Food Column: Snacks for watching sports

On New Year’s Day, I made a resolution to lose 15 pounds in 8 to 10 weeks.

The goal is a modest one. “Eating Well” magazine says that it is reasonable to try and lose between 1.5 to 2 pounds per week. I figured I could manage that with a little extra walking and cutting out between meal snacks.

I’ve done pretty well on Part One. I regularly put in between 10,000 and 15,000 steps every day. It’s Part Two that is giving me trouble, and this column is largely to blame for it. Or, rather the things I’m writing about are the problem.

My last column of 2023 was raised doughnuts, hardly diet food. The first column of the New Year was chocolate chip cookies. Now, with January almost over what do we have? Snacks for watching sports on TV.

Of course, this is a choice I am making. I could write about low-cal dishes and protein bars, but do you really want to be munching on granola and trail mix while watching Caitlin Clark launch logo threes? I didn’t think so.

Thus, it’s actually you, Dear Reader, who is blame for my post-holiday weight gain. I write for you, and this week I am writing about tasty, fried snacks that you can eat while you watch other people exercise.

What’s great about these dishes is how easy they are and how quickly you can throw them together. I made one of them for a gathering in less than 15 minutes, and most of that time was spent trying to figure out how to make the food processor work (two Ph.D’s in the house, and we can’t figure out a simple household appliance).

Assuming that you don’t struggle with the equipment you should be able to get these snacks out to your guests well before kickoff…or tip-off…or before you stream that next episode of “The Bear.”

Seriously, who says snacks are only for sports fans?

Cheesy Potato Chips

I must admit that I was skeptical about this recipe from Rachaell’s Recipes. It seemed a little silly to try and doctor up potato chips with cheese and ranch dressing mix. I mean, potato chips are potato chips. They are already pretty good, right?

But then I made these for a party. I also made my ultimate Rice Krispie bars and our family’s now famous chocolate chip cookies. Guess which disappeared first? That’s right, the doctored-up potato chips killed, in spite of the fact that they took almost no time to make.

Ingredients

One bag wavy potato chips (the waves give the chips grooves that help catch all the other stuff)

1 package dry ranch dressing mix, divided

8 oz. orange cheddar cheese, shredded

10 strips cooked bacon, coarsely chopped

1 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Pour the bag of potato chips onto a large, rimmed baking sheet. It’s OK for them to touch, but spread them out so they are not all in one big pile.

In a bowl, combine the shredded cheddar cheese with HALF of the package of ranch dressing mix. Don’t worry, we’ll use the other half.

Sprinkle the cheese and dressing mixture evenly over your potato chips. Top with the chopped bacon. Bake for 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow the chips to cool for a few minutes.

While the chips are cooling make the dip. Combine the sour cream with the remaining HALF of the dry ranch dressing. Serve with the chips.

Note: While these chips are good warm, they are equally good at room temperature, so you can make them well before the game.

Tots with Old Bay Seasoning and Spicy Mayo

This recipe is ridiculously easy because you use pre-made tater tots. Like the chip recipe above, tater tots are already pretty great, and many might wonder how you can make them better.

Here, the solution is Old Bay seasoning, that concoction of 18 spices that is most often used when preparing seafood. According to the Food Network, Old Bay seasoning was invented in Baltimore by a German immigrant.

The recipe is from the Food Network.

Ingredients

1-lb bag of tater tots

1 ½ teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

2/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon horseradish

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon hot sauce

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Bake the tater tots according to the package directions. Toss the baked tots with the Old Bay seasoning, and then return them to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

While they are baking, prepare the mayo. Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mayo mixture with additional Old Bay seasoning if you like.

Poutine

This recipe comes from the website Seasons and Suppers.

I didn’t “discover” poutine until about 10 years ago. What a revelation it turned out to be. French fries, cheese curds, and gravy all mixed together somehow, turns out to be more than a sum of each individual part.

Poutine may be a bit messy when it comes to a sports snack. It is definitely not a finger food. It also needs to be served hot, which means that you have to time things a bit to coincide with a break in the action.

That said, there’s nothing that says you can’t prepare most of the components ahead of time. I also recommend using frozen French fries. Seriously, I’ve tried making my own before, and they never turn out better than the kind you buy from the store.

Ingredients

For the Gravy:

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

6 tablespoons butter

¼ cup flour

20 oz. beef broth

10 oz. chicken broth

Black pepper, to taste

Other necessities:

1 bag of frozen French fries

1 to 1 ½ cups of cheddar cheese curds

Prepare the French fries according to the bag instructions. As they are cooking, make the gravy.

In a small bowl dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Set aside.

In a large saucepan melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, until the mixture turns golden brown. Add the beef and chicken broth, and bring to a boil as you stir with a whisk.

Stir in about half of the cornstarch mixture, and simmer for a minute. Add the remaining cornstarch mixture and stir to thicken. Season with pepper to taste.

To assemble your poutine layer cooked French fries on a platter or plate. Top with the cheese curds followed by the hot gravy (if you make the gravy in advance be sure to heat it before assembling your poutine.

Serve hot.

Michael Knock is the Iowa City Press-Citizen food columnist.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Food Column: Snacks for watching sports