3 Slider Recipes for Your Game Day Tailgate

I'm a huge fan of Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches so I knew they were a must on the menu. I wanted to add a little twist, so I incorporated a little Chicago love into them by placing the thinly sliced roast beef into a slow cooker along with some beef stock and some Italian dressing seasonings to give it an Italian beef flavor. No offense to the beef on a Philly cheesesteak sandwich, but the flavor in Italian beef is far superior and full of flavor :)

I cooked the beef for about an hour on high heat until it started to easily pull apart and then placed them in mini hoagie sliders. I topped them off with some shredded provolone cheese and some peppers and onions. I first roasted up the peppers and onions in a hot sauté pan with olive oil until they were caramelized and tender. Caramelizing the peppers and onions just adds so much flavor to these sandwiches, so don't you dare put them on raw!! From there, you cover them in foil and bake them up in the oven until they're hot and the cheese is melted. Serve them up with a side of the seasoned beef stock from the slow cooker - SO GOOD!

The second sandwich slider I did was a pepperoni pizza slider, but it tasted more like a pepperoni margherita pizza, which is better in my opinion. I first laid down a bed of shredded mozzarella cheese so that it protects it from the tomato sauce which can make the lower bun really soggy. The cheese gives it a little barrier.

Next, I added on some crushed tomatoes, seasoned them with salt and pepper and topped off with pepperoni, sliced mozzarella and fresh basil leaves. To really add a little love to these pepperoni pizza sliders, I made a really simple herb butter consisting of garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and basil and brushed the top bun with it. 

I mean, honestly, it was so good with all of those seasonings and flavors, it was probably the popular slider of the bunch.

Last but not least, I whipped up a classic: ham and cheese sliders. Of course, I turned up a little bit with the addition of crisp, cooked bacon and shredded smoked gouda and mozzarella. DUDE! The combination of those smoky flavors, ham and sweet Hawaiian roll is ridiculous. For me, this was my favorite slider just because of its simplicity and extremely flavorful ingredients that were packed in a tiny slider sandwich.

These three slider recipes are perfect for watching football or for any party you have coming up. Serve them alongside Loaded Slow Cooker Chicken Nachos, Buffalo Chicken Turnovers, and Homemade Pretzels with German Beer Cheese Sauce for a full-on football feast!