When September hits, it’s all about back to school, fall and, of course, football! And with football season comes the arguably best part of the football fan camaraderie — tailgating! Getting together to pre-game in a parking lot has become the place to display some pretty delicious tailgating foods. With Traina Foods’ new recipes and ideas, tailgating fare is taken to the next level.

Snack mixes — Bringing bags of chips and dip is easy, but unoriginal! Pre-packing bags of popcorn, pretzels, nuts, seeds, coconut shavings, chocolate chips and a selection of Traina Foods dried fruits is an upscale (and simple!) appetizer.

Casseroles — Forget hauling a portable grill and missing out on the pre-game fun to manage the meat. Instead, pre-baking a hearty casserole for the big game like Traina Foods new Chili Dog Bake and Take, featuring Traina Foods California Sun Dried Tomato Ketchup.

Ingredients

• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup Traina Foods California Sun Dried Ketchup
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 10 all beef hot dogs
• 1 canister pre-made biscuits
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a medium skillet coated with cooking spray, cook onions until they become translucent.
3. Add ground beef, salt and pepper, and cook through until no longer pink.
4. Add the tomato sauce ketchup, sugar and chili powder.
5. Cook mixture until it begins to bubble.
6. Reduce heat, then simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Cut hot-dogs into inch-long pieces; set aside.
8. Cut biscuits into pieces and put in a large bowl.
9. Add the melted butter, garlic salt, and cheese then mix until biscuit pieces are coated.
10. Coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, then layer the chili, hot dog pieces and top with the coated biscuits.
11. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown.

Crock Pot Desserts — Traina Foods new Slow Cooker Cherry Cobbler is the perfect way to satisfy tailgaters with a sweet tooth (and electric power at their tailgating set up). This recipe is so easy and practically cooks itself, but it’s a sure crowd pleaser, especially served warm with a scoop of ice cream. Tailgating has never been so sweet!

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 2 cans cherry pie filling
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup Traina Foods dried cherries
• 1 cup all natural granola

Directions
1. Spray pot of the slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Pour the cherry pie filling into the pot.
3. In a medium bowl, mix dry cake mix with melted butter and crumble over the pie filling.
4. Cover then cook on low for 4 hours.
5. When serving, top with ice cream, granola and dried cherries and serve.

Side Dishes — Rather than a standard pasta salad with Italian dressing and multi-colored spirals, Traina Foods new Pasta with Bold Flavors of Anchovies, Capers and Sun Dried Tomatoes is an elevated side dish to accompany any tailgate-worthy main dish.

Using Traina Foods variety of all natural dried fruits and ketchups in tailgating mains, appetizers, side dishes or desserts is sure to take pre-game noshes to the next level.