Instagram Message: Happy Ground Hog's Day! And Super Bowl is only a few days away...
I remember my very first experience watching the Super Bowl, I was probably 16 years old. I went to a friend’s house and saw her dining room table filled from end to end with chips, dips, sandwiches, cookies- you get the picture. So I asked my friend who else was coming over and she laughed - it was just the two of us and her mom. That was the beginning of an era for my wonderful Super Bowl celebrations.
I was very fortunate to go to an actual Super Bowl game for the first time in 1993. The game was in LA and I was 24 years old. I went with my boss who happened to be a hot, tall, single, blonde woman. Boy, did we have fun meeting people and watching the game. BTW, Michael Jackson was the half time entertainment. Not bad for a rookie’s first live Super Bowl game.
A few years later, eight of us girls jumped into two cars and drove from Newport Beach, CA to Las Vegas to celebrate the big game. It was 1996 and the match up was between The Cowboys and The Steelers. Dallas won the Super Bowl but didn’t cover the spread. I won more than just money on that game - I met my hub that weekend! The fun of football, friends and food on Super Bowl Sundays continued for many years...
Until the kids came along. My daughter was born in Fort Lauderdale four weeks before Super Bowl XLI- Miami in 2007. The Colts vs. Da Bears. My in-laws flew in for it and we had a blast with the all the festivities that lead up to the big game. In case you’re wondering, I brought a traveling breast pump and sat in the bathroom after watching Stevie Nicks perform the pre-kick off show only feet away from us! The funniest part of the game was that midway thru the first quarter David Caruso and his entourage busted into our suite. We all turned around once to see who just came in and never turned around again. CSI Miami was a popular TV show back then and he was the star of the show. All of his fans were bothering him so he wanted to find a spot where he could just watch the game. Well, he picked the right suite because no one gave him the time of day. Hee, hee! That was the year that Prince was the entertainment for the half time show. Wow, what a show! That marked the last Super Bowl we celebrated without kids. The next year our daughter was a year old.
Watching the Super Bowl became a family affair. We had to change gears. My hub and I try to focus on the game but we’ve come to learn we just have to let whatever happens happen. With kids, you don’t really get to just sit and watch anything, let alone a 4+ hour show. The evening ALWAYS includes my 7 Layer Dip, a friendly football pool (Thanks Jim for always remembering us!) and the kids running around. Also included is our kids constantly asking us what the commercials mean because these days, there seems to be fewer funny ones and more commercials with deep meaning messages.
I love using these items to make our Super Bowl celebrations festive. The vintage small eats plates and the whistles & football spreaders (inside the football dish) were thoughtful pinches from my cousin Jay-Jay. I bought the two green football platters with 3 small ceramic football dishes from Lund's grocery store days after Super Bowl years ago at 75% off. And I'm always picking up football themed napkins, paper cups and paper plates from Dollar Tree. I like to put little description cards that say things like: Potato Chips vs. Pretzels or Salsa vs. Ranch. Making everything a match up.
My dad handed down this recipe when I was super young. Check out the cost per serving to get an idea of how old this recipe is. Even though everyone has a recipe for a 7 Layer Dip, I'm passing along this pinch to you because it is still the best recipe I've tasted so far. I make this dip with two changes - I use a can of refried beans instead of bean dip and I use a lot more cheese than just a cup. I serve it in the plastic football dishes I get from Dollar Tree (see the first picture) with plenty of chips!
This year we were invited to two parties (feeling blessed to be thought of). One party was for adults and the other invitation encouraged us to come as a family. Both parties sounded awesome but we opted for the family-friendly party. That’s how we roll these days.
Pinches,
Barb