Snack Recipes for Game Night

[Dustin Ashe]

In my weekly home game, we rotate snack duty. I served a culinary disaster of a snack my last turn (though everyone still ate it) but I was wondering if anyone had any good snack recipes. Low cost would be a plus.

Thanks!

[Christopher Dudley]

Ingredients:

• 1 grocery store
  
• 1 debit or credit card
  

Mix vigorously...

Yeah, I got nuthin.

[Christopher Dudley]

Oh, but I will tell you what I just made for my dinner, and you decide if it's game-worthy.

I made 2 boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese according to the recipe. Meanwhile I browned a pound of ground beef with a can of diced tomatoes with chilies (I used Ro-Tel, not drained, pour it in with the raw hamburger), mixed in a packet of taco seasoning, and when it was cooked (I used lean beef, so I didn't drain any fat off of it after), I added a can of chili beans, also not drained, and a can of corn (drained). Get that mixed up and nicely hot, mix it into the completed mac & cheese.

Not a finger food, and I don't know if you'd call it a snack, but really easy. The amount I made would let 5 or 6 people have a regular sized cereal bowl full of it.

[The Indescribable]

Christopher Dudley wrote:

Ingredients:

• 1 grocery store
  
• 1 debit or credit card
  

Mix vigorously...

Yeah, I got nuthin.

Depending on whether you mean snacks or actual food, assuming you mean snacks, I steal this guys list for several bags of oreos and a jug of milk.

[Krensky]

What do you mean by snacks? Are you looking for sandwiches, appetizers, hor d'oeuvres, stuff to munch on like peanuts or pretzels?

Also, how foodie or conventional are you guys?

[GM_Solspiral]

Hummus is super easy if you have a blender or food proccessor and its super cheap!

Baseline Hummus:
1 can of garbonzo (also called chickpeas) beans
about a tablespoon of lemon juice
about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
pinch of salt
teaspoon of garlic
parsley and basil to taste

put the ingredients into a food prccessor or blander and mix until smooth.

Wassabi hummus:
Swap out olive oil for soy sauce, sub wassabi for lemon

Kalamati Hummus:
Sub Tahini dressing for olive oil, add half a cop of kalamati olives

Fire Hummus:
Sub hot sauce for olive oil, skip the olive oil, add red pepper flake and cayanne pepper

Italian Style Hummus:
Sub Italian dressing for olive oil, toss in some peperchinis and possibly some anchovi

Its a malleable recipe with tons of variation. Serve with pita bread you've cut into strips or with something simple like triscuts.

[GM_Solspiral]

Easy Vegan Chilli

2 cans of black beans
2 cans of pinto beans
4 cans of red/kidney beans

1/2 bottle of chilli powder
tablespoon of onion powder
tablespoon of cayanne
1/4 a bottle of paprika
1/4th a bottle of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag of frozen corn

empty ingredients into pot or crockpot and stir, heat until bubbling then lower heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes.

serve with cheese and sour creme for non vegans
brown 1-2 pounds of beef in the pot first for non vegetarians.

That's about as easy and cheap I can make it

[memorax]

One does not have to make a quick change in what they eat at the table. As a group it can be phased in slowly. Start with cola that has less sugar than replace that with juice. Instead of junk food replace that with nuts, crackers and cheese fruit. Instead of ordering out by some cold cut, bread, cheese. Sandwiches for everyone and cheaper too. The only thing I do stress doing is that everyone at the table slowly adopt it. Once your eating healthier you feel healthier at the table. I used to have to players who kept eating badly at the gaming table. Fe;; into carbo comas and began missing turns.

[Liranys]

Three cans of mild (unless your group likes things spicy) Denniman's Chili, two packages of cream cheese, lots of Fritos. Put in Cream cheese and chili in a crockpot. Heat, mix, enjoy. It looks nasty but it tastes Awesome

[Triphoppenskip]

A favorite among my group.
Beer Dip
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/3 cup beer(any kind)

Put it all in a bowl, mix, chill overnight, serve with pretzels, chips or crackers.

[Hama]

Lots of store bought snacks like salty sticks, peanuts, popcorn and cheetos, washed down with gallons of soda.

Sometimes, though, we cook actual food.

[Dustin Ashe]

Hmmm. I'm beginning to worry about everyone's health. :)

[Liranys]

Eat healthy and die anyway? I'd rather go out having fun.

[Pan]

Old Fashioned:
Ice
2 or 3 dashes of Bitters
1 Sugar cube
Cherry
Orange slice
Bourbon

[Triphoppenskip]

Liranys wrote:

Eat healthy and die anyway? I'd rather go out having fun.

Marry me.

[Hama]

We're not old enough or classy enough to drink at sessions, although we're getting there. But we do sometimes pop a cold one during a meal break.

The wonderful thing about playing with actual adults is that they know to pace themselves.

[GM_Solspiral]

GM_Solspiral wrote:

Easy Vegan Chilli

2 cans of black beans
2 cans of pinto beans
4 cans of red/kidney beans

1/2 bottle of chilli powder
tablespoon of onion powder
tablespoon of cayanne
1/4 a bottle of paprika
1/4th a bottle of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag of frozen corn
2 cans of diced tomatos with chillis

empty ingredients into pot or crockpot and stir, heat until bubbling then lower heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes.

serve with cheese and sour creme for non vegans
brown 1-2 pounds of beef in the pot first for non vegetarians.

That's about as easy and cheap I can make it

realized I forgot that :P

[The Indescribable]

Liranys wrote:

Eat healthy and die anyway? I'd rather go out having fun.

Raises my glass Hear Hear!

[The Shining Fool]

Cucumber Raita (tzatziki; jajik)

Approximately 2 cups yogurt
Minced garlic to taste (my baseline is a tablespoon, but I really like garlic)
1 Cucumber: peeled, seeded, and chopped up
Parsley (optional)
Lemon juice to taste (again, about a tablespoon is my baseline)
Olive oil (about two tablespoons)
Cumin (optional, to taste, not a lot)
Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients, refrigerate 4 hours to 2 days. Serve with pita/naan/crusty bread/vegetables crudités

[The Shining Fool]

Bean dip

Refried beans
Chorizo
Onion - Diced
Jalapeno - Minced
Garlic - Minced
Smoked gouda - shredded
Cotija cheese (optional)
Cilantro
Salt, Pepper, Lemon Juice or other acid

Crumble and brown the chorizo in a heavy bottomed pan
Remove meat from pan, reserve fat
Sweat the onion in the fat at medium heat until starting to go transparent, about 10 minutes (I like onion, I use quite a lot)
Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook for another couple of minutes. This is all a matter of taste/heat tolerance
Add the meat back to the pan, get it hot again
Add the beans, stir everything together and warm through
Add the gouda, stir in and let it melt
Add the cilantro, salt, pepper, and (if you're using it) lemon juice
Remove from heat, top with crumbled cotija cheese
Serve hot with chips

*This recipe goes really well with fresh pico or other sharp, crisp dip

[The Shining Fool]

I found this online. I don't remember where. South Asian food has an expensive initial investment (the spices) but everything else is super cheap.

Curried Lentils

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 onions—finely chopped
2 cloves garlic—minced (crushed)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 large potato—peeled and cut into bite-size cubes
½ cup red lentils
14 oz (420g) canned tomatoes—chopped
1 cup coconut milk (or heavy cream)
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 cup green peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onions for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. ADD the garlic, ginger, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and chili and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. ADD the potato and lentils and stir to coat with the spice mixture. ADD the tomatoes, coconut milk, stock, garam masala, salt and sugar, bring to the boil and cover with a lid. REDUCE the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. WHILE the curry simmers, cook the rice. ADD the peas to the curry and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. REMOVE from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lemon juice. SERVE on a bed of rice.

*edit* if you use the heavy cream, add it at the end after you've taken it off of the heat but while the mixture is still piping hot. I forgot I had that in there for my friend with coconut allergies.

[The Shining Fool]

Not my own, but this one is sourced.

Hanoi Grilled Chicken Banh Mi Recipe

From: The Banh Mi Handbook: Recipes for Crazy-Delicious Vietnamese Sandwiches by Andrea Nguyen

Ingredients:

1½ pounds (675 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
¼ teaspoon sugar brimming ¼ teaspoon salt
1¼ teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
About 1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 of a sera no, sliced thin
About 1½ tablespoons canola oil

Method:

Trim and discard big fat pads from the chicken thighs.
If the thighs are large and/or super uneven in thickness, butterfly them. Set aside.

In a bowl, stir together the sugar, salt, pepper, fish sauce, garlic, serrano, and lime juice. If needed, tweak the flavor to get a slightly tart-sweet, salty finish. Add the oil, then the chicken, coating the pieces well. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

To grill the chicken, preheat a gas grill to medium or prepare a medium-hot fire, or use a stove-top grill pan heated over medium-high heat with a little oil brushed on. Cook the chicken for 6 to 10 minutes, turning several times, until clear juices flow out when you pierce the flesh with the tip of a knife. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting across the grain. Tumble in the cooking juices to include extra flavor in the sandwich.
----
Serve on good crusty bread with cilantro, basil, lime, Serrano peppers (sliced thin), cucumber (sliced thin), onion (sliced thin), pickled carrots and daikon. I usually dress the bread with some extra fish sauce and a 50/50 mix of siracha and mayo.

The herbs are super cheap at gardening stores (assuming you can grow them where you are) and the fact that this uses thighs instead of breasts keeps the meat cheap. Load the sandwiches up with the pickles and cucumbers to stretch your dollar a bit further.

[Odraude]

Liranys wrote:

Eat healthy and die anyway? I'd rather go out having fun.

I used to think that, before my first kidney stone. Was 9mm too.

Hard to have fun when your money goes to medical bills :p

[Odraude]

Also, lemme dig through my culinary repertoire and post some stuff I like to make. I've got my Culinary Foundations textbook with some good dip recipes.

Guacamole

Ingredients

• 3 Hass Avocados (or one big Florida Avocado)
  
• 2 Roma Tomatoes
  
• some cilantro
  
• 1 red onion
  
• some serrano peppers. Or if you're a badass like me, throw a habanero/scotch bonnet in there
  
• 1 lime
  
• Salt, pepper, cumin to taste. Cayenne is good too. Do it! Also ground coriander and garlic powder are winners.
  
• Queso fresco or feta cheese as an optional topping are pretty awesome.
  

Directions

• Cut the avocados into cubes.
  
• Cut your lime and squeeze half of the lime in there. PROTIP: Squeeze the lime with the cut side facing your palm, so the seeds don't drop in.
  
• Mix a bit so the lime juice gets everywhere
  
• Mash them with a masher, but leave them a little lumpy. You can mash two of the avocados into a paste, then add the third and mash lightly to keep some lumps.
  
• Dice all of the veggies with the amounts you want. I personally go light on the red onions since it is a pungent taste.
  
• Mix in the veggies, herbs, and spices. Taste as you add and mix so the flavor balances right. Save some veggies and cilantro to garnish the top and make it look appetizing.
  
• You can serve as is, or let the flavors marinade for an hour in the fridge. Your choice.
  
• Optional: Top with feta or queso fresco.

Serve this with corn tortillas, blue corn tortillas (my favorite), or other chips. S#@@'s pretty easy and works well. The garnish and lumpiness of the guacamole gives it a rustic look, helps with the looks of the dip (so it looks like a salsa rather than green paste), and the mouth-feel of the crunch is awesome. Enjoy.

Might post a chowder recipe next. Or shrimp and grits, my personal hometown favorite. Although currently I'm enjoying Squid n grits more :)

[Ulfen Death Squad]

Beer, beer, and more beer.

Only for adults, 21 and older.

[Hama]

18 and older where I come from.

[Hama]

We sometimes do this.

Dice bread into small cubes, no bigger than an inch on a side.
Put in oven till crunchy. Temperature about 50C or 120F.

Chop hard cheese, gauda preferably, either into strips or also into cubes.

Get various dips.

Serve with beer.

[Odraude]

Home made kale chips are easy to make, delicious, and good for you.

Kale Chips

Ingredients

• One bunch of kale (Dino is preferable)
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• Salt, pepper, and whatever seasonings you like. I like cajun spices
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 300 F
  
• Rip the kale leaves off of the steams and spread them onto a sheet pan
  
• Drizzle oil onto it and toss, making sure it's covered all of it.
  
• Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the kale is crispy. If the leaves begin to brown on the edges, it's ready.
  
• Take it out and immediately season it. Salt, garlic, whatever. It's good. Try some condiments too. Go f!#+ing crazy with it!!
  

Like most health foods, kale gets a bad rap because people assume it's only for pretentious hipsters. But honestly, it's delicious and good for you to boot. You can trust me. I'm no hipster, I'm a fat Latino chef-in-training :D

[dien]

I have been running a campaign set in Osirion, and for a while I did Egyptian-themed/inspired dishes (or at least vaguely Middle-Eastern-inspired)-- hummus and pita has been served several times, and a snack tray of dates, figs, and oranges... I made a lentil stew with crumbled goat cheese for a topping, and banana-milk--cinnamon-honey smoothies, and kanafeh, and dukka. Most all of it has been well received by the group!

As far as generic, serve-anytime-stuff: deviled eggs are where it's at.

[ngc7293]

Eat desert first...you never know when your time will come.

[Petty Alchemy]

Home baked cookies.

[Liranys]

Odraude wrote:

Liranys wrote:

Eat healthy and die anyway? I'd rather go out having fun.

I used to think that, before my first kidney stone. Was 9mm too.

Hard to have fun when your money goes to medical bills :p

I'm actually not in bad health. I'm a bit overweight, but that's due more to a genetic condition and some medication from when I was 18 (a long time ago) than from what I eat.

Triphoppenskip wrote:

Marry me.

I would, but my relationship status is rather complicated and it's likely to stay that way for some time. But you're sweet. ;)

[Usual Suspect]

Do you often get random proposals, Liranys? You must really be doing something right. Or something wrong. Or both. Whatever it is, don't stop cause your awesome.

Now about that snack food...

[Liranys]

Usual Suspect wrote:

Do you often get random proposals, Liranys? You must really be doing something right. Or something wrong. Or both. Whatever it is, don't stop cause your awesome.

Now about that snack food...

For some reasons, on forums, yes. In real life. No. I'm kind of ordinary looking and not very outgoing.

[Triphoppenskip]

Liranys wrote:

But you're sweet. ;)

Awww *blushes*.

This weekends game snacks consisted of a lot of leftover halloween candy and mango habanero wings. I'm still not feeling too good.

[Liranys]

Triphoppenskip wrote:

mango habanero wings.

I'll skip those, but pour on the candy!

[alginon]

Here is a good one for Nachos and Cheese:

Brown a pound of sausage ( I buy the link sausage in the meat dept at the store and take it out of the casing)

Drain off fat

Add 2 jars of Queso Cheese Dip

Add 1 jar of Mild/Medium Salsa

Heat and mix, serve with chips and jalopinos

My group loves it.

[Muad'Dib]

One of my favorite treats to make is Carmel corn.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups unpopped popcorn (or 1-2 bags of microwave popcorn depending on your preferred levels of carmel saturation)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt (non if popcorn is salted)
1/2 tablespoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 200. Pop up the popcorn and put it in a large paper bag. Then on the stove heat up the oil, brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and put in the baking soda when it's all just about ready to bubble.

Stir well then pour over the popcorn sitting in the large paper bag. Close the bag and shake vigorously then spread out all the molten yummy crack corn of the gods across a cookie sheet and bake in the oven @ 200 for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.

* Important - quickly clean the pan you used to boil the carmel in. If you let it sit for too long it's like removing super glue, albeit very tasty carmel super glue.

[dkonen]

Oven baked tortilla chips

buy a bag or two of whatever tortilla chips are on sale, with salsa of according flavor your table agrees on (mild if you don't know), one lb ground beef, cheese (one of the small bars should do it-and whatever flavors you feel like)

lay out tortillas on baking sheet in a single layer

brown 1 lb ground beef

Layer beef and cheese over chips, repeat until you have no more ground beef.

Bake until melty goodness

Pour half jar of salsa over top layer, last layer of cheese*

pop back in for about a minute and a half,

take back out, and either serve it up or hand plates around.

*if you bake the salsa into the layers, your chips will get soggy in the process and kind of gross wet cardboard like.

Bonus: takes about ten minutes tops

double bonus: you can use leftover chicken/turkey/you name it instead of buying ground beef.

TBH, if I make food for folks who come over it's more likely to be an actual meal (usually a turkey spread around the holidays, though I've done pot roast and others).

Even so, we typically pick up food before game and eat it as we try to remember where we left off last session, rather than bringing/making communal snacks.

Oh! you can also try mini shepherd's pies-effectively put mashed potato, browned ground beef, veg and top it off with either more mashed potatoes or cheese and portion it out into a muffin tin.

Seasoned ground beef meatballs?

Or, in true canadian tradition: poutine! (cheese and gravy over fries-yes adding meat is perfectly acceptable, even among traditionalists-though veg is just sacriledge to the gods of hardened arteries.)

[Misroi]

Odraude wrote:

Home made kale chips are easy to make, delicious, and good for you.

Kale Chips

Ingredients

• One bunch of kale (Dino is preferable)
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• Salt, pepper, and whatever seasonings you like. I like cajun spices
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 300 F
  
• Rip the kale leaves off of the steams and spread them onto a sheet pan
  
• Drizzle oil onto it and toss, making sure it's covered all of it.
  
• Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the kale is crispy. If the leaves begin to brown on the edges, it's ready.
  
• Take it out and immediately season it. Salt, garlic, whatever. It's good. Try some condiments too. Go f~&*ing crazy with it!!
  

Like most health foods, kale gets a bad rap because people assume it's only for pretentious hipsters. But honestly, it's delicious and good for you to boot. You can trust me. I'm no hipster, I'm a fat Latino chef-in-training :D

Remember - nobody trusts a skinny chef. :)

[haruhiko88]

Lately when I can game with my friends in person I bring a crock pot full of bean and cheese dip and a small cooler packed with a few ice packs and some extra ingredients. When the bean and cheese dip is finished off (I don't make much, we spoon it into bowls for everybody to have their own individual dip) I have somebody go clean it out and then I make a very simple chicken and dumplings.

1 quart Chicken broth or stock
1 lb of chicken breast (cut into 1-2 inch "tenders")
1 can of mixed veggies (get the can with potatoes in it)
1 can each of cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup (go for the lower sodium and fat kind they work really well)
A baggy with a blend of spices (dash of cumen, some garlic powder, paprika, pepper, and rosemary)

Throw those in the pot, let it cook for about 4 hours and then the last and most important piece. 1-2 tubes of bicuits. Pop those suckers open, break the biscuits into 3-4 pieces per biscuit, toss that in the pot and let that cook for half an hour to absorb all the liquid and bam, simple chicken and dumplings.

[The Indescribable]

haruhiko88 wrote:

Lately when I can game with my friends in person I bring a crock pot full of bean and cheese dip and a small cooler packed with a few ice packs and some extra ingredients. When the bean and cheese dip is finished off (I don't make much, we spoon it into bowls for everybody to have their own individual dip) I have somebody go clean it out and then I make a very simple chicken and dumplings.

Sounds good. But I'll go to the old classic. Use phone. Order pizza.

[Triphoppenskip]

The Indescribable wrote:

Sounds good. But I'll go to the old classic. Use phone. Order pizza.

Always a good option.

[Thornborn]

Tonight is game night.

I put a jar of Ragu and the dregs of another into the crock pot, set to high.

I fried two pounds of frozen sausages until they could be separated from each other, let them keep browning while I took them out of the skillet one at a time to cut into smaller chunks, tossing the chunks back in the skillet. When all the sausage was cut up and brown, it went into the sauce in the crock.

I poured almost all the sausage fat off, then diced an onion up and caramelized it in the same pan. That went in the sauce. Sitr sitr sitr. (Heh. Sitr must be the Nordic minor god of kitchen chores, in this case, stirring.)

I got a pan of water boiling, and surveyed the arriving players, how many for pasta, sausage, and sauce? Ziti is smarter than spaghetti, no whipping strands to add bloodstains on your character sheet.

Leftovers not a problem, when they occur.

[Auriea]

I tend to go for trail mix myself.

Large container of mixed nuts (no peanuts).
Large bag of shelled pistachios.
Large bag of dried mixed berries.
Small bag of dried cherries.
Small bag of dried acai berries.
Small bag of chocolate covered berries.
Large bag of M&Ms.
Small bag of banana chips.

The whole mixture should yield about two gallon sized bags of mix.
It's the same mix I use when I go backpacking/hiking.

[Haladir]

My weekly group plays on a weeknight from 7-11, so everyone has their own dinner first.

I usually host. I usually put out a bag of tortilla chips and some salsa. Usually two kinds: One super-spicy (for me) and one mild (for everyone else). I might make guacamole if I have time and inclination.

Sometimes I'll pop a big batch of popcorn.

I usually have beer, sodas, and a pot of coffee to offer as well.

In my monthly Skull & Shackles game, we play on Sunday afternoons. It started as a joke, but we usually bring pirate-themed snacks. And that almost always includes a bottle of rum.

Here's a mixed drink appropriate for a pirate game...

Dark & Stormy

1 1/2 oz dark spiced rum (e.g. Kraken)
Juice of 1 lime
12 oz. ginger beer

Pour the rum and like juice in a pint glass. Top with the ginger beer. Add some ice and stir. It'll shiver yer timbers.

[Misroi]

How super-spicy are we talking, Haladir? Serranos? Habeneros? Ghost peppers?

And you can't fool me, that's a Caribbean Mule! (On a related note, Kraken is dangerous stuff. One sip, and you'll never sail under Captain Morgan's flag again.)

I've cooked for my players multiple times, most recently for my Iron Gods game. Since it was happening early (10am is pretty early for gaming!), I made a breakfast casserole. I recommend it.

[Krensky]

It's all grog.

One part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong, and four parts weak. Plus some spice..

[yellowdingo]

Tined salmon broken up and mixed well with two spoons of mayonaise for use on crackers.

[Haladir]

Misroi wrote:

How super-spicy are we talking, Haladir? Serranos? Habeneros? Ghost peppers?

My go-to is Mrs. Renfro's Ghost Pepper Salsa.

That stuff means it, but it's SO delicious!

I've tried salsas that were even hotter, but they were too hot even for me.

I'm the kind of guy who goes through a 17oz. bottle of Sriracha in about six weeks.