Ok, I confess — I really like to play with my food. :-)

So when surveying the ingredients I had out to make some apps for a Chiefs game this month, suddenly the thought of just slicing the cheddar and sausage seemed a little too boring. So with the help of a can of chopped green chiles (somehow lost my small round cookie cutter!) and an extra Ziplock to pipe on some ranch dressing, suddenly my plain little apps were “kicked” (ha!) up a notch. ;)

And the best part is that it really only took about 10 minutes. So if you’re looking for a fun and easy appetizer for your next game day, or a project for the kids in the kitchen, these little guys are definitely winners. :) Enjoy!!

Football Bites (with Summer Sausage, Cheddar & Ranch) Recipe

Ingredients:

Food Ingredients:

• favorite crackers (I used TownHouse because of their size/shape)
• summer sausage, sliced thin (about 1/8″ thick)
• block of cheddar cheese, sliced very thin (about 1/8″ thick)
• ranch dressing

Prep Tools:

• 1 small, rinsed-out aluminum can (like from green chiles), or a small round cookie cutter
• 1 ziplock bag, or frosting bag

Method:

On a sturdy cutting board, use the aluminum can (or cookie cutter) to shape the cheddar and summer sausage pieces into individual “football” shapes. (See photo above.) Then assemble the football “bites”, by layering cheddar and summer sausage atop the crackers.

Finally, pour some ranch dressing into a Ziplock bag, and then use scissors to snip a very small triangle from one of the bottom corners. Pipe the dressing onto the cheddar to complete the football bites.

Then serve and enjoy!

Ali’s Tip:

Feel free to also sub in any other favorite crackers you have.