Welp, the Chicago Bears did not continue their path to the Super Bowl this year but that didn’t stop us from still having our staff Super Bowl Snack Off! No matter who plays in the big game on February 8th, it’s all about the food anyways ammiright!? A few years ago, we started a team tradition of having a staff appetizer cookoff to share some ideas for game day recipes. Last year Lexy won with her Goat Cheese Bruschetta Dip. Who will took home the win this year?
What’s at Stake? Sleeping in After Game Day!
First off what’s at stake? Of course, bragging rights are in play (we are very competitive with staff cookoffs). But the winner of our Super Bowl cookoff also gets 2 HOURS OF PAID TIME OFF to be taken the morning after the big game. So, who took home the title and a chance to hit the snooze button on Monday this year? [dramatic pause] Rachele N! Rachele won with her Crock Pot Street Corn recipe. All our entries were delicious, and we want to share each one of them with you here beginning with our winner. You will be very happy to learn that this award-winning dip is just a dump and cook recipe. Super easy and very tasty.
Rachele N’s Crock Pot Street Corn Dip
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 blocks of cream cheese
- 2 blocks of pepper jack cheese
- 4 cans of southwest style corn (drained)
- 4 cups of sour cream
- ½ bag of crumbled Cotija cheese
- Dusting of Tajin seasoning and elote seasoning
DIRECTIONS:
Put all ingredients in a crockpot for an hour to melt. Stir occasionally and serve with chips.
Angela’s High Protein Queso Dip
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ lb. lean ground beef
- ½ tsp. each of salt and garlic powder
- ½ cup pepper jack cheese
- ½ cup Mexican shredded cheese blend
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
- 1 Can of Rotel
- ½ cup water
Optional: serve with chips or fresh veggies for dipping (sliced peppers, carrots, celery, etc)
DIRECTIONS:
Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat and season with salt and garlic powder. Drain and set aside. Combine the cottage cheese, pepper jack cheese, Mexican blend cheese, taco seasoning, and water in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour blend into crockpot and add in cooked beef and can of Rotel. Stir to combine and cook on low until warmed and melted stirring occasionally. Change setting to keep warm for serving.
Lexy’s Spicy Loaded Baked Potato Dip
INGREDIENTS:
- 20 oz. sour cream
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 bunch green onions, finely diced
- 1 packet of ranch seasoning
- 12 oz. packet of cooked chopped bacon
- 4 large jalapenos, diced (seeds mostly removed depending on your desired spice level)
- Thick potato chips for dipping (Ruffles with ridges recommended)
DIRECTIONS:
In a mixing bowl combine everything reserving out ¼ each of the shredded cheese, green onions, jalapenos, and bacon for topping the finished dip. Once combined, place your dip into a serving dish and top with the reserved items for a top layer. Served with potato chips (Ruffles are recommended).
Abby’s Charred and Smokey Garlic Hummus
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 Tbsp. sliced almonds (skin on)
- 1 bunch of scallions, trimmed
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil (+ more for drizzling)
- 3 containers (8 o.z) containers of garlic hummus
- 1 tsp. sweet smoked paprika (+ more for topping)
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 jar (8 oz.) of piquillo peppers, drained and diced up
- 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
- Warm pitas or pita chips for serving
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spread out the almonds on a baking sheet. Toast almonds about 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Transfer to a bowl or plate and set aside. Turn your oven up to broil setting. On the baking sheet toss the scallions in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil until the scallions look charred (blackened but not fully burnt). Let them cool and then chop them into small pieces.
Stir together hummus, half the peppers, paprika, and cayenne in a bowl until fully combined. Spread into a serving dish and smooth out the top. Scatter scallions, almonds, the rest of the peppers, and parsley on top. Drizzle with olive oil and a dusting of paprika on top.
Optional: serve with warm pita bread for dipping or pita chips.
Heather’s Spinach Artichoke Dip
INGREDIENTS:
- One 14-oz. can of artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 blocks of cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups of freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 cup of frozen spinach leaves (thawed and liquid squeezed out)
- Warm pitas, crackers, or tortilla chips for serving
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix together sour cream mayo, cream cheese, artichoke hearts, spinach, all but ¼ of the cheese, and garlic and combine everything until smooth. Grease a large oven-safe baking dish. Dump your combined ingredients into dish and smooth out in an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining cheese as a top layer. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until it is bubbly. Serve warm.
Rachel T’s Rally Rye Breads
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups Hellman’s mayo
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 can (2 ¼ oz.) of sliced black olives
- 2 packages (2 oz.) of budding beef, diced
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- Loaf of small rye bread (appetizer/cocktail sized slices)
DIRECTIONS:
Arrange rye toast slices out onto a baking sheet. Combine all other ingredients together and spread about a tablespoon of mix onto each slice. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until bread is toasted and cheese mixture is melted smooth.
Austin’s Buffalo Chicken Dip
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
- 1 cup Franks sauce
- 1 ½ cup ranch dressing
- 2 blocks of cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Combine everything into a crockpot and heat on low until melted, stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips.
Monica’s Chipotle Chicken Roll Ups
INGREDIENTS:
- 6 flour tortillas
- Chipotle-style ranch dressing
- BBQ sauce
- Red onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- ½ lb. cooked and shredded chicken or 2 cans of shredded chicken
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your air fryer to 370 degrees. Layout tortillas and put a tablespoon of chipotle ranch dressing and spread it out across the whole tortilla. Sprinkle chicken, bacon, cheese, and onion in a thin layer. Drizzle with BBQ sauce. Roll up the tortilla tightly. Cut into 1 ½” slices and arrange them in the air fryer cut sides up. Cook for 5 minutes and enjoy.
Elizabeth’s Chicago Style Hot Dog Focaccia
INGREDIENTS:
- ¼ -oz envelope of active dry yeast (about 2 ¼ tsp.)
- 2 tsp. honey
- 5 Cups flour
- 1 Tbsp. salt
- Approx.. 6-7 Tbsp. of a good olive oil (you will use some to oil hands, bowl, and also drizzle the dough and pan)
- Approx.. 1 Cup giardiniera
- 3-4 all-beef hot dogs, cut into coins
- 1 tsp. celery seeds
- 1 tsp. poppy seeds
- Flake salt for finishing
DIRECTIONS:
(Planning note: Make dough the day before you plan to serve it so that it can rise overnight in the fridge.)
PREP DOUGH: Whisk a packet of active dry yeast and honey in 2 ½ Cups of warm water. Whisk to combine and let it sit for 5 minutes. It should look a bit foamy or creamy, if not your yeast may be dead. In a medium bowl or your stand mixer bowl add in your flour, salt, and this yeast liquid. Mix with a rubber spatula or dough hook attachment until you get a rough and lumpy dough that has combined everything without overworking it. Find a large bowl that will fit inside your refrigerator shelf setup. This dough will be rising a lot so make sure you give it the space it needs to work its magic. Coat the bowl with about 4 Tbsp. of olive oil. Oil your hands and transfer your dough to the bowl and coat it on all sides with the oil. Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and chill it until it has doubled in size. This can be done overnight. If you are pressed for time, you can let it rise at room temp for 4-5 hours.
DEFLATE + SHAPE: Once your dough has doubled up, butter a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle another Tbsp. of olive oil onto the center of the pan. Now let’s deflate the dough in the bowl and get it ready to move over to your pan. Put a fork in each hand and gather up the edges of the dough and pull them into the center of the dough. Spin the bowl and do this again a few times until you have deflated the dough into a rough ball. Move the dough over to the center of your pan and drizzle all the extra oil from the bowl over the dough and stretch it out slightly into a flatter version of the dough ball (it is going to rise again). Place this pan with your dough uncovered inside of your oven for it to rise again 1-3 hours. If you have a bread proof setting on your oven, use it. You can also move an oven rack up near the oven light bulb and turn the oven light on to work to bread proof.
FINAL PREP: Check the dough after a few hours and see if it springs back at you when you poke it. It should leave a visible indent but also spring back slowly. Oil your hands and stretch out the dough to better fit the pan you are using. You want consistent thickness to the dough, like a thick pizza crust. Now for the BEST PART! Wash your hands thoroughly and then oil them again. Dimple the dough all over with your fingers stamping and tamping down over and over like you are a toddler who just discovered a piano makes noise for the first time.
TOP: Cut hot dogs into coin sized slices and evenly place them all over dough. Add spoonfuls of giardiniera veggies and place all around dough. Drizzle some of the oil from the jar of giardiniera all over the focaccia along with more olive oil to make sure focaccia is coated and all finger-poked wells in the dough have some oil or ingredients in them. Sprinkle all over the focaccia with flake salt, poppy seeds, and celery seeds.
BAKE: Bake on the middle rack of your oven at 450 degrees 20-30 minutes or until focaccia is puffed up and golden brown in color. Top with more flake salt and cut into squares for serving.
Teresa’s Cheesy Game Day Dip
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 block of Velveeta cheese
- 1 block of Velveeta blanco queso (small size)
- 2 lbs. lean ground beef
- 1 small can of green chillis
- 2 jalapeno peppers, sauted
- 1 block of cream cheese
- 1 Tablespoon of sour cream
DIRECTIONS:
Brown and drain your ground beef. Load all items into crockpot and heat on low until melted, stirring occasionally.
Natasha’s Nacho Bar Queso
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb. lean beef
- 1 lb, sausage
- 2 cans of rotel
- 1 block Velveeta
- 1 block queso
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Optional: black beans, sliced jalapenos, sliced olives, chopped onions, corn, guacamole, sour cream, diced tomatoes for topping.
DIRECTIONS:
Brown your meat and drain. Put all ingredients in a crockpot to melt stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips and setup nacho bar with toppings all in bowls with utensils.
Hungry for More Recipes?
This wasn’t our first game day appetizer cookoff at Village. You can find past recipes from our 2025 cookoff here and browse the 2024 recipes here. If you are interested in finding even more staff-approved recipes, head here to our Pinterest page. We collect all past cookoff recipes there including our fall soup cookoffs. No matter who you are cheering for, we wish every household that