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Hi Friends! Fall is here and I couldn’t be more excited! The weather is a bit cooler, leaves have started falling, days are getting shorter, and weekends are filled with football! I’m thrilled to say that I’ve teamed up with Coca-Cola® and Walmart to share a fun Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party with you all today. Why not create your own taste-testing competition (during commercials, of course!) while your favorite teams compete on the field! Watching a fall football game is all about being surrounded by great food, friends, the excitement of cheering on your favorite team…and, of course, everyone’s favorite drink, Coca-Cola®! This post is full of inspiration, ideas, recipes, and free printable custom graphics to make your Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party score a big win on game day!
Walmart has everything you need to take your Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party to gameworthy levels. They have such a wide variety and selection of snacks and food as well as everyone’s favorite, Coca-Cola® beverages! It’s so quick and convenient to be able to stock up on everything that you need at one time. I was able to pick up the Coca-Cola® and the ingredients I needed for the chili all in one, easy trip! To save even more time, try their online grocery pick-up. You don’t even have to go in-store—everything will be delivered right to you in your car. Just place your order on the app or online and drive to the pick-up spot at Walmart. And, did I mention it’s free?! Now that’s a big win!
As with almost all of my parties, I first start with a fun invitation to get guests excited for the game day festivities! Invite everyone to bring their best, award-winning chili to the party for the cook-off…and, of course, their competitive spirit!
At the party, label and arrange all of the different types of chili on the table to be tasted. Then, have everyone grab a scorecard and rate each one on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being a “fumble” and 5 being a “touchdown!” With all of this taste testing, and since Coca-Cola® beverages are practically synonymous with game day, you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of ice cold Coca-Cola® 24 packs stocked and ready.
Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party: The Decor
To add even more fun to the tablescape, I created a bright blue sky, football field, and goal post backdrop. The blue sky is bulletin board paper that I simply attached to the wall behind the table. Instead of putting the faux grass table runner in the center of the table as it is originally intended, I instead, decided to attach it to the wall to create the look of a football field. The color and texture was perfect and really enhanced the theme! To make the goal post, I used one piece of yellow foam board. The board was 20 inches wide, so I just cut 4 equal strips (that were each 5 inches wide) and taped them together into the shape of a goal post. Then, to further tie into the chili cook-off theme and add a bit of whimsy, I hot glued bright yellow spoons onto the goal post. This super simple DIY added such a great element to the table. You can grab the large “Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party” free printable sign at the bottom of the post too.
Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party: The Food
When hosting a Chili Cook-Off Party, you definitely need a 1st prize-winning chili recipe to wow all of your guests! I’ve got you covered! The chili recipe that I’m sharing below is so delicious and has a secret ingredient that’s guaranteed to steal the show…Coca-Cola®! An ice cold Coca-Cola® pairs so well with this chili too! Also, I’m sharing a sweet cornbread recipe that is a perfect addition to this team!
COCA-COLA® CHILI
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- 1 lb. Ground Meat
- 1 can Kidney Beans
- 1 can Black Beans
- 1 large can Stewed Tomatoes
- 2 cups Coca-Cola®
- 2 Onions
- 2 Green Peppers
- 1 tbsp. Celery Salt
- 1 tbsp. Garlic Salt
- 1 tbsp. Chili Powder
- 1 tbsp. Parsley
- Start by chopping both onions.
- Add half of the onions to the ground meat and brown together.
- Next, chop both green peppers.
- Add second half of onions, green peppers, kidney beans, black beans, stewed tomatoes, and browned ground meat/onion mixture to a large pot.
- Next, add all spices to large pot as well—celery salt, garlic salt, chili powder, and parsley. Stir together.
- Lastly, add 2 cups of Coca-Cola® and stir.
- Allow chili to come to a simmer and cook for 1 hour and 30 mins., stirring periodically.
SWEET CORNBREAD RECIPE
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Serves: 12
- ½ cup Cornmeal
- 1½ cups Flour
- ⅔ cup Sugar
- 1 tbsp. Baking Powder
- ½ tsp. Salt
- ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil
- 3 tbsp. Melted Butter
- 1 tbsp. Honey
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1¼ cups Milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients—cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Next, add milk, melted butter, and vegetable oil.
- Stir in honey and both beaten eggs.
- Pour batter into greased 8 inch baking dish.
- Place dish in preheated 350 degree oven.
- Bake for 35 minutes.
- Allow cornbread to cool completely before cutting and serving.
Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party: DIY Trophy
After all the scorecards are tallied, our MVC (most valuable chef) certainly can’t go home empty handed. Along with bragging rights, they deserve the most epic of trophies. Dust off a new spot on the mantle! Below, I’ve detailed a simple DIY trophy that is sure to be a fan favorite!
To make this DIY trophy, you will need dry beans, a small football, a wood plaque, a ladle, gold spray paint, sand paper and a glue gun. Start by sanding and smoothing any rough edges on the wooden plaque. Next, using the hot glue gun, carefully glue the football sideways onto the wooden plaque. Then, hot glue the bottom and side of the ladle in place. Now it’s time to add the dry beans. Hot glue as many or as few beans as you would like onto the wooden plaque—add them around the edges of the football and ladle as well as in between both items. Next, spray paint the entire trophy with gold spray paint. Lastly, add the “You’re #1” foam finger (free printable located in the printable library) and blue ribbon to the handle of the ladle.
Good game! Thanks for checking out our Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party! I hope you enjoyed it—and most importantly I hope it provided you with ideas and inspiration! Be sure to head to Walmart to stock up on all of your tailgating supplies and grab Coca-Cola® 24 packs for your big game celebration. Click here for even more ideas, inspiration and recipes! My biggest goal is to always strive to be a resource for you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email or post a comment below if you have any questions at all! Also, don’t forget to grab all of the free party printables below!
Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party: Free Printables
If you would like to recreate this Chili Cook-Off Tailgating Party download all of the designs for free in the printable library. If you create this football tailgating party using these printables, I’d love to see it! Please follow Just Add Confetti on Instagram and use the #justaddconfettiprintables hashtag. I love connecting with all of you and seeing your awesome celebrations!
The invitation and thank you tag free printables are PDF files that contains editable fields (for the names). To personalize these printable pages, just open the PDF in Adobe Reader, click where it currently says “Take some cornbread for the road! Love, Alison”, and type the message you would like to include. Repeat for the invitation with the wording and event information you would like to include. Then just click “save” and print. If you don’t have Adobe Reader you can download it for free here. The large backdrop printable graphic is 32×33.5 inches and is sized to be printed on 36×48 inch paper.
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