Wednesday Recipes: Football Food!

Dear Readers,

I hope you are safe and warm in this winter weather. Charleston, South Carolina just had snow two years in a row for the first time in decades! Just enough for school to close for one day because we have no snow equipment.

And to think I'm (hopefully) traveling to NYC this upcoming weekend to go bridal dress shopping with my daughter. That means, I won't be home to cook our traditional Super Bowl snacks. Good thing I decided to celebrate the College National Championship a couple of weeks ago--we got our yummy fix. And I have pictures to prove it. :) By the way, I always serve a veggie tray as well. :)

Enjoy, Christina

PS. Please share if you have special football recipes, too!

Recipe #1 Velveeta Dip (not your typical)

Ingredients:

1 pound bulk sausage, cooked, crumbled, and drained (I prefer sage or maple to give extra flavor)

2 pounds Velveeta cheese, cubed

20 ounces Rotel-brand tomatoes with green chilies

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot. Turn on low and cook, stirring frequently at first and occasionally after all ingredients have melted. Make sure you don't leave it too long!

Serve with corn chips or tortilla chips.

Recipe #2 Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:

1 package cream cheese, softened

2 cups shredded chicken (or 2 cans of white meat chicken, drained)

1/2 cup Frank's Buffalo sauce (I use mild)

1/4 cup bleu cheese crumbles

1/2 cup ranch dressing, bottled is fine

2 green onions, sliced

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except green onions in small crockpot.

2. Stir and melt over time, making sure not to scorch.

3. When ingredients are melted, add green onions (white and green parts) on top.

4. Also, serve with tortilla chips, pita chips, or corn chips.

Recipe #3 Little Smokies Wrapped in Bacon

Ingredients:

16 ounce package of Little Smokies (get the name brand, you'll be glad you did)

8 ounce package of maple-flavored bacon (or black pepper or other)

Brown Sugar

Red pepper flakes

Toothpicks

Directions:

1. Slice bacon strips into quarters (all of this is approximate--you can put more or less bacon, depending on how many you are making).

2. Wrap each sausage in a portion of bacon, secure with a toothpick.

3. Here's where I made things easier--and it works--just sprinkle each sausage with brown sugar. No convoluted shaking in a bag--you'll still get plenty of flavor without all the extra work.

4. Then, sprinkle lightly with red pepper flakes.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy! If you have leftover Lil Smokies, wrap them in strips of crescent rolls for Pigs-in-A-Blanket. Win-win!

Have a great week, Christina