MARCH MADNESS PARTY IDEAS

NCAA playoff brackets printed? ✔️
Team apparel purchased? ✔️
Party spot claimed? ✔️
Food? We’ve got you covered.

Gearing up for March Madness is a big deal, and we have a few ideas up our sleeve that will jazz up your party like you’ve never seen before!

March Madness Taco Bites

If you have a large crew coming over for the big game, we have just the solution for feeding the masses with minimal effort AND time – talk about a slam dunk!

Ingredients

1 vine tomato (chopped and drained, about 1/4 to 1/3 cup)
2 tablespoons onion (small-diced)
Optional: 1/2 small jalapeño pepper (small diced)
1 small garlic clove (minced)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper
6 flour tortillas (not burrito-sized)
3 teaspoons vegetable, canola, or olive oil
1 package Uncle Charley’s Pork Sausage, crumbled
1 (7 to 8-ounce) can picante sauce (or red salsa)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup crema or sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Make the pico de gallo by combining the tomato, onion, jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and stir.
Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut out 4 small taco shells from each tortilla. Save the scraps and toast them for a crispy garnish for salads or soups. Warm the tortillas for 10 to 20 seconds, covered, in a microwave, or wrap in foil and heat in a warm oven until pliable. Brush both sides of each tiny tortilla using 2 teaspoons of oil and sprinkle with salt, keeping them covered and warm in between. Press into the openings of a mini muffin tin. Repeat with 11 more little tortillas, lightly reheating if needed to keep them pliable. Don’t let the tortillas dry out.
Repeat with the second mini muffin tin or repeat after cooking the first batch of mini taco shells for a total of 24.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil followed by the crumbled Uncle Charley’s Pork Sausage. Cook, breaking up into small pieces, until no longer pink. Use a spoon to scoop out any excess oil.
Add the picante sauce, chili powder, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the sauce mixture is no longer watery. Taste for seasoning.
Add a heaping spoonful of the beef mixture to each tortilla shell followed by a dollop of crema, a scoop of homemade pico de gallo, and a sprig of cilantro. Serve and enjoy!

Hot-off the Crock-Pot Sliders

Another classic recipe to serve up to everyone on St. Patrick’s Day is Irish Stew. While it is traditionally served using lamb, we thought we’d spice it up with our Pork Sausage instead!

Ingredients
1 lb Ground Beef Browned
1 lb crumbled Uncle Charley’s Pork Sausage, browned
1 lb Velveeta
3/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 cup Milk
24 Hawaiian Rolls

Directions

Brown hamburger and Uncle Charley’s Pork Sausage in a large skillet. Drain.
Add browned meat, cubed Velveeta, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper into Crock Pot. Cook on low for approximately 2 hours, until the cheese is melted.
Add a splash of milk, approximately 1/8 Cup. Stir. Switch Crock Pot to Warm setting, serve with Hawaiian Rolls.

Sweet Sausage Stuffed Peppers

Want something a little more on the healthy side? We have you covered there, too. Serve up some Sweet Sausage Stuffed Peppers for a quick and tasty dish!

Ingredients

16 ounce bag mini sweet peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package Uncle Charley’s Sweet Italian Sausage, crumbled
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dry parsley
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup shredded 3 cheese blend (parmesan, romano & asiago, or, just use parmesan) cheese, extra for topping

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash your sweet peppers and cut each one in half lengthwise, leaving stems intact. Be sure to lay each pepper down to see which way to cut, ensuring they will lay flat on your baking sheet. Remove seeds and membranes. Spread 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto a large baking sheet. Place peppers on the sheet and toss to coat in olive oil. Turn all peppers cut sides up, salt lightly and bake for 6 to 8 minutes to soften.
Crumble and thoroughly cook the Uncle Charley’s Sweet Italian Sausage. Drain grease and set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl mix together the room temperature cream cheese, garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper, and shredded cheese. Stir sausage into the mixture and combine well.
Spoon the sausage and cheese mixture into the pepper halves. Sprinkle with extra cheese to your taste and bake your sausage stuffed sweet peppers for 5 to 7 more minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy while warm!

We hope you have the best March Madness – may the best team (your team?!) win it all!