When game day arrives and your crowd is ready to crank up the heat, turning to appetizers and dishes that feed the whole group can help save the season. You can defend against overly complicated recipes with long cook times by instead opting for finger foods and handheld snacks that allow for more pregame prep and less cleanup after the final whistle. 

 For example, setting up a chili bar allows for convenient eating throughout the game as it’s easy to keep warm for hours. To give your guests a variety of flavors to choose from, these recipes for bacon-wrapped potatoes and ribs glazed with a sweet-hot sauce involve short ingredients lists and simple preparation to keep you out of the kitchen and into the game. 

 To find more recipe inspiration for game day, visit Culinary.net.

A Perfect Pregame Warmup

 As one of the ultimate comfort foods, chili is an ideal watch-party snack: easy to prepare, stays warm in a slow cooker and can be personalized by guests with a wide variety of toppings. Consider adorning your bowl with a combination of these add-ons:

• Shredded cheese

• Sour cream

• Ketchup

• Hot sauce

• Jalapenos

• Green onions

• Chives

• Olives

• Diced avocado

• Diced tomato

• Bacon bits

• Corn chips

• Crackers

Score Big with Little Potatoes 

 Part of the fun of the Big Game is the food, and you can score big points by serving up crowd-pleasing sides and snacks. For a familiar spin on a football-watching favorite, try these Pigskin Potatoes: a classic combination of little potatoes and melted cheese wrapped with bacon. 

There’s no fumbling around with this game day snack made with Creamer potatoes from The Little Potato Company. With no washing or peeling required, little potatoes cook in next to no time whether they are boiled, roasted or smashed. You can be the MVP of your kitchen without missing a second of the action.

 Visit littlepotatoes.com/gameday for more game day recipe inspiration and to find a store near you. 

Pigskin Potatoes

Prep time: 20 minutes 

Cook time: 44 minutes

Servings: 8

            1          bag (1 1/2 pounds) Dynamic Duo or Terrific Trio Little Potatoes

            6          ounces plain cream cheese at room temperature

            1/3       cup finely shredded orange cheddar cheese

            3          tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

            1/8       teaspoon salt

            1/8       teaspoon pepper          

1          jalapeno, finely diced (optional)

            1          pound thinly sliced bacon, rashers cut in half

Heat oven to 400 F.

Boil potatoes until fork tender, approximately 15-20 minutes. Cut in half and allow to cool.

In bowl, use spatula to combine cream cheese, cheddar, chives, salt, pepper and jalapeno, if desired. 

 Once chilled, spread cream cheese on half of cut potatoes and sandwich each with other halves. Wrap each potato using half rasher of bacon around cut middle to ensure cheese doesn’t escape. 

 Bake on middle rack 10 minutes. Flip and bake 10 minutes. 

 Turn oven to broil. Broil 2 minutes, turn once and broil 2 minutes until bacon reaches desired crispiness.

 Tip: Boil potatoes 2 days ahead. Fill and wrap potatoes 1 day ahead then bake and serve on game day.

A Sweet-Heat Snack

Finger foods and watch parties go hand-in-hand, which is why these baby back ribs are ideal for grabbing a couple (or more) and heading to your favorite spot on the couch. Glazed with a mixture of honey, chipotle peppers and mangoes for some sweet heat, they’re cooked low and slow for fall-off-the-bone flavor. 

 Just wrap the ribs and sauce in aluminum foil, place over low indirect heat and let your grill do the work. To help simplify game day, try cooking a day in advance and warm in the oven a couple hours prior to kickoff. 

 Find more game day recipes at honey.com.

Baby Back Ribs with Honey, Chipotle and Mango Glaze

Recipe courtesy of the National Honey Board

Servings: 8

            2          racks baby back ribs

            1          tablespoon salt

            1          teaspoon pepper

            1          can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

            4          ripe mangoes, cubed

1               cup honey

Remove ribs from package; rinse and pat dry. Remove membrane. Place in shallow pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside. 

 In small saucepan over medium heat, cook chipotle peppers, mangoes and honey, stirring constantly, until cooked down and thick enough to coat back of spoon. 

 Heat grill to 225-240 F. 

 Wrap ribs and 2/3 of sauce mixture tightly in aluminum foil and place over indirect heat. Close lid. After 2 hours, flip ribs and cook 2 hours. Open aluminum and remove ribs, place directly on grill and brush with remaining sauce. Cook 30 minutes. Remove from grill and serve hot.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images (main image and Baby Back Ribs with Honey, Chipotle and Mango Glaze)