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College football season is upon us! In just a few short weeks, we’ll be knee deep in tailgating! Some of my favorite memories of college football seasons past are from the tailgating before and after the games. Nowadays, tailgating looks a little different than it did in college as us and all our friends have kids so our set-up has become much more family friendly! After a trip to Wal-Mart to stock up on some of our tailgating essentials in preparation for the start of college football, I thought I would I share some of our favorite family friendly grill-gating essentials!
A Charcoal Grill & Kingsford® Charcoal
There is nothing better than the way tailgate food tastes after being grilled over charcoal. We only use Kingsford® Charcoal. We tried a few other brands in the past and it was clear that Kingsford® was far superior. It lights up quickly and easily, and stays lit for a constant, even temperature. It’s perfect for cooking for your whole group at a tailgate!
Check out this site with a great video of Emmitt Smith sharing some grilling tips and recipes. He also has a challenge to share your grilling photos and experiences where your photo could end up on the Grill-gating website! Just make sure to use the hashtag #GrillGatingHero when you post!
Buffalo Chicken Dip
I love to make this dip ahead of time and bring it to our tailgate! It is always a crowdpleaser with both adults and children! For tailgates, I usually add a bit more Hidden Valley® Ranch dressing than the recipe calls for and load it up with mozzarella cheese to make it a bit less spicy for the kids. I serve it with RITZ crackers too. The kids will even enjoy these on their own so make sure you grab a family sized box!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of your favorite hot sauce (we love Texas Pete!)
- 1/2 cup of Hidden Valley® Ranch Dressing
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups of shredded chicken
- Shredded mozzarella for sprinkling on top
- RITZ crackers for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Combine all ingredients except mozzarella cheese in medium sized mixing bowl
- Transfer to an an oven-safe casserole dish and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top
- Bake for 20 minutes
- Serve with RITZ crackers and enjoy!
Cooler of Sodas
Our coolers used to be filled with something else years ago but now we never tailgate without a cooler full of sodas! We always grab at least a 12-pack of Dr Pepper® to include because it’s always a favorite! Make sure you bring along your favorite college football team coozies too!
Cornhole and Redneck Golf
One of our favorite things to do when tailgating is the games! Two games we always bring with us are our cornhole boards and our set of ladder golf (we call it redneck golf here in the south haha!). These are favorites with both the adults and kids! Sometimes we even get a little competitive!
As you get ready for college football season yourself, make sure you swing by Wal-Mart and stock up on Kingsford® Charcoal, RITZ and Dr Pepper! They are essential in throwing the perfect fall tailgate gathering, and when you pair them with our other essentials, it’s a recipe for TOUCHDOWN!
What are your favorite grill gating essentials? Anything we should add to our stash before college football season starts??