, until brown.
- Remove and let drain on a paper towel.
- Serve immediately with some of your favorite dipping sauces.
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup beer
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 10 chicken drumettes, thawed
- 2 quarts oil
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg lightly with a whisk. Beat in the beer, then the dry ingredients until smooth. Cover and let stand for 25 to 30 minutes before using.
- Heat oil to 360 degrees F.
- Dip chicken in batter using tongs, allowing excess batter to drip off. Carefully lower chicken, one by one, into the hot oil.
- After about 1 minute, turn the chicken as the batter cooks fast. Continue turning occasionally until they are fully cooked.
- Remove and let drain on a paper towel.
- Serve immediately with some of your favorite dipping sauces.
I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. Walmart is compensating me for sharing these tailgate party ideas. My participation is voluntary and all words and opinions are always my own.