Game Day Eats: Create a Baked Potato Bar

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Happy Monday friends! How are you? How was your weekend? Shaun and I spent the weekend in Lewes, Delaware with my sister Kimberly and her boyfriend Nick. We spent time beaching, riding bikes, eating and enjoying the sunset from a rooftop.

It was glorious.

So today I want to talk a little bit about football.

When Shaun and I first got married, I not only made it my mission to become a domestic goddess (still working on that one), but to also try and share his love of football. I knew that Sundays in the fall and winter would be dominated by football, so why fight it? I figured it would be more fun to try and share this interest with him, rather than either sit on the couch filled with boredness or make other plans for about 18 Sundays in a row. I chose to get on the bandwagon.

 

I think it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. Not only do we now share a love of football, but we relish lazy Sundays on the couch, eating food, drinking beer and talking. We both dress up in our respective team jerseys and settle in for the day. In case you weren't around last season to read about it, Shaun is a Jets fan while I love the Giants (but we both root for both teams as long as they aren't playing each other ;)).

For the opening game on Thursday night, I wanted to do something easy, filling, and not entirely unhealthy. After loving the mashed potato bar at my brother-in-law's wedding, I realized that I had most of the ingredients on hand to create a mini baked potato bar for the two of us. Easy? Check. Filling? Check. Semi-healthy? check checkity check check.

What's that? You want to make a baked potato bar too? Well let me tell you how I set it all up. It's very difficult and time consuming.

There's really no wrong way to do this. Start with a basic baked potato and add whatever toppings you'd like! We went standard with Greek yogurt, turkey bacon and chives, but I also went a little out of the box and concocted a buffalo baked potato...a potato topped with blue cheese crumbles and a few dashes of hot sauce. Now that's my kind of potato! And truly perfect for game day, no?

What You'll Need:
potatoes, baked (amount & variety of your choice)
sour cream or Greek yogurt
cheese (I had mozzarella and blue cheese crumbles on hand)
turkey bacon, cooked through and crumbled
fresh chives, minced
hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot)
butter
kosher salt
any other toppings ya like!

Shaun and I simply layered on whatever toppings we wanted and enjoyed them on the couch while watching the Saints-Packers game. It was so fun to kick off the season with homemade eats that were a bit out of the ordinary and a bit more fun to boot.

I really love this because there are a million other ideas for this too! Shaun already has ideas for Mexican-themed baked potatoes by adding some green chiles, beans, sharp cheddar cheese and a drizzle of enchilada sauce! Or how about a scoop of turkey chili and a sprinkling of cheese? We're also brainstorming other cuisine themes and I can't wait to try them out! Such a filling and easy dish for game day or an any day dinner too.

So that's how we kicked off the season. I can't wait to share other great game day ideas with you as the season goes along. If you're looking for more ideas, check out some of my favorites:

Pizza Dip

Spinach Pinwheels

Garlic & Goat Cheese Crostini

Toasted Sweet Corn & Avocado Salsa

Banana Cupcakes + Nutella Frosting

Questions of the Day:

Have you ever taken on the interests of your significant other, best friend or family members?

Did you make anything for football - or for any reason at all! - this weekend?

psst...I put together a fall mood board that I'm more than mildly obsessed with over on The Peach & The Pit...I hope you'll check out the drool-fest!