One Of A Kind

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Dr Pepper. All opinions are my own. #OneOfAKindFan

You want to know the best part about college football season? The fact that it's college football season! We are smack dab in the heart of college football and with every upset, each weekend gets more thrilling and more exciting than the last. We've seen some of the best teams fall, and some sleeper teams rise up out of nowhere, ready to fight. 
When I think of what it means to be a one of a kind college football fan, my mind darts to game day. Now, when I say game day, I don't mean that three hours from kickoff to finish, I mean the full day of festivities from sunup to well past sundown. These small college towns come alive on game day, and literally every single resident of the town is wearing the exact same color.  
College towns are my favorite. If you've never lived in a college town, you might not realize these people's whole lives (myself included) revolve around football season. Here's a look at a typical week in a college town, during football season:
Monday || Plan, Speculate, Have Unrelenting Optimism for Saturday's game
Tuesday || Plan, Speculate, Have Unrelenting Optimism for Saturday's game
Wednesday || Plan, Speculate, Have Unrelenting Optimism for Saturday's game
Thursday || Plan, Speculate, Have Unrelenting Optimism for Saturdays game
Friday || Plan, Speculate, Have Unrelenting Optimism for Saturday's game
Saturday || GAME DAY
Sunday || Dissect every last second of Saturday's game.... Have Unrelenting Optimism for next Saturday's game
All week long, all anyone talks about is Saturday. Then come Sunday, everyone is still talking about Saturday. It's a thing of beauty, really. 
Although I don't live in a college town anymore, thanks to social media I can still feel like I'm a part of the community. I have a few game day traditions that I do on Saturday that make me feel like I'm actually on campus. For example, I'll play my college's fight song about 45 times in a row, starting around 6:30am. CB, who is not a fan of the same school as I am, totally adores this. Not. 
We also love to have friends over to homegate, where we'll watch my team's game, CB's game and eat. all. the. food. It might not be quite the same as having tickets for row 1 on the 50 yard line, but there's air conditioning, surround sound and unlimited food and drink! 
This past weekend, I picked up a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper from Target and made these insanely delicious, super easy, Dr Pepper Meatballs for our homegate! From Nov. 1 - Dec. 12, use Cartwheel to receive 5% off of 12-packs and 2-liters of Dr Pepper or 10% off of 6 or 8-packs of bottles and cans. 

You have my word that I would never suggest any recipe for game day that wasn't both delicious and ridiculously easy. These Dr Pepper Meatballs will have you in and out of the kitchen, and screaming at the refs on your television in no time! Here's how they're made...

Before you get started, you'll need a few ingredients. A 12 oz can of Dr Pepper, one cup of ketchup, half a cup of brown sugar, 2 pounds of frozen meatballs, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp garlic powder.

Combine vinegar, garlic powder, brown sugar ketchup and Dr Pepper in a large pot over medium to high heat. Stir constantly, bringing to a boil. This should take about 5 minutes. 

As your mixture starts to boil, add in meatballs and stir to fully coat. 

Let your meatballs cook for about 20 minutes, over medium to high heat. Every 5 minutes or so, you'll want to gently stir to keep them heating evenly.

After 20 minutes, remove from heat and serve using toothpicks! Or, if you're like CB, just eat out of the pot with a fork. This is highly acceptable when you're in the privacy of your own home. 

Dr Pepper Meatballs adapted from Southern Plate

Do you think you're a #OneOfAKindFan of Dr Pepper?!?  From Nov. 2 - Dec. 13, those who upload an Instagram photo showing how they are a #OneOfAKindFan of Dr Pepper will be entered for a chance to win a $100 Target GiftCard™. A winner will be awarded each week. Must be 18 or older to enter. #CollectiveBias


Dr Pepper #OneOfAKindFan Photo Sweepstakes


For more great recipe ideas using Dr Pepper please visit this site!