Think about it for a second...how fun would the Super Bowl be (or any gathering for that matter), without delicious food?

I mean...we love the Super Bowl mainly because my boy, Andan, loves it so much. He just rocked his Senior year in High School and is looking forward to playing at the next level. So, naturally, he was very excited for the big game.

I was the team captain and quarterback of my High School football team as well. So, I love the sport and enjoy watching the Super Bowl.

But, for many people, the Super Bowl is just an excuse to gather together with family and friends to eat delicous food! And, in this regard, (thanks to Cook'n!) this Super Bowl did not disappoint!

Kathy shaped her Homemade Oreo Cookies into an oval (the shape of a football) and put some frosting on top to make them look like the football laces.

As soon as she finished making them, I had to sample one...of course. It was so delicious that I took this photo and texted it to the family texting thread (with 32 members!) which, by the way, is conveniently named "Super Bowl."

Needless to say, the Homemade Oreos were a huge hit!

When I sent that text message to the Super Bowl group, my sister-in-law, Cora, sent this video in reply.


Brookies! Yum!! As you can see, gearing up for the big game was almost as fun (if not more fun) than the game itself!

The chocolate covered strawberries, on the other hand, were a bit of a fail.

Kathy thought it would be fun to use colored chocolate with the team colors of the Chiefs and the 49ers. But, in the end, they looked more like ketchup and mustard covered strawberries. They were still very delicious...just not very appealing to look at.

The view from the "kitchen blimp" was epic.

The Oaks Stadium featured a cake in the middle to represent the playing field. And, Kathy filled the stadium bleachers with condiments, snacks, and dips.

When I jokingly asked my boy, Andan, why the Chiefs were in a wishbone formation, he responded with a disgusted look on his face and, in all seriousness, said "dad...they're on defense and they're in a cover two" and finished with kind of a "duh?" look. Apparently, he put some serious thought into the formation! I'm just glad the second receiver to the left for the 49ers is off the ball...otherwise, the tight-end would be covered up! 😁

The 7-layer bean dip served in cups was a clever idea.

Serving it this way made it easy to grab and go so you could eat without missing the game!

The artichoke dip was delicious. But, who brought the vegetable tray?

I almost had to give Kathy a penalty for "unnecessary roughage." But, the truth is...after eating so much junk the veggies were actually a really refreshing snack after halftime.

Kathy made her amazing potato salad side dish (heavy on the homemade pickles...yum!).

And, somebody brought a bowl of fruit too which complimented the meal very nicely.

When you put it all together, it was quite a spread of fun and deliciousness!

The football plates were a nice touch and added to the theme.

For the main dish, Kathy decided to go with paninis. Normally, this wouldn't be her first pick for serving a large group (we had a total of about 40 people) because it's hard to make 40 paninis at one time with only two panini makers.

But, since people were trickling in a few at a time here and there...and, since we had several hours to eat...and, since there were so many snacks and side dishes, the paninis were perfect for this occasion! They were super delicious and everyone got to make them just they way they like them. And, since everyone made their own, it was one less thing for Kathy to worry about!

The drink center included small cubes from the icemaker, straws with plastic cups, and mix-ins to dirty it up.

In hindsight, we probably should have moved the spray bottles that we use to clean the countertop to somewhere else...but oh well, what are you gonna do!

My sister-in-law, Cora, brought a huge pan of pork nachos.

Since there was no counter space left, we just put these on the kitchen table and everyone feasted on them.

She also showed up with the eagerly awaited Brookies!

And, it wouldn't be a football game without pizza rolls. Kathy thinks they're gross but my mom always served them during the big game when I was a kid so I do the same and now it has become a tradition for us.

Since there was no counter space, we put these on top of the second oven in the mud room (right off the kitchen). And, even though they were hidden from sight, would you believe that every single one of these got eaten?

Well, since Kathy made this all possible with her amazing talents in the kitchen, I picked up some flowers for her while I was out. It was the least I could do for all the effort she put into the party. I got both white and red roses to match the team colors.

When the game was over, I gave the white roses to my Mom for Valentine's Day. Since my Dad passed away a few years ago, she really appreciated them. When I gave them to her, I reminded her of how much Dad loved her. "If he was still here, you know he would make Valentine's special for you because you know how much he loved you and doted over you. He always has." She was very grateful and teared up a bit.

As you can see, we had quite a feast. The food was amazing...oh...and the game was good too. We feel grateful to Heavenly Father for such abundance!!

I hope you had a wonderful time gathering with family & friends. And, I hope Cook'n helped to make your feast special as well.