Tailgating Food & Bills Home Opener

So excited that Fall is right around the corner. I love the cooler (not cold) weather and the excitement of all the upcoming holidays and time with family and friends. Fall also means Buffalo Bills football season is upon us. Although I am not a super fan like my husband, I do enjoy going to the games (unless it is raining) and being part of the action.

Sausage Muffin and Pretzel Dogs

The home opener was this past weekend and although we lost to the Pats, I had a great time with Christopher and my father in law. And of course with football comes tailgating and with tailgating comes delicious food. For this Sunday's game I made pretzel wrapped mini hot dogs, sausage breakfast muffins and chocolate chip cookies (Christopher's request). They all turned out delicious (especially the cookies) and we even brought some into the stadium to nibble during halftime. I did not realize this until last year, but fans can bring food into the stadium. This year, we put the muffins, pretzels and cookies into clear ziplock bags for easy inspection by security. I am definitely going to pack myself food going forward.

Sausage Breakfast Muffins
Makes about 36 mini muffins or 24 large muffins (not filled to the top)
Note: made 24 mini muffins and then used the rest of the batter to make 12 large muffins. I prefered how the large muffins crisped up more than the mini muffins. I think this is the type of muffin tins I have. I use my grandmother's mini muffin pans which do not allow the muffins to crisp. I have a Calphalon muffin pan, that crisps the edges, which is what I prefer.

1 lb ground pork sausage (mild or hot)
1 tsp onion powder
3 cups Bisquick
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375. Brown the sausage and onion in a large skillet until it is cooked through and can be crumbled. Crumble into smaller pieces. Drain any excess fat and cool. Once cool enough to touch, combine the sausage, Bisquick and shredded cheese in a large bowl. Once combined, stir in the soup and milk. Once all of the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened, scoop into greased muffin tin(s), filing each cup not quite to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes (longer if using regular sized muffin tins). The top and sides should look golden brown.

Sausage Muffin on left, Pretzel dogs to the right

Mini Pretzel Dogs
Makes 30 mini dogs (about 1 whole package of sausages)

4 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (important - should be very warm)
1 package of instant yeast
4 cups flour
about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
2/3 cups baking soda (for boiling pretzels)
1 egg yolk (for egg wash)
Sea Salt for topping pretzels
1 package mini dogs/sausages

Using a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugar, salt and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Add the flour and mix with the dough hook attachment on low speed. Once the dough starts coming together, increase the speed to medium and beat the dough for about 4 minutes (I LOVE my kitchen-aid mixer - best thing EVER). Once the dough ball has formed and kneaded, pour about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil over the dough and turn the dough ball so that all sides of the dough are coated in the oil. Cover the bowl with either a towel or plastic wrap and let rise on the counter for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray. Once the dough is ready pull apart a piece of dough about the size of 1/2 a golf ball. Roll the dough in your hands or on an oiled surface to form a rope about 6 inches long. Wrap the dough rope around one mini dog, making sure the ends of the rope are "stuck" and will not unravel. Continue rolling the dough pieces and wrapping the hot dogs until either all of the hot dogs are used or the dough is used. (Note: If you have leftover dough, which we did, we used the dough to make homemade pizza). Next, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the 2/3 cup of baking soda to the water (watch - it will fizz up). Carefully drop the wrapped hot dogs into the boiling water one at a time for about 30 seconds, turning the hot dogs once. Using a slotted spoon, remove the boiled hot dogs and return them to the baking sheet. Repeat until all hot dogs have been boiled. Brush the top of each hot dog with the egg wash and then sprinkle with the sea salt. Bake in the preheated oven until they are golden brown (longer if you want them darker) - about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.


Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe taken from Plain Chicken)
Makes about 5 dozen mini cookies (I like them bite sized so I feel less guilty)

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 3/4 cups Bisquick mix
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar, vanilla and egg. Slowly mix in the Bisquick mix. Once the Bisquick is mixed, stir in the chocolate chips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8 minutes or until golden brown. I usually do a "bottom" check of a cookie. Cool for about 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to cool on a wire rack.