Football Sunday

I’ve discussed our Sunday routine quite often on the old blog.  It always begins with church and Starbucks.  We’re big sports fans in these parts and now that football season has begun, our afternoons consist of… you guessed it, FOOTBALL.  As soon as we get home from Starbucks, we change into our football gear and decide what games to watch.

Unfortunatly, our team stinks this year (I’m looking at you, Bears!!), but A and I both participate in Fantasy Football so we have fun rooting on our fantasy players.  At 1 win and 2 losses, my team is staged for a comeback. ;)

As you may expect, with 2 little boys, it’s impossible to watch a game in its entirety.  But that doesn’t mean we don’t have football on from noon until bedtime and we try to catch at least a few minutes of the games throughout the day…  And we usually turn the Bears game off by half time and find another game to watch because they’re usually losing big… ahem. 

We’ve gotten into a nice little Sunday routine of snacks in lieu of lunch  followed by a big dinner.  Our snack always includes some type of dip and dinner is always some type of comfort food.  During our most recent football Sunday, I made queso dip and we had chicken tacos for dinner.  Yum.  Another favorite of ours is buffalo chicken dip and buffalo chicken enchiladas for dinner.  I thought I’d share both dip recipes today in case your Sunday is in need of a little flavor. :)

Crock Pot Queso Dip

Makes: 6-8 servings

1 teaspoon olive oil or vegetable oil

1/2 small onion, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 medium jalapeño pepper, de-stemmed and de-seeded, then minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large tomato, cored and finely diced

3 cups (12 ounces; 3/4 pound) shredded cheese, such as Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, Mexican Chihuahua, or a shredded Mexican blend

1 8-ounce block cream cheese, cut into approximate 2-inch cubes

1/2 cup milk + additional milk as needed

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for serving (optional)

Brown the vegetables in a medium skillet or sauté pan on the stovetop over medium heat, then scrape them into the slow cooker.

Add the shredded cheese, cream cheese and milk to the slow cooker and stir to combine all the ingredients.

Close the slow cooker and cook on low for 1 1/2 hours.

Stir well, and add more milk 2 tablespoons at a time if needed. 

Top with chopped cilantro, if desired, and serve. The queso can be kept warm in the slow cooker using the warm function for at least 3 hours — stir periodically if the dip starts to thicken.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 packages cream cheese
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 cup monterey jack cheese
3 cups shredded chicken
1/2-1 cup Franks sauce

Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Easy peasy.

Now to figure what to make this Sunday….

Thank you Man Crates for inspiring this post.  I had a look at their website and love the idea of themed crates.  They have all kinds of great gifts for men that have to be opened with a crowbar!  This Legends of Baseball crate may be in A’s future (Cubs themed of course) and this Oktoberfest Stein crate also looks tasty.