Better Late Than Not At ALL

Tip Of The Day:  Hah!  I bet you thought I wouldn’t post today, didn’t you?  But here I am, on a Friday night, posting away for your betterment.  God I need a life…  Moving on.  If you want inexpensive football party food ideas, you have come to the right site, my friends.

Tip For The Weekend:  House-sit!  It’s an excellent way to make extra cash while watching someone else’s cable.

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal:  Last night, the Titans and the Steelers went head-to-head in Pittsburgh, and the Metal-heads barely kept it together to win in over-time by a field goal.  Humph – I expected more from the Super Bowl champs.

Whilst watching the game (and reading gofugyourself.com when the action was slow), I contemplated, well, what I contemplate all the time.  No, not hot men.  No, not shoes.  FOOD.  In particular, the foods you could/should/would eat during a football game.    And me being me, those foods need to be cheap.  Below are my favorite thrifty party noshes:

If you like ranch dip (and who doesn’t?), but you’re trying to watch your weight, try this simple, inexpensive recipe for a big tub of fat-free ranch dip:  Take one container of Target’s Market Pantry Fat-Free Sour Cream ($1.07) and combine it with one packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Dressing Mix ($1.49 at Target).  Presto!  Dip – that goes perfectly with veggies, crackers, chips, your fingers…

When feeding a crowd (you know, 3 or more people), you need filling food that doesn’t cost a fortune.  That’s why God created Papa Murphy’s Pizza, land of inexpensive ‘za you bake at home.  Papa Murphy’s runs endless specials on their pizzas, but even their regular prices are good.  Grab a cheese, a pepperoni and a garbage pizza, all with extra sauce, and you’ve got food for a crowd for less than $30.

For dessert, nothing is cheaper or better loved than Rice Krispie treats.  All you need is puffed rice cereal (grab the store brand, no one can tell the difference), marshmallows (store brand) and butter (store brand).  Heat, stir, spread, cool, and eat.  Repeat as often as necessary.

Kick it old-school with this favorite – mix cocktail sauce with a bit of chili sauce.  Add a tin of baby shrimp, well drained, or a bag of baby frozen shrimp, defrosted.  The tinier the shrimp, the cheaper they are.  Mix well, and then pour over a block of (store brand) cream cheese.  Spread the mixture on crackers or those little breads you find in the deli department.  Tip:  If you get the lower fat cheese, you won’t have to wait for it to warm up to spread it, and you’ll save on calories.

Booze can be expense, as can be DUIs, so you don’t want to over-indulge your guests.  Instead, pick a “signature” drink and serve just that, along with soda and water for the nondrinkers.  The Wench Posse’s drink of choice is the Yo Ho HO – Limeade and rum.  I prefer coconut rum, but regular rum also makes for a nice drink.

Now let’s open it up for interpretation – what are your favorite frugal party foods?