Gourmet Game Day Dipping Station

This post has been sponsored by The Kraft Heinz Company. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll agree that it makes life easier to let guests serve themselves so you can enjoy the festivities too. That’s why this Game Day Dipping Station is absolutely genius! This spread was a huge hit, and I cannot wait to show you all of the details. Get the recipes for two delicious dips, and also get ideas on how to style your next game day gathering. 

This Gourmet Game Day Dipping Station is sure to be a huge hit!

RECIPES (Serves parties of 6-8)

Featured Products + Ingredients

HEINZ Ketchup

KRAFT Mayo

KRAFT Ranch Dressing

KRAFT Mustard

Chicken Strips

Chicken Nuggets – 2 bags

1/3 – ½ C. chopped cilantro

1/3 – ½ C. fresh jalapenos, finely chopped

1/3 – ½ fresh dill, chopped

1 bag of curly fries – any brand you like

Juices

Glass Carafe to hold juice(s)

2 decorative bowls to hold dips

Floral arrangement – 2 packages of pine branches or source your own + 1 jar with water in it.

Small cake stands – optional

12 crispy rice treats

12 paper straws

1 cup white chocolate or almond bark – melted until smooth

Check out Kraft products at Dollar General, and get great savings on everything from Kraft in store as well!

Dip 1

1/3 C. cilantro + 1/3 C. finely chopped fresh jalapeno + 1 16oz. bottle of KRAFT Ranch

Dip 2

1 – 1 ½ C. KRAFT Mayo + ½ C. KRAFT Mustard + 1/3 – 1.2 C. fresh chopped dill

Instructions:

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread out Chicken Nuggets onto one, Chicken Strips on another, and fries on the last sheet. Set aside.

2.) Make both dips. In one medium mixing bowl, add 1 bottle of KRAFT Ranch, plus the cilantro and jalapeno. Stir until everything is combined. For the second dip, add mayo, mustard, and dill, and stir until combined. Transfer dips to two decorative serving bowls and provide serving spoons for guests. They're perfect when paired with the Chicken Strips and Chicken Nuggets!

3.) Bake food as instructed on packaging, and begin to prepare your delicious Game Day Dipping Station. I used a piece of light grey colored stretchy velvet as the table cloth, then I added one striped green and white kitchen towel to the center of the table. Place a small cake stand and floral arrangement in center of table and build out from there as symmetrically as possible.

I placed two decorate serving bowls with dips in the center, then Chicken Strips behind that, and lastly, the Chicken Nuggets and curly fries on the outsides.

4.) To make the treat pops, stick paper straws into crispy rice treats. Melt white chocolate and use a spoon to apply it to the treats, one at a time. Place them onto a prepared sheet pan, and also add sprinkles if you would like in team colors or others! These added a lot to the display and made a great dessert.

Dollar General is great - I found ALL the necessities there!

And below, you can see my two helpers. They love taking rides to the store with me! They are the best, and they'll definitely be enjoying game day with us. Have an amazing game day! 

Football Party Ideas + Updated Pigs In A Blanket Recipe

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Dr Pepper® and Eckrich®. All opinions are mine alone. #MyMeijerWin

Time to reinvent a classic, well-loved recipe that tastes better than ever! College football season it the perfect time to try out a few new recipes for guests, friends, and family alike! This grown up, more sophisticated version of Pigs In A Blanket will delight guests! Serve with ice cold Dr Pepper® for a pairing with Eckrich® Smoked Sausage, sure to be out of this world delicious! A true crowd-pleaser during your college football celebration - who will YOU be rooting for? 

Check out this mperks offer to save $1 on any TWO (2) Dr Pepper® 6pk 7.5oz cans or 8pk 12 oz bottles at Meijer (while supplies last).

I used one of my favorite ingredients, Eckrich® Smoked Sausage, to make this delicious creation, which would be AMAZING for your next game day or holiday celebration. People rave about these and always ask when I’ll be making more. Read on to learn more about my latest college football celebration, and get the details on how to make your next celebration a success. Our college's colors are maroon and white, so actually Dr Pepper is a fun choice to celebrate locally. PLUS, every single one of my friends is slightly obsessed with Dr Pepper, so offering this refreshment at any of my parties tends to go over well. The smoked sausage worked super well for this project too. 

I thought it was super clever to cut up the smoked sausages for this recipe, compared to using traditional small cocktail weenies. This made for a much better bite! ​

Whenever I begin to plan a design for a college football party, I immediately think of which vintage elements I want to incorporate. For some reason, I associate football with the nostalgia of times (and games) past, PLUS I believe that a vintage style theme and set of decorations will appeal to all age ranges, which I love. If someone who can have a sort of connection to my decor, whether they are actually attending my parties OR viewing the recaps on my blog, it means a lot to me.​

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GAME DAY PARTY DETAILS: 

To choose your colors, decide what color metallic you like best. I chose gold here, but silver or copper would be your other common choices. The gold accents really catch the light so well, and can make any party décor look more classy. These metallic gold, plastic utensils almost look real, and the gold shimmering tinsel (found in the gift wrap section at a craft store) really made things shimmer. I thought that the gold tinsel reminded me of pom poms!

Next, I used lots of rustic wooden surfaces, and one small vintage crate to get some of the items on the table up at eye level. I love setting up the food and drink table(s) with items being served at different heights. This adds SO much visual interest to the party offerings! This is such a better alternative than simply laying all the food on an uninviting table.Taking a few extra moments to consider the design of your food and refreshment table seems to at least make party setup more exciting on my side as well.

Let people serve themselves by offering Dr Pepper and other drinks in nice containers or a cooler, so you do not have to serve each guest individually. This gives you way more time to enjoy your company rather than stressing out by hosting so much. 

I incorporated football themed cups, plates, and napkins wherever I could! I loved this rather vintage look for the party, with rustic woods, plaid patterns, and even a vintage looking font for the Tailgates and Traditions can carrier, above. In addition to being a cute way to display Dr Pepper at your college football parties, this carrier (or some other fun 6 pack holder) would be perfect to tote your soft drinks to the game or to tailgate.

As soon as I begin to see football related party items in stores. I tend to pick them up. We celebrate all football season long, and so having a lot of different party items on hand makes life a little bit more fun, in my opinion! 

Do you tend to go all out when decorating for football parties / game days, or do you tend to scale things back a bit and just stick to the essentials? Either way, offering guests Dr Pepper and these updated Pigs In A Blanket will make your next get together a win!

I offered guests three different flavors of mustard to compliment the Pigs In A Blanket - I used a traditional yellow one, a creamy dijon, and a stone ground. But, whatever you have will likely work! Just serve the mustards in small glass bowls or anything that spruces up the presentation, and you're set. I definitely consider that a #MyMeijerWin

If I am having a party, I tend to offer lots of dips, making each meal a little bit more unique and delicious. Above, you will see three different mustards that I shared. Simply use whatever you already have in your home, or head to Meijer and take a few minutes to see just how many varieties of mustard there are. I chose a yellow, a stone ground, then a creamy stone ground variety. Whatever mustard(s) you choose, they will pair super well with these Pigs In A Blanket! YUM!!! This celebration and these recipes turned out SO well, and I cannot wait for you to try something this delicious. Enjoy!! 

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