Tailgating on a budget: Making creative snacks for under $50
With football season here, we wanted to find simple snacks to serve up at your party while staying on a $50 budget and taking less than five minutes each to prep.
"Try to pick things you know you're not going to stress about. Something that we could put in the Crock-Pot or in the oven and forget about until the guests get here," Christine Nguyen, Houston Mom's Blog Contributor, said.
For starters, try making Italian sliders. All you need are King's Hawaiian rolls, hard salami, pastrami, Swiss cheese and Italian seasoning.
After you finish stacking your meats and cheese, top with melted butter and seasoning.
Cover in foil for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
You can also make a spinach artichoke dip. For this, you'll need spinach, onion, garlic, cream cheese, artichokes, and sour cream. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
If you want to add in something sweet, grab some boxed brownies to make mini footballs.
"I used a round cookie cutter, just punched it. Then go down a little bit and cut until you have a little football," Nguyen said.
Add your lace and stitching in white icing for the completed look.
Firecracker Cheez-Its are sure to be a touchdown with your party guests.
"It's a box of Cheez-Its that you bake with a little bit of oil and ranch dressings," Nguyen explained.
Nguyen also got creative with brown paper bags.
"You can do the stitching on the bags with electrical tape or masking tape," she said.
She then added peanuts and popcorn to round out the salty snacks.
Get in the barbecue without the pit by using a Crock-Pot. Add a package of Li'l Smokies, then eight ounces of barbecue sauce and Nguyen's secret ingredient, eight ounces of grape jelly.
Put on the lid and put it on high for two hours, and you're done.
Pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate is another fun snack. For something healthy, try making a veggie cup your guests can grab and go, so they don't miss anything from the big game.
Nguyen used the same tape from the brown bags on mason jars to look like footballs that you can use to serve punch or tea.
You can use your leftovers, too. Nguyen says the sliders re-heat great for the kids' lunch the next day and the spinach artichoke dip makes a great topping for a pizza, just add some chicken.
