Over The Top Mommy

Game Day recipes

Score Big on Game Day with Cheez-It and Chocolate Dipped “Football” Strawberries!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are 100% my own. #BigGameSnacks #CollectiveBias

big-game-day-with-cheezitThe Big Game Day is approaching quickly! It’s almost party time! I’m going to let you in on a little secret here…I don’t really worry about who’s playing in the game or who even wins it! Don’t get me wrong, football is fun to watch and all, but my real priorities on that day usually include:

  • watching the hilarious commercials
  • catching up on the latest gossip with my girlfriends who come to our Big Game Day party
  • enjoying lots of good food at the party

Hey, I know what’s important! I love any excuse to throw a party that involves food and this is one occasion that requires some major snacks!  We usually order pizza or cook up some hamburgers at half-time so I like to set out simple types of things on the food table such as veggies, popcorn, chips & dips and some sweets for guests to grab during the game.

When I was out shopping for our Big Game Day party, I picked up a box of Original Cheddar Cheez-It Grooves crackers and a bag of new Cheddar Cheese Cheez-It Crunch’d.  As you can tell, we are big Cheez-It lovers in our house.

cheez-it-bags The Cheez-It Grooves definitely live up to the description on the box: best of Cheez-It and a chip in one!‘.  Cheez-It is dedicated to using only 100% real cheese which is baked into every delicious cracker. I’m going to set them out next to some veggies and ranch dip for the party.

Cheez-It-GroovesThey are delicious! 

I never knew the cheddar cheese Cheez-It Crunch’d existed! They’re new and just appeared on store shelves last week. Crunch’d is Cheez-It’s first-ever crunchy puff made with 100% real cheese. I was dying to try them immediately so I opened up the bag as soon as I got to the car!  I’m not the only one who does that, right? They are so good by themselves! For our party I plan on throwing them into a big bowl along with mini pretzels, buttered popcorn and some chocolate candies. It requires very little time and is a great mix, combining the salty with the sweet in a bowl.

4-easy-ingredients

cheez-it-crunchd-snack-mixI like to put something into the bowl that guests can use as a scoop and set out cute little cups to scoop the mix into. This eliminates “little hands” in the bowl  that everyone is taking from.

I’m a pretty big fan of sweets so I also decided to make these adorable chocolate dipped “football” strawberries for the table. They’re very simple to prepare and Emi even helped me do the white piping. (She did an awesome job!) I’d suggest making a double batch since they probably won’t last very long on the table.

chocolate-dipped-football-strawberries

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb strawberries, rinsed and dried
  • 1 bag of brown chocolate candy melts
  • 1 bag of white candy melts
  • vegetable oil (you won’t need much)

washed-and-dried-strawberries

Preparation:

  1. Prepare your work area by putting some parchment paper down on the countertop. This is where the strawberries will be drying after they’re dipped.
  2. Place the brown candy melts into a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Take out and stir. (They won’t be very melted yet.) Heat for an additional 30 seconds and stir again. Add a tiny bit of vegetable oil to the bowl and mix in. The oil just helps to make your mixture a little bit smoother. Let the mixture settle for about a minute before starting to dip the strawberries. dipping-the-strawberry
  3. Dip each strawberry into the bowl, slowly turning it by its stem. Then use a spoon to cover the strawberry with the chocolate up to a fairly high point, trying to stay even all the way around the strawberry. Remove from the bowl and set onto parchment paper to dry. drying-on-parchment-paper
  4. After the chocolate has completely dried (I stick mine into the fridge), prepare the white candy melts exactly like you did the chocolate ones. Transfer the white mixture into a piping bag (you can use a plastic sandwich bag) with the tiniest tip and pipe on the white football accents. If you make a mistake, you can quickly scrape off the white melt with a toothpick since it won’t be dry yet. Again, wait until thoroughly dry before serving. piping-the-footballs

yummy-strawberriesIt was really fun for my daughter to get in the kitchen and help me with these! She’s got a pretty stead hand for piping! 

I found everything I needed to make my Big Game Snacks at Walmart! Both of the Cheez-It products were on the end of an aisle so I could just grab and toss them into my basket!

cheezitsI think my snack table is all ready to go for the Big Game with all of the necessities! Can you think of anything I might be missing?

game-day-necessitiesWhat are YOU most excited for on the day of the Big Game? Do YOU have any special recipes that you serve on that day?

Connect with Cheez-It on Facebook and Twitter too!

Be Ready For the Big Game With SNICKERS® Brownie “Hamburger” Cupcakes!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are 100% my own. #BigGameTreats #CollectiveBias

big-game-treats-2In anticipation of the Big Game, I’ve been planning the menu for our annual Big Game Day party. Our usual spread always includes chips n’ dip, party meatballs, pizza, hot dogs, and hamburgers.  This year I wanted to make some extra yummy treats for the dessert table. We have a few more children that will be coming over this year, so I came up with something I think they’re really going to go nuts over….SNICKERS® Brownie Hamburger Cupcakes! These cupcakes are stuffed with SNICKERS brownie “hamburger patties” and they look just like little hamburgers. There are several steps to making these but they’re also very easy to prepare. My daughter loved helping me make these. They are guaranteed to be the talk of your party!

snickers-brownie-hamburger-cupcakes

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this fabulous dessert:

  • one box of your favorite brownie mix
  • one box of your favorite yellow cake mix
  • 1 container of white frosting
  • 1/4 cup white sprinkles
  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes, sweetened
  • red, yellow, and green food coloring
  • 15-20 Fun Size SNICKERS, chopped

Preparation

The first thing you want to do is to make the SNICKERS brownies.  I prepare my favorite boxed brownie mix and toss in some chopped up Fun Size Snickers bars into the batter.  Before placing the batter into the baking pan, I place parchment paper in there, so I’m able to easily remove the brownies from the pan after they’re done,  without breaking them. This just makes for better looking squares when you slice them.

cut-up-snickerssnickers-in-the-batter

After the brownies come out of the oven, be sure to allow them to cool for at least an hour before cutting. I sliced half of the pan into squares and set them aside. I used the remaining half of the brownies to make the “burgers“. Using a small biscuit cutter, cut circles out of the brownies and set aside.

cutting-the-browniessnickers-burgers

Next, prepare the cupcakes using the yellow cake mix. It’s important that you use cupcake liners when you bake them, so your cupcakes have ridges on the outside. It’s also important to fill your cupcake liners full enough so the cupcakes bake up high.

baking-the-cupcakes

After baking the cupcakes, allow them to cool completely. After they’ve sufficiently cooled down, remove each one from the wrapper and slice about 1/4 of the bottom of the cupcake off and throw away. (or eat it) Slice the remaining part of each cupcake in half to make the “hamburger bun” and set aside.

cut-the-bottom-of-the-cupcakecupcake-hamburger-bun

To prepare the “lettuce“,  put 1/2 cup of coconut into a bowl and squeeze a few drops of green food coloring into the bowl. Mix together, using a fork, until desired green color is achieved.

making-the-lettuceTo prepare “ketchup“, mix 1/2 container of white frosting into a bowl. Add a few drops of red food coloring and stir together with a spoon until it resembles ketchup.  Do the same to prepare “cheese“, mix 1/2 container of white frosting in a bowl, with a few drops of yellow and some red food coloring too and stir together with a spoon until it resembles cheese. For both of these, you may end up adding drops of color until you reach your desired color.

frostings

After you have all of your burger ingredients prepared, it’s time for the fun part…the assembling of your hamburger cupcakes. I like to squeeze some ketchup and cheese, using a pastry bag, on top of the burger and then top with a generous amount of lettuce. When you place the top bun on, it’ll squeeze some of that out and make it look like a real burger. Use the white sprinkles to make the sesame seeds on the bun and poke a cute toothpick through the top! I’m garnishing mine with Starburst® to really get the kids hopping around!

snickers-brownie-hamburger-cupcakes

I was able to find all of the items I needed for my recipe at Walmart. I found the Fun Size SNICKERS I used in my recipe on the candy aisle, as well as the Starburst®! It’s the perfect place to buy all of your Big Game Day necessities!

items-at-walmart

snickers-aisle

How do YOU celebrate on the day of the BIG GAME? Do you have any special recipes that you like to make?