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10 Recipes for the Big Game that Won’t Keep You Sidelined

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It’s almost time for the big game! If you are anything like us, you most look forward to socializing with good friends and enjoying some delicious game-day food! Honestly, I usually don’t even know what teams are playing until the game starts. However, I have the menu planned days, or sometimes weeks, in advance.

This year, to make things easier for everyone, we’ve compiled some of our favorite football watch-party foods, categorized for your convenience! Some are on the healthy side (and include Weight Watchers points) and some are a bit more indulgent. Most of these can be made in advance and warmed in the crockpot or finished in the oven right before game time, so there’s no need to miss any of the game (or commercials) because you’re stuck in the kitchen. Hope you find a few good ones here and, as always, please share with us what you make! We love to hear from you on social media! ~Erin

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Kick Off :

Pizza Dip

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Two Point Conversions:

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Chili (2 WW SmartPoints)

Hearty Beef Chili (2 WW SmartPoints)

Half Time Show:

Chili Dog Bake (9 WW SmartPoints)

Italian Beef Sandwiches (5 WW SmartPoints)

Bacon Burger Meatballs (4 WW SmartPoints each)

Make Ahead Meatballs (2 WW SmartPoints each)

End Zone:

Brookies

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (A.K.A. Homemade Reese’s)

Spinach Artichoke Dip

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If you’ve been looking for the perfect spinach artichoke dip, look no further. This one is rich and creamy with the just right flavor ratios.  It’s the roasted garlic that really puts it over the top. Share with friends at your next gathering or just make a small batch to enjoy for dinner. If you have a crowd, just know that it will go quickly! ~Robin

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Ingredients:

  • 1 head of fresh garlic
  • 7 oz. frozen* or fresh** spinach (usually comes in a 10 oz. package but I just divide after I thaw it)
  • 1 14 oz. can of artichokes (in brine, not oil; my brand of choice is Reese) drained and chopped (I like bigger chunks but do what suits you)
  • 1 10 oz. container of alfredo sauce (I like Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo)
  • 1 c. shredded mozzarella, plus a bit for topping
  • 1/3 c. grated parmesan, plus a bit for topping
  • 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
  • Tortilla chips, pita chips, or mini-toasts for serving

Instructions:

For frozen spinach, once thawed, wrap the spinach in a dark colored tea towel (to prevent staining) and squeeze the excess water out into the sink.  If using fresh, cook and drain liquid.

For fresh spinach, julienne first and set aside before you roast the garlic so the edges aren’t overly moist. You do not want your dip to have a green hue.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place garlic on a double layer of foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, and close tightly.

Bake about 20 minutes or until soft; remove from heat and open foil, being careful not to burn yourself on the hot oil or garlic.

Once it is cool enough to touch, peel garlic skin away and squeeze the garlic cloves directly into a medium sized bowl; then mash garlic with a fork.

In a medium glass bowl, soften cream cheese in the microwave, then combine with garlic using a fork.

To cream cheese mixture, add spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo sauce, and cheeses; then mix well.

Place in an 8” x 8” baking dish, then lightly sprinkle a bit more mozzarella and parmesan on top and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Broil for up to five minutes after baking if the top hasn’t yet caramelized.  Watch carefully during broiling to avoid burning.

Serve immediately with your favorite chip or mini-toast.

Overnight French Toast

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I’ve gotten lucky with a lot of things in my life, and one of them is that I have a husband who fixes my boys’ breakfast every school day (he makes their lunches, too)!   I readily admit that I don’t always manage it, but to mix things up a little bit, I usually try to make something a little special on the weekend.   This easy but delicious Overnight French Toast makes it seem like I’ve spent hours in the kitchen, but still gives me time to sit and really savor a big cup of coffee!  ~Tracy

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Ingredients:

  • ¼ c. (half a stick) butter, melted
  • ¾ c. packed brown sugar
  • 1 loaf brioche or firm French bread (enough to generously cover a 9 x 13 pan, cut into 1½ in. chunks)
  • 8 eggs
  • 1 c. milk (preferably whole milk)
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. ground ginger
  • Pinch salt

Instructions:

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and melted butter.  Spread butter and sugar mixture in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish that you have pre-sprayed with cooking spray.

Arrange pieces of bread in dish, overlapping if necessary.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs.  Add milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and ginger and mix well.

Pour the milk and egg mixture evenly over the bread pieces.

Cover the dish in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.  Overnight is best, since this allows the liquid mixture to completely soak into the bread.

To cook, remove plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 10 – 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.   Serve with maple syrup.  Makes approximately 6 to 8 servings.

Make Ahead Meatballs

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If you’re a busy mom (or dad) like we all are, or someone who likes to do their food-prep ahead of time, then this is a great recipe for you. It seems like these days there are so many sporting events and meetings that if I waited until we all got home to start dinner….well, let’s just say we might as well eat in our pajamas. One of the things that I’ve found helps a lot is to pre-prep as many of our meals as I can over the weekend. This recipe is one of my favorites because it makes so many meatballs that can be used in a variety of ways. Our favorite way to eat them is with a special semi-homemade barbecue sauce (I’ll include that recipe), but I also leave some dry and freeze them to use for spaghetti or meatball subs — or any other way you’d like them!  ~Tracy

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Meatball Ingredients:

  • 2 ½ lbs. extra lean hamburger meat
  • 1 lb. breakfast sausage (Use turkey sausage for Weight Watchers.)
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 c. quick cook oatmeal
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 c. finely chopped onion
  • 1 12 oz. can evaporated milk

Meatball Instructions:

Mix all ingredients well and form into balls approximately the size of a golf ball (for recipe purposes I weighed meatballs in 1.5 oz. servings before cooking).  

Bake meatballs at 350 for approx. 50 min. or until cooked through.

Barbecue Sauce Ingredients:

  • 2 c. catsup
  • 2 tsp. liquid smoke
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • ½ c. finely chopped onion
  • 1 c. brown sugar
  • ½ bottled barbecue sauce (I prefer Head Country Original)

BBQ Sauce Instructions:  

Mix all ingredients in sauce pan and simmer on low for approx. 15 minutes to melt the sugar and blend flavors. Spoon sauce over meatballs during last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking to caramelize sauce onto meat.  

WW Freestyle Info.: Recipe makes approximately 70 meatballs (1.5 oz. each before cooking).  Using extra lean (95/5) ground beef and turkey sausage, these meatballs are 2 points each (not including sauce).  

Brazilian Peanut Brittle

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I love peanut brittle. I love almost any homemade candy. Unfortunately, using a candy thermometer or the cold-water-in-the-coffee-cup method of trying to find “hard-crack” stage is not my forte! In fact, I’m terrible at it. Fortunately, this is one of those (almost) life changing, candy making recipes. I’ll tell you why in a moment, but first I’ll start by telling you more about this peanut brittle. Brazilian peanut brittle is more buttery and slightly less sweet than traditional peanut brittle. It’s also more blonde in color than typical peanut brittle recipes. It’s different but in a very good way.

Now, back to how it’s life changing:  this recipe is fabulous in the fact that it requires NO candy thermometer. No cold water checking to see if it’s done. It is timed and done. It works perfectly for me every single time – crispy but not “break your teeth hard.”   It does not disappoint in flavor or crunch… it would be a perfect holiday treat for your family and friends!   ~Kathy

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Ingredients:

  • 11 T. butter  (1 stick plus 3 Tablespoons)
  • ¾ c. sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ c. light corn syrup
  • 2 ¼ (up to 2 ½ ) c. unsalted dry roasted peanuts (whole and/or halved)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. baking soda

Instructions:

Grease the bottom of a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or butter. Set aside on top of a heat proof surface or oven mitts to protect surface below.

Place the butter, sugar, salt, and light corn syrup in a large non-stick saucepan. Cook over medium heat large burner, stirring slowly and constantly. As soon as the butter is completely melted and the mixture reaches a pale yellow color and starts to bubble around the edges, add the peanuts and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Cook for 13-15 minutes, stirring constantly, or until caramel has thickened and peanuts stick to each other, instead of falling immediately off the wooden spoon, when lifted from the pan. (During the cooking time, the mixture will start to come together and look waxy. Keep it moving in the pan, folding, stirring, etc.)

Remove mixture from heat and stir in both the vanilla and baking soda until well combined.

Pour mixture immediately onto the greased baking sheet. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top (waxed paper does not work here!!) and spread the brittle thin (about 1/3” thick) using a rolling pin. Be careful not to burn yourself!  

Allow the peanut brittle to cool completely at room temperature before breaking into 2-inch pieces with your hands.

Store in a large Ziploc bag or an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2-3 weeks.

**I live at high altitude(6800+ ft) which changes the cooking time. I cook it 10 – 12 minutes. Adjust accordingly for altitude if needed.

Blue Ribbon Apple Pie

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I first made this pie as a teenager.  My dad liked my version (which has some extra spices) so much that he asked for this pie for his birthday every year after.  Now my husband also wants this pie every year for HIS birthday too.  It’s that good.  I guess I should call it “birthday pie” since it seems to be a yearly request from the people I bake for.  This pie, however, has a new memory attached to it.  I recently helped my daughter make this pie for a 4H baking competition and she won the grand prize!  She cut the 4H emblem in the top crust and, foolishly, I neglected to take a picture of her pie.  It was so pretty!  Sorry, you’ll have to settle for pictures of my pie instead. Here she is with her ribbons though (the blue ribbon is for the pie and the white ribbon is for rolls that she entered as well).

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If you make a pie for Thanksgiving, I urge you to make this one.  It’s a grand prize blue ribbon favorite in my family!  ~Erin

Ingredients for filling:

  • 2 deep dish pie crusts (confession:  I often use frozen but Mom’s recipe is below if you prefer from-scratch)
  • 8 Granny Smith apples
  • 1 c. white sugar
  • ¼ c. light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 2 T. flour
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • ¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. nutmeg
  • 2 T. butter

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Instructions:

In a large bowl, stir the white sugar, brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined; set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

If you made the crust, roll out one disc to ¼ inch thick and press gently in the pie pan, leaving some overhang.

Peel and thinly slice your apples.  Throw them right in with the sugar mixture and toss to coat.

Pour the apple/sugar mixture into your prepared bottom crust.  Don’t leave any sugar behind!

Dot the top of the apples with some bits of butter.

Roll out the top crust (cut a design or slits to vent), then place it on top of the apples and crimp the edges together with the bottom crust.

Place the pie on a sheet pan (in case it bubbles over!) and bake in the center rack until golden brown (about 45 minutes).

Mom’s Deep Dish Double Pie Crust:

  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 sticks butter (1 cup)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
  • Approximately 12 T. ice cold water

Stir the salt into the flour.  Cut butter and shortening into flour mixture using a pastry cutter or forks, until it resembles a coarse meal.  Add water and knead until the dough comes together and is no longer crumbly, but not to the point of being sticky though.  Divide into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Real Deal Macaroni and Cheese

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Growing up, macaroni and cheese was oftentimes made from a box.  Our Mom, who is a fabulous cook herself, had four daughters within eight years (can we have a moment of silence thanking the Lord that she maintained her sanity?).  So let’s face it….there had to be some shortcuts made somewhere.  Now that the processed food fad of the 70s and 80s has faded, homemade macaroni and cheese is all the rage.  I mean, you can get it on your burger in some restaurants.  If you are a connoisseur of amazing cheesiness as we are, and ready to take steps away from the box  (oh, please do), this is the recipe you need to try! ~ Tracy

Ingredients:

  • 3 c. uncooked elbow macaroni
  • 6 T. butter
  • 6 T. all-purpose flour
  • 3 c. milk
  • 1 ½ t. salt
  • 1 ½ t. sugar
  • 1 lb. cubed Velveeta
  • 2/3 c. sour cream
  • 1 1/3 c. cottage cheese
  • 2 ½ c. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 ½ c. shredded Swiss cheese (you can tear up slices if you can’t find shredded Swiss)
  • 15 Ritz Crackers
  • ¼ stick butter, melted

Instructions: 

Cook & drain macaroni according to package directions.

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  When butter is melted, stir in flour and mix well (the mixture will form a buttery paste).  Add milk and cook until the mixture begins to thicken.  Add salt, sugar, and cubed Velveeta.  Stir until Velveeta is melted.  Remove from heat and immediately add sour cream and cottage cheese, stirring well until blended.

In a large bowl, combine cooked macaroni noodles, cheddar cheese, and Swiss cheese.  Pour the hot creamy mixture over the macaroni and stir well until cheeses are melted and combined.

Pour the entire mixture into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Crush Ritz crackers and pour into a bowl.  Combine crushed crackers with melted butter and stir to coat well.  Sprinkle the crackers over the macaroni.

Bake at 340 for 45 – 50 minutes.  If crackers begin to become too brown, cover the top with a loose piece of aluminum foil and finish baking.

Cranberry Salsa

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Our cranberry salsa is just the tart treat you’ve been craving as the holidays approach. But beware, if you set it out as an appetizer, it’s usually all gone before the meal.  Consider a double batch if you have a crowd. And it pairs perfectly next to some turkey and stuffing (I eat it by itself with a spoon that way).

I snagged this recipe from a former colleague who already knew the recipe was such a hit that she brought copies of the recipe with her (she’d taken it to other events and had so many requests she learned her lesson & knew to come prepared)! And it was that fantastic and more.  So if you stumble across this sometime, Julie T., a huge thanks from my family (and I mean my entire massive God-bless-us-every-one extended family as seen in our brownie post) to yours.

I’ve tweaked it a titch to make it just right for us, so I hope you’ll share it with those you love as well – and save the paper by telling them to visit Four Sisters Dish of course. Do it for the rainforest and for the Moore sisters! ~Robin

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Ingredients:

  • 1 16 oz. bag of cranberries
  • ¼ c. cilantro
  • 2 – 3 T. of fresh lime juice (one lime or a little more)
  • 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
  • ¾ c. sugar
  • Tortilla or pita chips for dipping
  • Cream cheese (optional)

Directions:  

Place cranberries and cilantro in a food processor; pulse until cranberries are to the desired chopped size.  You want small chunks but not to liquefy them. You need some texture.

I then hand-mince my jalapeños because I don’t trust the processor not to pulverize them a bit too much.

Fold in jalapeños and sugar until well combined.  Serve over cream cheese if desired (I love it by itself on a chip, but cream cheese just adds some richness).

WW Freestyle Info.: Makes ten ¼ cup servings at 4 points each.  Note:  If you use sugar substitutes (I don’t, so I can’t advise on amount needed; use to taste), this recipe could be ZERO points.

Southern Sweet Potato Casserole

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For a long time, I worked with a fabulous group of people. One of my favorite things was holiday potluck lunches. This recipe was shared with me years ago. I made a couple of minor adjustments to the original recipe. It has been a family favorite ever since. Even those that swear they don’t like sweet potatoes (ahem, Tracy) can’t get enough of these!
This would be a great addition to your (any day is a good day) holiday spread!  ~Kathy

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Sweet Potato Layer Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 T. of butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
¼ cup milk or half and half
½ tsp vanilla

Topping Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 stick butter, soft
1 cup chopped pecans, optional

Instructions:

Wash & peel sweet potatoes; boil or bake until tender. Drain (if boiled) and mash. Combine the sweet potato layer ingredients well; spread evenly in a 13” x 9” pan.

For the topping, mix butter into flour and brown sugar until crumbly.  Sprinkle pecans over potato mixture, if desired; then evenly distribute the sugar crumble on top.

Bake at 350°F until hot and bubbly, and topping is crisp (about 30 minutes).

Soft Caramel Popcorn

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My mother-in-law is a good cook.  There are several things she makes that just can’t be beat, one being this caramel corn. The caramel stays soft.  It’s not like traditional caramel corn where the popcorn is coated in a hard, shiny sugar coating. This, by contrast, is perfectly soft and chewy. And it is addictive, as in “I-will-eat-it-until-I-pop good!” Better than words can describe. It makes fabulous popcorn balls too, if you are so inclined. Any time this is made around here, it disappears too fast to form into balls!  I have yet to meet anyone who isn’t a fan once they’ve tried it. Quick and easy to make, it is the perfect no-frills, crowd pleasing snack!  ~Kathy

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Ingredients:

  • 1 1/3 c popcorn kernels (or 5 bags microwave popcorn*)
  • 3 T. oil, for popping corn, if needed
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 c. sugar
  • 1 ½ c. light corn syrup
  • 1 c. butter

Instructions:

Cook popcorn, with oil, according to machine directions (air popped, stir crazy, etc), then salt lightly.

*Or prepare 5 bags of Healthy Choice (or other low butter) microwave popcorn – see tip at the bottom for removing kernels.

Place popped popcorn in an in extra large bowl/pan.  (I have a clean dishpan that I use only for this purpose.  A large roasting pan also works.)  Set aside.

Combine sweetened condensed milk, sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a large, heavy saucepan.

Stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved.

Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a hard, rolling boil while stirring constantly.

When the mixture comes to a rolling boil, reduce heat to medium-low.

Continue to cook and stir for 10 minutes; remove from heat.

Pour over popcorn and immediately stir to coat using a large spoon or spatula.  (Use caution, it’s hot!)

If making popcorn balls, portion out and wrap in waxed paper or place in treat bags.

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Check out this real caramel goodness!

Tip: If using microwave popcorn, when finished cooking, open the top of the bag just a bit, barely splitting the seam open.  Shake upside down over the garbage can to remove the un-popped kernels.