I have missed posting so much. But I am back and plan on doing at least one blog a week until I have the chance to put up my next two week menu. I'm going to make a horrible confession here...... I don't care for NFL football. I do, however, love the Super Bowl. Not the game so much, but I love to watch the commercials and the half time show. As long as my husband and I have been together, and he doesn't really love football either, we have watched the Super Bowl. Sometimes we go to other's homes and participate in their game day festivities and sometimes we decide to watch with just the two of us at home. Whether at home or as a guest, I always make Super Bowl food and, over the years, we now have our own traditional dishes. I would love to call it a meal but, the truth is, that none of the food is healthy enough to qualify as a meal.
Its an unfortunate truth for people in Louisiana, that the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras are almost as big a holiday on the calendar as Christmas and Thanksgiving. Because of this, many of us don't even try to start our "New Year's" diets until after Ash Wednesday, it would just be pointless and miserable and require far too much self control. With this in mind, I am going to give you some of my favorite Super Bowl recipes. I apologize that I will not have any pictures to go with these recipes but, sadly, I will not be making these dishes this year because I will be at the theatre rehearsing for a show. If I can't eat them, sharing them with you will be the next best thing.
One thing to note, these recipes, as written below, are written assuming that you are preparing for a Super Bowl party with more than two people. If there are just two of you, these recipes are the rare exception where you can half the amount of ingredients and they come out just as delicious.
Bacon and Cheese Dip
I have had this recipe from the beginning. I am sure that I pulled it from somewhere and doctored it to fit my own personal taste, but I couldn't tell you where I first found it. This is one of my husband's favorite foods. It is so unhealthy and decadent that I only make it once a year. (Although I do try to use healthier alternatives in this recipe - so as not to have an immediate heart attack.)
Ingredients
2 packages, 8 ounces each, reduced-fat cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded, reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded OR 4 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese OR two cups of each
1 cup evaporated skim milk OR 1 cup half and half
2 tbsp. yellow mustard
1-2 tbsp. onion, diced
2-3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce (If you're feeling brave, do 1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce)
1 pound bacon cooked and crumbled (You can use turkey bacon if you are trying to make this healthier.)
Instructions
1. Place all ingredients, excluding bacon, in a large slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low, stirring occasionally, 1 hour or until cheese melts.
3. Stir in bacon and adjust seasonings as desired.
Serve with crusty bread or fruit and vegetables dippers.
NOTE: This cheese tends to get thick very fast after it melts, even when kept on warm in the crock pot. Depending on how long the cheese will be out, you may have to thin with a liquid. I have done several variations of thinning the cheese and here are some of my favorites:
Stout Beer
Port Wine
2% Milk
The amount you will want to add to the cheese mixture will depend on how thick the cheese mixture has become.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
I only discovered this recipe about three years ago at a friends party. I loved his version, but it was a little spicy for me, so I made a few adjustments and came up with this recipe. This recipe still has a kick, so you can always cut the heat by adding more Ranch and Blue Cheese dressing after the dip is done baking.
Ingredients
2 packages, 8 ounces each cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1 cup buffalo wing sauce (I like Louisiana Buffalo wing sauce.)
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine softened cream cheese, Ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing and buffalo wing sauce. Using a mixer (or a heavy duty spoon) mix until smooth and creamy, about three minutes. (Longer if you are mixing by hand.)
3. Fold in shredded chicken and one cup shredded cheddar cheese.
4. Pour into a baking dish. Top with one cup of remaining shredded cheddar cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until dip is warmed through.
Serve with tortilla chips, crusty bread, crackers or celery.
Corned Beef Dilly Dip
This is my FAVORITE dip. I think I found it in a party cookbook published in the 1950's. Everything about this recipe sounds horrible, but when you put everything together it is AMAZING. To be fair, my husband likes it alright but thinks that it is a total waste of corned beef - he thinks that the corn beef could be better served in a hash with an egg with runny yolk served on top. I have used leftover corned beef roast in this recipe, but it actually works better with canned corned beef.
Ingredients
1 can (12 ounces) corned beef
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream - you can use low-fat sour cream
2 cups mayonnaise - you can use low fat mayo, but DO NOT use Miracle Whip
2 tbsp. onion, finely chopped (I usually mince mine)
2 tbsp. snipped fresh dill or 2 tsp. dill weed
1/2 tsp. Zatarain's Creole Seasoning (You can also use Tony's but I find that makes the dip too salty)
Instructions
1. Crumble corned beef into a large bowl.
2. In a separate small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayo, onion, dill and Creole seasoning. Stir until combined.
3. Pour sour cream mixture over beef, toss to coat.
So there you have it! Some awesome dip recipes for Super Bowl Sunday. I'll be back very soon to do some posts for Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day.
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