Football season is finally here! It’s time to attack the day and cheer on the dawgs as they play South Carolina this weekend! What unites the bulldawg nation is our love for football and good, hearty food. If you’re traveling to South Carolina, or staying at home to watch the game, you must have delicious, fall tailgate food. Here are some easy recipes you can make while enjoying the game.  

Eight-Layer Dip

This easy recipe is a fan favorite and takes half an hour to make. First, gather these ingredients:

• 8 slices of bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 16 oz canned refried beans
• 4 oz canned diced green chiles
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ cup cilantro
• 3 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 limes, juiced
• Salt
• 3 avocados, halved and pitted
• 1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cups sour cream
• 3.8 oz canned sliced black olives
• 8 oz cotija cheese, crumbled

In a skillet, add bacon on medium heat for seven to nine minutes. Remove the bacon and reserve. Keep two tablespoons of bacon grease. Add the beans, green chiles and cumin to the skillet on medium heat for two to three minutes on medium heat. In a medium bowl, mix together the cilantro, tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, two tablespoons of lime juice and pinch of salt. For the guacamole, mix the avocado, pinch of salt, two tablespoons of lime juice, ¼ cup of pico de gallo in a bowl. Layer the dip with the bottom layer beans, then cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole,  black olives, cotija, bacon and pico de gallo.

Caramel Snack Mix

This recipe makes 30 servings and only takes an hour and 15 minutes to complete! Grab a box of rice cereal, 2 cups of mixed nuts, ½ cup of brown sugar, ½ cup of corn syrup, ½ cup of butter and 2 cups of chocolate covered raisins.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. In a foil roasting pan, combine cereal and nuts. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is smooth. Pour over the cereal and nuts. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and spread mixture on buttered foil. Break the mixture into pieces, put in roasting pan and stir in chocolate-covered raisins.

Meatball Sliders

This easy recipe takes 50 minutes to make and yields 24 sliders. You’ll need 2 pounds of ground beef, ½ cup breadcrumbs, ½ cup milk, 2 cloves of minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, ½ diced onion, 24 oz marinara sauce, dinner rolls and 2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese. Combine the beef, breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Knead mixture together and form tablespoon-sized balls. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for two minutes, stirring. Remove the onion and heat one tablespoon in a skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook for about one minute. Pour marinara sauce and add the onion into the skillet. Stir, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with meatballs in split dinner rolls and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bottom of rolls.

Sugar Cookies

For dessert, bake sugar cookies so chocolate won’t melt in the heat! Decorate the cookies with red, black and white icing. Show off your creativity and make your favorite jersey, Uga or the G!

If you want to connect with other bulldawgs to watch the game, find a game day watch party near you. Don’t forget you can always cater too! Some tips when you’re traveling to tailgate is to bring a checklist of items to pack and join a Facebook tailgate group. Always pack a cooler, ice, chairs, a table and utensils. Go dawgs!

To find these recipes, visit the Food Network.