A last minute Game Watching Spread

The big day is just one day away and it's not too late to throw together an easy and impressive spread. The key is to keep the menu simple; I know, game watching food is the best. And it's tempting to want to make everything, but stick with us and you will be sure to wow your crowd.

The key to our menu is efficiency. We grilled chicken and used it two ways : Chicken nachos and chicken tortilla soup...get it..."soup"er bowl. Pretty creative, right?

Here's how to get it done:

Start by grilling your chicken...and if you live in NYC, this will most likely take place out on your small patio with a tiny, tiny grill. We used Kingsford charcoal to make for an easy fire and seasoned our chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper but feel free to add some cumin, chili powder and garlic powder, for an extra kick of flavor. Once the chicken is cooked to perfection, you can set it aside. First up - Chicken Nachos. Nachos come in all shapes and sizes, and we love them all. We simply chopped up the chicken (you can also shred with two forks), and layered it on top of the chips along with shredded jack & cheddar cheeses. Layer. Layer. Layer. You cannot have too many layers! Pop it in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes, or cheese is bubbly. Remove, top with homemade pico di gallo and shredded cilantro. Then set out additional toppings on the side, so guests can create their ultimate nacho combo. Try jalepenos, scallions, salsa, guacamole, chili and sour cream. Nothing works better for watching the game then a nacho bar! Now that we have our nachos ready to go, let's get started on the chicken tortilla soup. We love this recipe, but we used our grilled chicken instead of the baked chicken it calls for. The beauty of this dish is it can be made completely in advance and simply warmed up as guests arrive. And don't forget the toppings! A nice dollop of sour cream, sprinkle of Monterey Jack cheese, a few avocado chunks and of course a nice dusting of chopped cilantro. You can also throw some more of your crispy tortilla strips right on top as well. We happened to have these brown bowls in our LMP kitchen...don't they look like footballs? So now that our main dishes are done, we wanted to throw together one more quick item to round out our spread. What are we missing? DIP! Watch how simple this bacon cheddar dip is...I bet you even have all of these ingredients already in your house - cheese, bacon, scallions, sour cream and a package of Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning mix. We served ours with blue corn chips and some sliced veggies. So now it's time to set the table. Pick up a roll of kraft paper at your local craft store for your tablecloth. Then mark yard lines using masking tape. The 50 yard line was drawn using a white paint marker. Hang a piece of chalkboard paper on your wall and you can create an easy "scoreboard" menu. Plastic tumblers are perfect for beer, but it's easy to misplace your glass or confuse it with someone else's. Well, we've got you covered. Football tattoos applied to each cup are the perfect way to let your guests personalize their drinking vessel and show their team spirit at the same time. Here's how we did it : CHEERS!

Photos by: Dave Robbins Photography See more game watching fun on the Gather Now Tumbler Feed.