One thing I know about football season – it isn’t good for the waistline. Beers and brauts in the parking lots before the home page are always fun and delicious, but if you didn’t wonder why we wear all those weird wild pajama pants to tailgate in – well now you do (no one fits in their jeans after a good tailgate!).
Being a bit older and more refined (grown and sexy shall we say?), I try to limit the amount of carnage I do to myself these days – if I do, I leave it to visiting the stadiums. Homegating allows you to take charge of the ingredients more but still keep it fun, fresh and delicious.
Every season I try out new recipes and switch it up a little. While I love to keep to my Yinzer Favorites, it’s always fun to swap in some new versions. For this week’s game against Kansas City (where I have ventured to see the Steelers play myself), we decided to conquer with Fresh Cravings salsa – a slaughtering if you will of what I predict will happen tomorrow. Fresh Cravings are fresh made salsas in the refrigerated section (step away from the chips and processed foods aisle people, you know better). Sure you can make your own at home, but here in NYC our fall/winter tomato selection can be garbage, so having fresh options like Fresh Cravings at the store can be better in my opinion. In preparation, here are three salsa versions of the items you would expect to see at your favorite tailgates.
1. Salsa Joes
Sloppy Joes are an Pittsburgh rite of passage. They are cheap, so good and easy to make (hello, you open a can), and well, very sloppy. So to clean up its act a little, I left them to still be sloppy on a plate but more profound in the pot.
Ingredients:
1lb. ground beef (or turkey)
1 container of Fresh Cravings Salsa (chunky, mild)
Sprinkle of taco seasoning
Directions:
I bet you never thought to fry up some salsa. It makes the perfect substitute – especially when it’s freshly made. You can go carbless and just spoon it right into your mouth.
Optional: If you still want to Yinzer it up, throw it in between two slices of white bread and add some American cheese.
2. Buffalo Chicken (Salsa) Dip
We Yinzers LOVE buffalo chicken dip. I haven’t attended a good tailgate or homegating party without it. However, all that ranch, and cream cheese – well – let’s just say you’ll be feeling it tomorrow. So instead, I made a crockpot version that is AMAZING tasting, super easy (and pretty fast!) to make and a hit with the entire crowd.
Ingredients:
3-6 chicken breasts, frozen
1 container Fresh Cravings Salsa (I use one container for every three breasts)
Toss all ingredients above into your gram’s crock pot and let it simmer on low until kickoff. Even easier than ordering Pizza Joes.
Optional: Scoop some out to add in your favorites: Frank’s Red Hot and Hidden Valley Ranch for a creamier, spicer version of the original that is EVEN BETTER.
3. Salsa Pie
I bet you never realized how easy homemade pizza is – and HOW MUCH BETTER. We literally haven’t ordered in a pizza in almost a year since a friend taught us this amazing and simple idea.
Ingredients:
1 fresh dough from your local pizzeria or Italian deli (uncooked)
1 container of Fresh Cravings Salsa (chunky, mild)
Freshmade mozzarella
Basil to garnish
Heat up your oven to 400 degrees and stretch out the dough like you think you know what you’re doing (trust me, you can’t mess it up – worse case is you have REALLY big and delicious chewy crust). Spread your salsa over it like tomato sauce, let the kids have fun throwing the cheese on. We like to sprinkle with parmesan, too (but your kitchen might hate me after that).
Optional: Get crafty with toppings! For my side of the pie, I actually put some of the salsa joe recipe above on it (especially if you’re Yinzer enough to be using venison!).
Where to find Fresh Cravings? You can find all locations here, but we love to grab ours at Acme.
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Fresh Cravings Salsa, but all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting FootballFoodandMotherhood.com.