The college football season may be over, but games roll on in the NFL.
This weekend, the league's conference championships will hit the field with the Atlanta Falcons facing the Green Bay Packers for the NFC crown and the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers battling for the AFC. The winners head to the grand poobah of sports events, the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.
Whether you're an NFL fan who would watch this weekend's games no matter what or a sometimes fan who only watches the Super Bowl for the hoopla and halftime show, it's always good to plan ahead. A football team would never think of going into a game without being fully prepared and neither should you.
Obviously, no one eats a full meal during a playoff game - not everyone at the dining room table could see the TV in the living room - so finger foods are the menu. But c'mon, you don't want to spend a ton of time in the kitchen, making stuff that's going to gobbled up like starving lions on an antelope.
So here are some dishes that don't take more than an hour to make, whether the game party is at your house or you're bringing a dish to someone else's home.
Terri Markert Baker says her "favorite snack for parties and ballgames" is Pork Tenderloin on Fresh Biscuits.
"I'm not a very good cook, but I make a great tenderloin," says Baker, who adds mustard as a final topping, but that's your call.
If you want to make your own biscuits, here's a recipe. If you want to use Whomp! biscuits - the ones that you whomp! on the corner of the counter to open - that's fine, too.
Simple Biscuits
2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup milk
Combine and mix ingredients together. Pour out on floured waxed paper. Pat the dough out with your hands until dough is not sticky (add a little flour if necessary). Fold double. Cut biscuits with a biscuit cutter.
Bake on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Prep: 10 minutes. Cook: 25 minutes.
- www.allrecipes.com
Pork Tenderloin
1 pork tenderloin, about 1 1/2 pounds
Slices of cheddar cheese
Oil
Slice your pork tenderloin into about 12 slices 1 inches thick. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place tenderloin slices in skillet and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and let rest for about 3 minutes.
Split open a biscuit and place one to two slices of pork tenderloin inside. Top with slices of cheddar cheese and top half of biscuit. Press lightly.
Allow to sit for a bit to allow the cheese to melt slightly. If it does not, place assembled biscuits onto sheet pan and back into the oven for about 2 minutes to warm and allow the cheese to melt.
- www.addapinch.com
Beer-Steamed Cheese and Mushroom Beef Sliders
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 ounces mushrooms (white, cremini or shiitake), finely chopped
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped pitted green olives
2 tablespoons finely chopped, drained, canned green chilies
3 ounces sliced sharp cheddar cheese, broken into 12 equal pieces
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, shaped into 12 sliders, each about 3/4 inch thick
Ground black pepper
1/3 cup beer
12 slider buns
In a large (at least 12-inch) skillet over medium, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the onion and cook until golden, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onion to a bowl. Add another tablespoon of the oil to the pan, the mushrooms and a hefty pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid the mushrooms give off has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to the bowl with the onion. Reserve the skillet.
Add the olives and chilies to the mushroom mixture and stir well. Set aside.
Return the skillet to high heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and wait until it is almost smoking. Meanwhile, season the sliders on one side with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the sliders, seasoned side down (it will be a little crowded in the pan), and cook them until they are just browned on the first side, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the top side of each with salt and pepper, turn the sliders over and cook for another 2 minutes.
While the sliders are browning, top each slider with a heaping teaspoon of the mushroom mixture, dividing all of the mixture among the sliders, then place a piece of cheese on top of each. Quickly pour the beer into the pan, all around the sliders, cover the pan and steam for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let the sliders sit in the pan for another minute to let the cheese melt completely. Spoon some of the liquid in the skillet onto the tops and bottoms of the buns, transfer the sliders to the buns and serve right away.
Start to finish: 50 minutes. Makes 12 sliders.
- Melissa D'Arabian, The Associated Press
Buffalo-Style Meatballs
1 egg white
3 tablespoons spicy buffalo sauce (like Frank's, or hot chili sauce)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 pound lean ground beef (95 percent lean)
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/2 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs (or plain breadcrumbs)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Oil mister, or nonstick cooking spray
Basting sauce:
1 tablespoon melted butter
3 tablespoons spicy buffalo sauce
Extra sauce for dunking, if desired
Heat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, use a fork to mix together the egg white, buffalo sauce, paprika, garlic and salt and pepper until blended. Add the beef and mix well with your hands. Then mix in the blue cheese and breadcrumbs. Let sit for 5 minutes.
If mixture is too wet to form into balls, add in another tablespoon or two of breadcrumbs. Form the meat into golf-sized balls, and place on lined baking sheet. (Or use a mini-muffin pan sprayed with nonstick spray.) Spray the meatballs lightly with oil from the mister (or nonstick spray). Bake 15 minutes and then remove from the oven.
Mix together the melted butter and buffalo sauce in a small bowl. Turn the meatballs, and brush with the basting sauce. Return to the oven until cooked through, about 5 more minutes. If desired, toss the meatballs in extra sauce in a large bowl (optional, but tasty and messy).
Start to finish: 30 minutes. Servings: 10 servings, 2 meatballs each.
- Melissa D'Arabian, The Associated Press
Game Day S'mores
1/2 (14.4oz.) box graham crackers
Nutella
Raspberry jelly, or favorite jelly of your choice, preferably no sugar added
Marshmallow Fluff
Sprinkles in your team's colors
Chopped nuts
Mini chocolate chips, mini M&M's, etc.
Break a graham cracker in half at the perforation.
Spread a generous spoonful of Nutella on one cracker half, and two spoonful's of Marshmallow Fluff on the other half. Spread a thin layer of jelly over the Nutella.
Place the two halves together and press gently to seal the filling.
For a fun and finished presentation, dip the sticky edges of each s'more in sprinkles, nuts, or chocolate chips.
Servings: 20 (1 s'more per serving). Start to finish: 5 minutes.
- Elizabeth Karmel, The Associated Press
Cuban Sliders
24 pack of Hawaiian rolls
1 package of sliced ham
1 package of 8 slices of Swiss cheese
Dill pickles
Dijon Spread (recipe below)
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 stick of melted butter
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
Cut the Hawaiian rolls in half, removing the top and placing the bottom of the rolls in the baking pan. Layer the meat, cheese and pickles on the bottom roll. Place the top of the rolls on top. With a spoon, pour the Dijon spread over the top of the rolls.
Cover the sliders with foil and bake for 15 minutes. 6. Remove the foil and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the rolls are a toasted brown.
Cut the sliders and remove from the baking pan.
Dijon Spread
Whisk together the butter and the Dijon mustard. Add in the minced onion and stir.
- www.houseofyumm.com