Gameday Recipes

Written by Tori Ward, Marketing/PR Assistant 

The 2016 Louisiana Tech Football season is right around the corner, which means it won't be long before fans are flocking to Ruston to set up their tailgates and cheer on the Bulldogs. Everyone knows that great friends, food, and drinks are key to a successful tailgate. While we can't provide the friends, we can give you some easy and delicious game day recipes to make sure your tailgate goes off without a hitch. 

We have a recipe for Cream Cheese Sausage Balls, which are great for an early day game, as well as a recipe for Mini Muffulettas, which are a perfect afternoon snack. For those hot Louisiana game days, we have a recipe for a refreshing Blueberry Lemonade (which also brings some school spirit to the table). Find these tasty tailgating recipes below!

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

Photo via flavorite.net/

Ingredients:
1 lb. spicy sausage, uncooked
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups Bisquick
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400F. 

Mix all ingredients until well combined. Roll into 1-inch balls. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until brown.

Mini Muffulettas

Photo via sheknows.com

Ingredients:
8 small buns
15 oz olive salad
8 thin slices deli ham
8 thin slices hard salami
8 thin slices provolone cheese

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 350F.
Lay out the bottoms and tops of the buns. Spread an equal amount of olive salad onto each half. Add ham, salami and provolone cheese to the bottom half of each bun. Wrap each sandwich in foil. Add the sandwiches to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until warmed and the cheese has melted. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings. 

Blueberry Lemonade

Photo via: sprinklesomesugar

Ingredients:

Blueberry Syrup 

3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Lemonade

10 large lemons (2 cups of juice) 

6 cups water

Simple Syrup

1 cup granulated sugar 

1 cup water 

Instructions:

1. In a medium-size saucepan on medium-low heat, stir blueberries and sugar together and allow the berries to cook down and start releasing their juices, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently. 
2. Once blueberries have released a good bit of juice, mash them down and cook for another 5 minutes. Mash one last time and then strain blueberry syrup into a large measuring cup and set aside to cool down completely. This syrup can be made in advance and refrigerated if needed. 
3. Squeeze all of your lemons into a large measuring cup or bowl. You should wind up with about 2 cups of lemon juice. Straining your lemon juice if desired. Pour lemon juice and water into a large pitcher along with blueberry syrup and stir. 
4. In a small saucepan, whisk sugar and water together until all sugar is dissolved. Gradually add the simple syrup to your blueberry lemonade until it is sweetened to your liking. 1/2-3/4 cup is typical. Serve over ice with additional blueberries for garnish. 

For a grown-up version of this Blueberry Lemonade, add 1 1/2 cups of vodka. 

Happy tailgating and Go Dogs!

Tori is a proud Louisiana native and social media nerd. She has a passion for travel, food, and all things related to tourism promotions. Tori is an avid movie watcher, coffee fanatic, and lover of the outdoors. Still want to know more? Head over to her website.