Football Sunday Appetizers!

Who's ready for some football!?!?!?!?!?!?

Excessive punctuation. My apologies.

It's a rainy Sunday here in the Boston area, which means it's the perfect day to gather up some friends, cook up some tasty appetizers, and enjoy hours and hours of football! Sounds fun to me--just add beer!

Here's some inspiration to get your appetizer gears grinding. Follow the links to the step by step recipes and get cooking!

BBQ Chicken Nachos.

Swoon. You need these in your life. Traditional nachos with a cheesy, barbeque-y, twist. Plenty to share, if you're willing of course.

Pepperoni Pizza Dip.

What do you get when you add cream cheese, pepperonis, melted mozzarella cheese and warm marinara sauce? If you said, APPETIZER BLISS, you'd be right. This dip begs to be eaten with slices of warm Italian bread.

Crispy Sweet Potato Ravioli.

It's all the flavors of autumn, packed into a tasty little bite. Sweet potato, caramelized onions and mushrooms are packed into wonton wrappers and fried until crispy. These are going to fly off the table like crazy!

Crab Rangoons.

You're favorite Chinese take-out snack, right in your own kitchen. What is better than cream cheese and crab meat fried to golden brown perfection? Very little, in fact.

Creamy White Bean Dip.

The elegant older brother of hummus, this white bean dip is packed with fresh herbs and bright lemon juice. White beans are soft and subtle. Dip anything into this dish, and you'll be a happy camper. I enjoy it with celery sticks, english cucumbers, and whole wheat tortilla scoops!

Enjoy!

Lightened up -- BBQ Chicken Nachos

Fall has officially arrived and that means football season is in full swing!

I haven't had a lot of time to fully enjoy the first few weeks of the season, which means I haven't had much time to whip up a really fun game day appetizer.

Well, it's time for that to change and it is time for you guys to make these amazing BBQ Chicken Nachos on game day!

There are very few things in the world better than a big plate of nachos, a cold beer, and a whole Sunday full of football games. But we've all had the usual -- chips with melted cheddar cheese, jalapenos, taco meat, salsa, sour cream, the works. I think it's time we jazz up our nacho game and make it BBQ inspired instead! Added bonus - I'm lightening up this plate of nachos with a few key changes that won't compromise flavor but will make you feel less guilty when you add a second or third handful to your plate!

These nachos start with whole wheat tortilla chips (I'm a fan of Tostitos whole wheat scoops, but any tasty tortilla chip will do!) and shredded grilled chicken breasts. To stay true to the barbeque theme, Monteray Jack cheese is melted on top of the chips and chicken. Oh boy, it's getting real.

After the nachos come out of the oven, a few additional toppings are added in order to take our nachos to the next level: cole slaw, prepared with a homemade chipotle mayonnaise, low sodium BBQ sauce, and green onions. Crispy, smokey, cheesy BBQ nachos. I mean, how could this get any better?

Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce

I think appetizers are one of the most fun things to cook. Taking inspirations and putting them into bite-sized treats allows the imagination to run wild!

I also love football Sunday. I am a tried and true New York Giants fan (sorry to my New England followers...) and it is always a big day when the game is aired up here in Boston.

Since I am finally done with my fall exam, I decided that this football Sunday needed to be special and fun (let's just not discuss the final score of the game...)

Instead of making a full meal, I cooked up two different apps to enjoy all throughout gametime. First, I made a batch of Buffalo Chicken Dip from Skinnytaste. This stuff is SERIOUSLY good and more guilt-free than a traditional buffalo chicken dip. It's also incredibly simple to put together.

I baked 3 chicken breasts when I woke up that morning and let them cool completely. Then I used two forks and shredded the chicken into dip-friendly strips.

 I replaced the white wine vinegar with apple cider vinegar because that's what I had on hand. I don't think there would be any difference, so feel free to use whatever is in your fridge! The end result was creamy, spicy, hearty, amazing dip. This will definitely be an appetizer staple in my house.

I decided that just eating buffalo chicken dip was probably not entirely acceptable for two people. So to counter the spicy richness of the dip, I made a batch of Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki sauce.

These meatballs are SO GOOD. They have all kinds of great Greek flavors in them (one of my FAVORITE cuisines) and we gobbled these up real quick.

And the tzatziki sauce for dipping? An added and totally necessary bonus.