Meatball sliders, clydesdales, Beyonce and football. Super Bowl 2013.

Between the dream story line leading up to the game with the Baltimore Ravens, the black out, Beyonce and the Destiny's Child comeback, a couple of clever marketing ads and real-time ploys (props to Oreo), and some good food, I'd say this years Super Bowl was one for the books.

Michael and I love having people over. For the past couple of years now we have had a Super Bowl party for our friends. It's so much more fun watching with them! Preparing for the game, I wanted to keep things simple, yet tasty. On the menu was a Sausage/cheese plate, Rendezvous popcorn (if you haven't tried this you are missing out - get it from the Rendezvous downtown Memphis, TN), Jalapeno relish cream cheese dip, Rotel with ground sirloin (I have become a fan of ground sirloin vs ground beef... it gives any recipe much more flavor), Turkey tenderloin, and Meatball sliders accompanied with fabulous dishes that some of the girls brought as well.

One of my new favorite things were the Meatball Sliders. They were super easy and pretty tasty. The guys loved them. This is definitely a game day recipe you'll want to jot down.

Here's the recipe:

Meatball Sliders

Ingredients
24 frozen meatballs, thawed (I doubled and got 2 packs of frozen meatballs from Kroger)
2 cups marinara sauce
8 ounces sliced provolone or mozzarella
24 dinner rolls or 8 hot dog buns cut in thirds (I went the hot dog route and it was easy, cheap and good)

Optional bread topping (I didn't do this and they were still great!)
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9X13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
Warm the meatballs in the marinara sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Separate the dinner rolls or hot dog buns and place one saucy meatball on the bottom roll. Top with mozzarella or provolone. Place the top roll on and push down slightly. Place meatball slider in the pan and continue to assemble the rest of the sliders.
Optional bread topping:
Microwave butter in a bowl in the microwave until melted. Add garlic powder and Italian seasonings and mix well. Brush tops of buns with melted butter mixture.
Toast in oven for 8-10 minutes or until toasted. I like mine a little more on the soft side...not so toasty.

Recipe from: The Girl Who Ate Everything (fabulous blog by the way)

Being in marketing, I'm kind of dorky when it comes to marketing/advertising related things so I obviously geek out over the Super Bowl ads. Usually we have a Super Bowl party so I don't really get to see all of them and have to go back and find them online. This year, as usual, I liked the Budweiser ad. Something about those Clydesdales gets me every time and this one was pretty sweet.

The ad starts out with a baby clydesdale and his owner on a farm. The man is working with the foal and then it shows him being loaded into a Budweiser truck. The man has a tough time without the little foal as it shows him near the empty stable.

Three years later the man sees that the Budweiser Clydesdales are coming to Chicago so he picks up and drives to Chicago. The parade goes on and the horses pass him in the crowd while he anxiously looks to see if the horse will recognize him. When he doesn't, the man returns to his truck to head back home. Then all of the sudden he sees something rounding the corner... it's the horse running to him.

They meet once again. Now, how sweet is that? Sweet beats humor every time in my book. :)

Click here to view Washington Post's "Tope 5 best Super Bowl Ads".

Another cool marketing ploy that took place was Oreo's last minute, real-time marketing decision to take advantage of the black out. They took to social media with this ad and it was an instant hit!

How cool is that? Like I said I tend to geek out over these types of things.

These ads definitely make me want to sit down with a budweiser and some oreos... Props to both companies!

Oh and do I hear a Destiny's Child Reunion tour in the works? Not sure that will happen but I did love their performance and Beyonce killed it as usual. Good for her proving to all of the critics that she doesn't have to have back-up or lip-sync.

Get it girl!

And last but not least, congrats to the Baltimore Ravens!

Now it's time to cleanse after all of the Super Bowl food. I see smoothies and clean eating in my future... at least for this week.

Love,
R & M