We’re a football family… More like, we’re a Raven’s football family. Last week, we dug our football jerseys out of storage. From here until the end of the season, it’s all about purple and black.

If you keep up with football, then you know that the Raven’s won the Super Bowl last season. The moment our team won the Super Bowl, the entire town of Baltimore went wild. Like, car flipping wild. I’ve never seen so many drunk people out on the streets at once, terrorizing cars, screaming, lighting off fireworks, and just generally going crazy.

I know I’ve mentioned Squirrel’s obsession with football before in my Game Day Nachos post, but the guy has become even more of a football fanatic since the Raven’s won the championship last season. He started counting down the weeks to the first official game of the season at the beginning of August. Last week, he started counting down the days. Now, he’s counting down the hours. If I hear him tell me one more time how many more hours until the first game…

For me, football is all about the food. Yeah, I’ll wear my jersey and play the part of the cool wife who cheers for her hubby’s team, but, really, I’m just there to eat. When game day comes around, I load the tables with appetizers, and I literally park myself on the couch in front of the table and chow down.

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Every game day menu needs dip. It’s easy to make, easy to eat, and everybody loves it. Grilled jalapeno popper dip is the perfect way to please a hungry crowd on game day.

This dip starts with grilled jalapeño poppers. How do you make a pepper better? You grill it.

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Every week like clockwork, my husband comes to me and asks what I’ll be making him for the game. Game day food is expected. There’s no watching football without noshing on something. So, every week I come up with a new recipe that’s perfect to eat while watching men tackle one another and roll around in the mud.

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If you like spicy food, then you’re going to love this dip. It’s spicy, but not too spicy. Oh, and it’s loaded with cheddar for all of you cheese lovers out there. The Ritz cracker topping is buttery and delicious. First you get the crunch from the cracker topping, then you get the creamy, cheesy popper mixture. It’s dip perfection.

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What’s game day without cheese, anyway?

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Dip. Crunch. Repeat.

Grilled Jalapeño Popper Dip

A creamy mixture of grilled jalapeños, cheddar cheese, and salsa verde.

Ingredients:

Dip:

5 jalapeño peppers

1 teaspoon canola oil

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonaise

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup salsa verde

3 strips bacon, cooked and chopped

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

few dashes Tabasco

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided

Topping:

1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat an indoor grill pan over medium-high heat or an outdoor grill. Drizzle the jalapeños with canola oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Char the jalapeños on each side. Remove from the grill pan or grill and place the hot jalapeños in a plastic bag. Seal the bag and allow the jalapeños to rest for 3 minutes. Remove the jalapeños from the bag and peel off the outer layer of charred skin. Remove the seeds and roughly chop the jalapeños. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, add cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, and milk. Beat together with a handheld mixer until smooth.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the salsa verde, chopped jalapeños, bacon, cumin, corriander, salt, worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, green onion, and 1/2 cup cheddar. Transfer the mixture to a small casserole dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese.

In a small bowl, stir together Ritz cracker crumbs and melted butter. Evenly spoon the cracker crumbs over the dip.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for for 15 minutes. Turn on your broiler and broil long enough for the cracker topping to brown, about 30-60 seconds.

Serve with tortilla chips, pita, or toasted baguette.

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