At Home Tailgate Tips

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ACME Markets for Albertsons. All opinions are 100% mine.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ACME Markets. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was younger my dad would round up my siblings and I to take us to Giant's Stadium. Which is now called Metlife Stadium. He would take us to watch the Giants and the Jets play. In the winter he would take us to see the Devil's hockey team play. Now that I think about it, what a wonderful break for my mom haha! One of the best parts was going early and tailgating in the parking lot. We would stop for sandwiches, chips, and soda. Then we would sit in bed of my dads truck and eat amongst all of the excitement of the other fans in the parking lot.

This year tailgating at large sporting event may not be possible but you can still create these memories in your own driveway! Just pop your trunk, pick your favorite game day foods, and turn on the game. When putting together my tailgate menu I have some must haves as well as some new MVP recipes. My local ACME Markets in Morris Plains, New Jersey has everything I need to help me score a touchdown without too much interference (love the play on words, right?!). ACME Markets has chicken wings from the deli case, I picked up their freshly prepared in-store potato salad, and plenty of fall themed treats from their bakery section. They also have plenty of Fresh Cut Fruit bowls, which is convenient for display purposes and leaves me with extra time to make my mascarpone cannoli dip! Another new favorite is this creamy avocado dip that features garlic and Parmesan. It also happens to be great as mix in for pasta salad. Which can be another great tailgate menu addition. The recipe for the avocado dip is below! You can also use Grocery Delivery and Pick up to save you even more time! That means more time for decorating!!! I shopped at ACME Markets in my local area, but you can also find quality tailgating essentials at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Randalls, Shaw's Supermarket, Star Market and Tom Thumb.

If the trunk of your car doesn't make you feel festive you can make a couple of tweaks to give it some team spirit. I picked up some football balloons when food shopping at ACME Markets, tied them to the side of my car. I used a large table cloth to drape over the back of the seats to give a bit of a backdrop.

I set out some of our sports equipment and chalk. We drew signs on the driveway saying "go team," or "let's go Giants!" Of course my husband wasn't happy about that. Then we had our own little field day with Siena. You can have some family friendly competition by setting up a mini field day. Or having a family game of flag football or even a simple game of tag. Anything to get in the competitive spirit! Go old school and listen to the game on the radio, or bring out the ipad. It may not be the same as a big screen TV but the family time spend together will be worth it. Another option is to project the game on an outdoor screen if it is a night game.

Avocado Garlic Parmesan Dip

1 medium size avocado, peeled, pitted, cut into chunks

4 oz. sour cream or greek yogurt

2 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp pepper

Add ingredients to a blender, pulse until smooth. Top with red pepper or chili flakes if desired