We had a super fun tailgate party yesterday (with an epic nail-biter, come from behind win) and I just could wait until the next Saturday to share! 🙂 It’s no secret that we LOVE college football and are die-hard Nebraska Cornhusker fans! Between my family being huge fans too, good friends of ours from college that live here now, and the rest of the HUGE contingency of Huskers fans in Arizona, there is no lack of Nebraska football fun to be had. And, yesterday was no different. We had a fairly big game (playing Michigan State at their place) and thought it would be a great day for a fun family tailgate party! So, we came up with a good football menu, gathered up lots of red & white, and headed over to my parent’s house (since we don’t have cable).
To get our tailgating (ok, really, “homegating”) supplies, I headed to Smart & Final (you can see that shopÂping trip on Google+, here). It’s great for having a choice of large “bulk” items and more standard serving items, plus party supplies. We ended up with some honey BBQ wings, ingredients for homemade Huskers pizzas & football 7-layer dip, and even some Big Red soda! How perfect! 😉
For our set-up, I hung a large black table cover as a backdrop behind the table (a super inexpensive way to go at less than $2!), attached red & white streamers, and put down red & white tablecloths. Super easy! We had a Nebraska box filled with pom-poms, the Nebraska subway art printables I made, roses that my parents found at a steal (in honor of hoping that Nebraska wins the rest of its games & heads to the Rose Bowl), and some cute little upcycled Nebraska-football utensil holders. For the menu, we kept it fairly simple, but still fun: Tomatoes & black olives with ranch dip (a Nebraska veggie tray would have been another great alternative), chili cheese dip, honey BBQ chicken wings, homemade Husker pizzas, and football 7-layer dip.
The little pizzas were easy to make and perfect for being able to make them “Huskers” style. If you’ve never made english muffin pizzas, they are great! Inexpensive & super customizable! You just open the muffins & lightly toast. Then, add your favorite pizza sauce (we used Smart & Final’s La Romanella) & top with mozzarella cheese plus your favorite toppings. We stuck with Nebraska colors, using just pepperonis and black olives. I cut a handful of pepperonis into strips and used those to make Nebraska “N’s” and spell out Huskers. Once all the toppings were on, we just popped them in oven (while the wings cooked) until the cheese was melted & bubbly.
The football field 7-layer dip (recipe coming soon) was great fun (and yummy) too! My mom actually found some old football cake decorating supplies that were my grandma’s. The copyright date on the bottom was 1974! Ha! Fun, huh?! It was a great spread! Can’t go wrong with super tasty stuff that’s relatively easy to prep! We even had football brownies for dessert!
Then, the afternoon was pretty much spent eating and watching football. We have some really cute little Husker fans here! 🙂Â
There was also a good amount of time spent nail-biting & getting gray hairs. Do you see that score at the start of 4th quarter?! Well, we kept coming back & then, with 6 seconds left, scored the game winning touchdown!!! The crowd at our house went wild!!! Seriously, it was totally insane! Definitely a great way to spend a Saturday–family time, fun food, and a Nebraska win! 🙂
Did YOUR favorite team win yesterday
To learn more about La Romanella prodÂucts or Smart & Final #ChoosÂeSÂmart, check out the Social CirÂcular or folÂlow along on faceÂbook and twitÂter.
DisÂcloÂsure: I am a memÂber of the ColÂlecÂtive Biasâ„¢ Social FabÂric® ComÂmuÂnity.  This shop has been comÂpenÂsated as part of a social shopÂper insights study for ColÂlecÂtive Biasâ„¢ and Smart & Final #CBias #SocialÂFabÂric #ChoosÂeSÂmart. As always, all opinÂions, expeÂriÂences, phoÂtographs, and love of Nebraska football are entirely my own.
18 Responses
What a fun party! I love all of your food and decorations!
I love how you went all out!!
I can’t go into a shop without Husker pride presented, but I live in the zone, lol. This is such a fun looking party. I’m sure my kids would have a blast with this and having the locals over to party with us should be a lot easier now that I have seen the fun red and black things you came up with 🙂 Thanks a bunch!
I absolutely love that pizza! What a great idea! I am going to have to remember that for when my team is in the playoffs!
You are an incredible party planner, everything looks delicious!
What a fun party! I love fall and football. I’ll have to make those brownie footballs for my next event.
Wow, Sara, I want to come to one of your parties!
Looks like a fun party!!!!
The 7 layer dip is seriously genius!! I love Smart & Final, too (but we call it Cash & Carry in Oregon!)
You do have some pretty cute football fans, Sara! Love all the themed snacks… looks like everyone had fun!
Looks like so much fun! I love the decorated containers and all of the recipes look delicious and perfect for a tailgating party.
Wow, you’ve got some lucky friends! You’re party looks awesome. I love the football brownies!
That is so so fun! I love all of it – those brownies are awesome! Now I’m starving!
What a fun party ~ the food looks so good and I love the way you put everything together.
everything looks so great! amazing job, Sara!
What a fun party! I love the utensil holders!! 🙂
Wow, I love that whole spread! Those brownies are extra cute, thanks for sharing!