Tailgating Menu

This weekend marks the beginning of college football season and I am so excited. I can't wait to cheer on my Hawkeyes and go to the Louisville games. My husband is a huge UofL Cardinals fan and since we live in town we have season tickets. I'm a diehard Hawks fan but live too far away to make it to many games and I dont think our schedule is going to allow for any visits this fall. But I'll be supporting via radio/television all season.

So this Saturday's UofL game is at 7:30 pm - perfect tailgating game time. Noon games make things difficult. So our plan is to tailgate all afternoon starting around 2 pm. Here's what I'm bringing to the party:

Crockpot BBQ chicken
(Serves 8)

3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs
1 8 oz bottle of BBQ sauce - I like to pick a hickory smoked sauce
3 T. Honey
2 oz. Bourbon (I use Makers Mark)
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
2 T. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 T. chili powder
S&P

Put the chicken in the crockpot, season with S&P, and add 1 C of water and cook on low for at 4 hours. Shred chicken with 2 forks and add the remaining ingredients, cook on low for at least 1 more hour.

Black Bean Salsa Dip

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans Ro-tel Original
1 can white shoepeg corn, drained
1 red onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 cup Italian dressing (I like the fat-free wishbone)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate. It can be served immediately but its better if it sits in the fridge for a few hours first. Serve with tortilla chips or Frito's corn chips. This is also really good on salads or in tacos.

Guacamole - see recipe here

Dessert - I'm thinking about making these cookie dough truffles from Macaroni and Cheesecake but shaping them like little footballs but I haven't decided for sure yet - it sort of depends on the weather and how much of a pain it would be to keep the chocolate from melting. I might have to save them for a cooler weather game.