She has her fantasy football pool. You have your own, and if you are lucky, you are booth rooting for the same team. There’s no better reason to invite your family and friends over than during the NFL season. And when you do, they are going to be expecting some pretty awesome food.
Don’t panic… we’ve got your back. All you need to do is stop by Publix or your favorite grocery store to find our Free Graze premium (hormone and antibiotic free) frozen burgers. Host your gourmet burger bar with all the assortments of our delicious flavors and use these tips to have the most epic NFL burger party of the season.
Keep Them from Hovering Over the Grill with Great Appetizers
Do you feel a little territorial over your grill, when you have a crowd over at your house? One of the reasons that people crowd the grill is because they are hungry. You can strategically get your space back by laying out some amazing appetizers to keep them busy, while you are grilling up your burgers.
Queso anyone? Nothing makes people happier than talking around a big basket of warm tortilla chips and a deep bowl of cheesy queso. But you can jazz up that queso to make it even healthier, when you add some ground beef.
Here’s quick secret; you don’t have to prepare ground beef separately. You can grill up a couple Free Graze Spicy Jalapeño burgers, and then break them up or dice them to give your queso a tasty protein boost. Add a little cooked bacon crumble on the top of this amazing recipe for Bacon Cheeseburger Dip from the food bloggers at Wish and Dish, and you’ve got a crowd-pleasing appetizer everyone will love.
Want to serve a football shaped appetizer? This Meatball Stuffed Football Bread is so easy to make! You can either start with your favorite frozen (small) meatballs or make you own from our Free Graze grass-fed ground beef (available in 1 lb. packages). It turns some store-bought pizza dough into a full-size meaty calzone for sharing. Check out the recipe on The Food Network.
Mixing Up your Burger Side Dishes with Healthy Options
Side-dishes can be a combination of family favorites and some healthy nutritious options. A spicy coleslaw is great as a side dish but can also be used as a crunchy and satisfying burger topping. That’s two options with one preparation, and a great hosting hack. We’re big fans of Tyler Florence from The Food Network, and his recipe for Spicy Slaw is worth trying. It uses Creole mustard and hot sauce for some extra zing!
Sweet Phi is a great food blog we enjoy, and the blogger is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She combines mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, red onion, fresh garlic, thyme, basil, parsley and shallots with a homemade glaze of balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce to create her Balsamic Grilled Vegetables. It’s a healthy and really flavorful side dish that you can prepare grill side, if you want to stay out of the kitchen while you’re doing meal prep before the game.
Thinking about potato salad? It goes well with burgers and is a favorite for sure, but what if you upped your potato salad to gourmet levels with a new twist? This Grilled Potato Salad recipe from the food bloggers at Crumb is out of this world. We tried it and we loved it. You grill small fingerlings skin on (for extra fiber and flavor), red peppers and green onions or fresh shallots. After everything is grilled, you create her delicious vinaigrette with Dijon mustard, white vinegar, olive oil, basil and thyme. It’s definitely an upgrade from the traditional mayonnaise-based potato salad that will win you some praise at the grill.
Amazing Homemade Burger Sauces to Spice Things Up
What would a burger bar be without some unusual and tasty sauces to garnish with? Sure, you can buy your favorite burger sauce at the grocery store, or you could go the extra mile by creating some of these fast, economical but really delicious sauces at home.
Cooking Light shares 10 Easy Burger Sauces and the recipes that are worth trying, if you want some lighter, lower carbohydrate and fat alternatives. We also loved this recipe from Julie’s Eats and Treats, with French’s® mustard as the base for a really awesome burger sauce.
In every crowd, there are a few burger fans who love a hot and spicy topping. Make sure to grab a bag (or two) of our Free Graze Spicy Jalapeño and try this burger sauce recipe for a Creamy Chili Hot Sauce Spicy Sriracha Mayo.
Remember, you aren’t just making food you are making memories anytime you invite family or friends over. Serve them a quality meal and make it memorable, with Free Graze premium grass-fed burgers.
