Creative Treats As Tailgate Season Arrives

    This week is the arrival of college football season, and with it comes many social season recipes to enjoy. We got a headstart at fellowship hour on Sunday, thanks to Jenni Myers. She always creates fun foods, snack-sized bites of goodness to enjoy.
   Platters this week included yummy bites of cucumber, shaped like flowers with cream cheese and bacon spread, topped with a bite of red cherry tomato. Jenni created bumble bees out of olives in stripes, attached to a cream cheese spread base with cucumber wings. The cucumbers were shaved thin and really had the translucent quality of wings.
   Her salad bowl of delicious red potato salad with herbs was topped with a red onion flower shape. It had a radish cut into the shape of a flower with petals and made into a bloom and the plant leaves were fresh basil leaves. It was almost too pretty to eat, almost.
   Her fresh fruit platter featured strawberry ladybugs, with blueberry heads held on with a toothpick that was handy for serving. The dots and wings were drawn on with balsamic vinegar and were served with a side of spinach leaves, to make it into a bite of salad.
   Her main dish was a cheeseburger and french fry casserole that was really tasty, creative, and served many. We have gotten her recipe for that and hope you will whip up a batch of this tasty treat for your game-day tailgate party. It is lighter than just big burgers, it really is more like a shredded salad with grilled chunks of burgers and fries added in, so good and a great way to stretch the budget and eat a little lighter at the same time.
Cheese Burger & Fries Salad Casserole
2 lbs. of lean burger meat
1 onion
1 head lettuce
1 jar hamburger dill chips, drained
1 package buns,
2 tsp. steak seasoning
1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce
Eight slices of American yellow cheese
1 large tomato, sliced
1 bag of crinkle-cut french fries
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
8 tsp. mayonnaise
8 tsp. ketchup
A couple of packs of Chik-fil-A sauce
       Start by cooking the fries in the oven on a cookie sheet as directed. While the fries are baking, make patties of the hamburger. Mix in the steak seasoning and the teriyaki sauce. Pat out and fry in a skillet as you would usually. When done remove from heat and place on a cookie sheet. Top each burger with a slice of American Cheese. Place in oven to melt cheese just a little. Just a couple minutes, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Next prepare the burger buns with mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup. Spread thinly with a knife. Add a little Chick-fil-A sauce to each.
   Using a large aluminum disposable serving pan for the tailgate casserole container, first layer in the cooked fries. Allow them to cool to the touch. Top with chunks of room-temperature cheeseburger. Cut each burger into six pieces or pull apart into bite sized chunks as you please. Next layer the burger buns on top. Shred buns coated with sauces into bite size. Place with toppings side facing up onto the burger and fry layers. Last top all with shredded lettuce, thinly sliced raw onions, and thinly sliced tomatoes. Top with a whole jar of hamburger dill pickle chips, drained of liquid.   Cover with tinfoil until you are ready to serve. When you serve this dish, use a large serving spoon and get a scoop from all four layers. Serve with a fork. It serves many and looks like a chunky salad with burger bun bits as croutons.
   Send us a picture of your game day favorite foods. As you cook, send those recipes to hollynewby1@aol.com with a photo. We love to share fun ideas and easy meals.
   Cooking is one of the acts of fellowship that bring people together. We like to see what’s cooking at your house. Food is a thing to gather around and share. Enjoy. You can also contact us at www.thenorthlakeoutpost.com/contactus.