Lil' Smokies

This is by far my favorite way to make lil' smokies. I have made these this way for years and they always go over very well. Meatballs are good with this too!


Ingredients:

2 packages Cocktail wieners, little smokies
1 bottle (12 ounces) chili sauce
1 cup grape jelly


Directions:

Combine cocktail wieners or little smokies in crockpot with chili sauce and grape jelly; cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.

Beer Dip

I got this recipe from a friend who served it at her Pampered Chef Open House. It is very good and does not have a strong beer taste. It went over very well at our last football party. I served it with pretzels, but we had some Tastefully Simple Beer Bread that tasted good with it too.

Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix

2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese

1/3 cup beer

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and dressing mix. Stir in Cheddar cheese, and then beer. The mixture will appear mushy. Cover bowl, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, overnight if possible.

Game Day Food

This weekend is the big game, Steelers vs the Pack. Everyone who knows me, know I live in cheeseland, but me and my family are HUGE Steelers fans. This sometimes makes it difficult for my 8 yr old.

One thing I love about the Super Bowl is the food. I am always amazed at what everyone serves. Being we are in a new home this year and have plenty of room we are having our second football party and our very first Super Bowl party. My daughter is very excited to have people over, but I am not sure if she is more excited for the people or the food. At the last one she pulled a chair up to the counter and grazed on all of the food. There were few people here, but enough food for 4 times that many! Some of you may be curious as to what that food was, well I am going to tell you what we had last time and what I am making this time.

Game Day Food Ideas

This is what we had a few weeks ago.

Cheesy Potatoes
Sloppy Joes
M & M Dream Bars
Veggie Tray & Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dip (16 oz of sour cream mixed with 1 Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dip)
Beer Dip
Tastefully Simple's Warm the Oven Dip served with their Bountiful Beer Bread
Hummus variety pack with some Pita Chips
Warm Pizza dip, this is so yummy and super simple I have yet to get the recipe for this one!
Nacho Cheese with tortilla chips (my daughter asked for plain nacho cheese, she didn't want any stuff in it! LOL!)


Super Bowl Food

Here is some things I am having, I am excited to see what everyone else will bring.

Veggie Tray with a dip
BBQ Beef Sandwiches
Cheesy Potatoes
Guacamole with chips
Lil' Smokies

So, whether it be for a game or just a fun filled get together, here are some foods to try. Enjoy!

Jen's Black Bean Salsa

Last night was another chicken night and I wanted to serve something with it that we haven't had before using items I had on hand. Voila! I came up with this. I baked chicken seasoned with a Creole seasoning, jasmine rice as a side, and put this on top of it all. It was great! I have found that I really love black beans, cilantro, and lime juice together, so I try it all different kinds of combination. This is also great with a burrito or fajita wrap.


Servings: 5 (1/2C servings)
Calories: 90 per 1/2 Cup


Ingredients:

8oz fresh tomatoes (about 2 med sized ones), chopped
1 15.25oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 C red pepper, bell or sweet, chopped
1/4 C onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 T lime juice
1/2 T cilantro, dried
salt and pepper to taste

I dislike big chunks of onion and pepper so I used my Pampered Chef Food Chopper to make sure they were very small pieces.

Combine everything in a bowl, chill for 30-45 minutes, so the flavors can blend, and serve.

This could be served with chips, chicken, or rice.

Guacamole

I had this at a BBQ a few weeks back and it was amazing! It was by far the best guacamole I have ever had. My friends mom was kind enough to share this recipe that her brother had given her.



Ingredients:

6 quartered green grapes
2 small tomatillos, rinsed and chopped and husked, I used the canned ones and liked them better last time
1 whole green onion, chopped using both green and white parts
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lime, the juice and zest
2 avocados, peeled and chopped
Salt to taste

Directions:

In small bowl combine grapes, tomatillos, jalapeño, scallion, cilantro, lime juice, and zest; Stir to combine completely.

In a separate bowl using fork gently mash avocado; do not over mash. Add mixture to small bowl of items in step 1and stir to combine; season with salt.

Serve with chips and enjoy!!

Pinwheels

4- 8oz packages of cream cheese
4 C shredded cheddar cheese
3-4 can of green chilies
1 pkg taco seasoning
8- 12" flour tortillas

May also add some garlic powder, cumin, and jalopenos. I add all of these, I have finally mastered the balance the way Ryan likes them.

Mix everything together well and spread over the tortillas. Roll them up, slice, and refrifgerate.

This is another one that I make the night before, I like all the flavors to blend.

This also makes an excellent chip dip.


Ever since I got this from a past co-worker it has been one of Ryan's favorites. He also used to take it to work with him when we lived in IA and it was a huge hit with the guys.

BLT Dip

1 C sour cream
1 C mayonnaise
1 C diced tomatoes
6-8 strips of bacon ( I try to use hickory smoked bacon)

Fry bacon and crumble. Add the rest of the ingredients to bacon and mix well. Refrigerate. Serve with cut up bagels or fritos.

When I make this, I put everything, but the tomatoes, together the day before to let the flavors blend.

Hot Chili Dip

1 lb. ground beef
1 green pepper, chopped
1 envelope of chili seasoning
1 (6oz.) tomato paste
1 (8oz.) cream cheese
1 C water

Brown ground beef and green peppers. Drain. Add remaining ingredients and cook to a full boil. Serve warm.