Super Bowl Hot Crab Dip with Football Chips

Super Bowl Hot Crab Dip

Ingredients:
2(8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. mayo
1 packages (14 oz.) imitation crab meat
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
2 T dry sherry
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven 325 degrees
Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. 
Place crab mixture into a 1-quart baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until heated and just starting to bubble.
Serve with chips or crackers

Football Chips

• 1 pkg Soft Flour Tortillas
• Football Cookie Cutter
• Cooking Spray
• Salt
• Paprika

 Cut Football Shapes from each soft flour tortilla

 Place on foil or parchment

 Lightly spray each football chip with cooking spray

 Sprinkle with salt

Using the football cookie cutter as a template,make the laces on each football chip by carefully sprinkling paprika onto the cookie cutter.

 Place on a baking sheet

 Bake for 7 minutes at 400 degrees (keep on eye them so they don't over brown)

  

Go .... Bruncos !!

Greek Style Turkey Spinach Pita Sliders with Spicy Garlic Feta Sauce

These juicy and flavorful mini Turkey Spinach Burgers are seasoned with Greek-style seasonings and stuffed in mini pita pockets, topped with veggies and a Spicy Garlic Feta Sauce. Perfect for lunch, dinner, parties, Super Bowl, etc. 

The burgers and sauce can be made ahead. Grill /cook the burger patties right before you are ready to serve guests.

Prior to serving, I stuffed the pita pockets ahead with the veggies, covered, and stored in the refrigerator for a few hours. Then right before serving I grilled the patties, topped the veggies with the sauce and added the patties.

Turkey Spinach Burgers:

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground turkey
2 cups baby spinach leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2-3 cloves roasted garlic, smashed (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 mini pita pockets

Burger toppings: baby spinach leaves, tomato slices, thinly sliced red onions, and cucumber slices

Directions:
Mix the turkey, chopped spinach leaves, spices, garlic, salt and pepper  in a bowl Dampen your hands and shape the mixture into 12 small patties, about 1/2 inch thick.

Lightly brush a grill pan with the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add half of the patties and cook until browned and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Cook the remaining patties.

To serve, fill each mini pita pocket with a tomato slice, baby spinach leaves, thinkly sliced red onion, sliced cumber; spoon on some of the Spicy Garlic Feta Sauce on top of the veggies and then top with turkey patty.

Spicy Garlic Feta Sauce

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces feta cheese crumbles, brought to room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4-8 cloves roasted garlic either purchased or homemade
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup plain Greek-style yogurt 
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 jalapeno peppers, diced (use fresh or roasted)

Directions:

Place feta cheese in your food processor* with a metal blade and pulse the feta cheese until it is completely broken up into tiny crumbs. Add the next 4 ingredients, starting with 1/2 cup of yogurt (increase the amount of yogurt if you would like a thinner sauce. I used 3/4 cup), and process, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally, until it is completely smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in, by hand, the diced jalapeno peppers. 

*I used my NutriBullet to make the sauce. You could also use a mini food processor to make this

Feta Cheese, Jalapeno Peppers (fresh or roasted), Roasted Garlic, Lemon, Greek-style Yogurt, Olive Oil

Mix all in a NutriBullet or food processor 

Serve or store in refrigerator 


You can serve on turkey burgers, hamburgers, sandwiches, or serve as a dip with pita chips.

Enjoy! 

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Game Day is coming up and I'm getting my Super Bowl game plan down! One definite appetizer on the plan are these Baked Jalapeno Poppers. Jalapeno Poppers are favorite of ours that we like to order when we are out at a pub. But they are always fried (and oh, so delicious) but I really was looking for a way to make them so they have nice crispy coating and not fried.

The peppers are sliced, cleaned, roasted, filled with cheese, dredged in Panko bread crumbs, and baked. These totally met all my expectations of a tender, cheesey, crispy jalapeno popper.

12 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise, stems, seeds and membranes removed

 

Roast peppers for 10 minutes

Mix cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese together

Spread 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture into each pepper half

Dip each cheese filled pepper into egg 

Dredge each pepper into panko bread crumbs

Place peppers on a prepared baking sheet and bake

Ingredients:

• 12 fresh jalapenos
• 6 ounces cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• panko bread crumbs
• Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Cut jalapeno peppers in half, lengthwise, remove seeds and membranes (to protect your hands, you may want to wear gloves when handling the peppers).
3. Place cut jalapeno peppers onto baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes or until peppers just start sizzle and get lightly browned. Remove peppers from the oven. Let cool. (You may omit this precook step. But I like to precook/roast them a bit to make sure the peppers are nice and tender.)
4. In the meantime, in a medium bowl combine cream cheese and sharp cheddar cheese.
5. Spread 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture into the middle of each jalapeno half, and set aside. 
6. One at a time, dip into the egg mixture, then dredge in the panko crumbs, pressing to coat. Set cheese side up, back onto the baking sheet.
7. Lightly spray with the cooking spray and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese starts to bubble and they start to get golden brown. It's ok of the cheese starts to overflow. 
8. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

These can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a few hours. Or freeze. (If you freeze, increase the cooking time).

Enjoy!

Curried Vegetable Hand Pies

The big game day is just around the corner so I will be sharing some of my favorite recipes that I think would be great to bring to any party, especially the Super Bowl. Or just to eat any time! First up are these delicious Curried Vegetable Hand Pies. These are great vegetarian appetizer or side dish to an Indian meal (I made these to go with my Butter Chicken). Yum!

You can serve these hot or cold. I like them best at room temperature. 

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, dice
• 2 all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced *
• 2 sheets prepared dough for an 8-9 inch pie
• 1 egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash
• 1 tbsp prepared curry paste or 1 tsp Madras curry powder
• 2 tbsp Greek-style plain yogurt
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 in fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Boil the carrots and potatoes in a pan of salted water for about 15 minutes until soft. Drain well.
3. Put the carrots and potatoes in a bowl, and gently mix together with curry paste, yogurt. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions, cilantro, lemon juice and season well with salt and pepper. Stir through gently until well mixed.
4. Roll out each of pastry on a floured work surface, then use a 4 inch circle cookie cutter (or the edge of a drinking glass) as a template to cut out circles from each sheet. (you can cut approximately 7 circles from each pastry sheet)
5. Divide the vegetable mixture among the pastry circles, spooning it into the center of each one (a heaping teaspoon full works well). Fold over the pastry to make a half-moon shape, and pinch the edges together to seal.
6. Using a sharp knife, make 2 slashes in the top of each pie, then brush all over the remaining egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes until gold brown. Serve hot or cold.

* For a more solid potato (one that stays more firm), use a waxy potato.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Shrimp Dip

I am a huge fan of dips, especially at the holidays. I found this Cheesy Shrimp Dip recipe from Paula Deen website. Oh my gosh! It is amazing! My guests ate every bit of it. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 pound medium fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cracked black pepper
• Assorted crackers, for serving

* Note: Use more mayo & sour cream to stretch out the amount of dip.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the red bell
pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the shrimp and green onions and
cook until the shrimp are pink and firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the
sour cream, cheeses, and mayonnaise. Add the salt and pepper, to taste.
Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Bake until lightly browned
and bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with assorted crackers.

Enjoy!

Super Bowl XLV - GO STEELERS!

I'm married to a Steelers fan so that makes me a Steelers Fan! His entire family are HUGE fans so it's fun watching them get all raved up for the game...we all live distance from each other so we have facebook to keep us all up to date with their Super Bowl fun.

Tonight it's just me, hubby and the kids to watch the game. It's a great execuse to eat junk food for dinner. We'll be ordering in Chicken Wings from one our favorite (most convient) take out places, I picked up a small Steelers cake at the grocery store. And I 'll be filling in the gaps with homemade Crab Rangoons, Mississippi Sin Dip, and some cut fresh fruit (pineapple, bananas, berries, etc).

This is my first time making the Crab Rangoons and the Mississippi Sin Dip. I found it quite fun 'crafting' the little rangoons. Here some pictures before I fried them:

Crab Rangoons:

1 16 oz. can crab meat (or use fresh or imitation)
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 scallions, minced
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
water
peanut oil (or Crisco - watch your temp if using, it can start smoking if too hot)
Purchased Wonton skins or sheets

Combine crab, cream cheese, scallions, soy sauce, Worcestershire and garlic powder. Place 1 teaspoon of crab mixture on skin. Wet edges of wonton skin with water. Fold skins from corner to corner and crimp to seal. Fry in 375°F oil until lightly browned.

A while back I stumbled up Deep South Dish website .. I frequently visit this blog with the most delicious looking dip recipes (amongst a bunch of other tempting mouth watering recipe I need to try). The Mississipi Sin Dip just seemed appropriate for the super bowl since it's a classic tailgate recipe (for Mississippi State Bulldog's - hope they don't mind us devouring this during a Pittsburg Steeler's game).

I took Deep South Dish's suggestion to make this dip in a pie dish ...

Mississippi Sin Dip:

1 (approx. 1 pound) round loaf of crusty bread, optional
1 (8 ounce) block of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1-1/2 cups of sour cream
2 cups of shredded cheddar
1/3 cup of chopped ham
1/3 cup of sliced green onion
1 can of green chilies, undrained
2 tablespoons of pickled jalapenos, chopped (I used a bit more)
Couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce (I added a few dashes of Cholula hot sauce)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. To serve in a bread bowl, cut the very top off of the bread and hollow out, leaving about a 1-inch shell and reserving the bread from both the top and the inside. Set the top aside and cut the inside bread into cubes or tear into chunks if desired, to use for dipping.

Cream the cream cheese and sour cream together until well blended. Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix in well. Place enough aluminum foil to wrap around the bread on a baking sheet and pour the cheese mixture into the bread bowl, or into a baking dish. Return to top the bread on top and wrap the loaf completely in the foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Can also bake in a baking dish if desired.

Serve with the reserved bread, an assortment of vegetables, crackers, tortilla or corn chips. One of our Facebook readers took the leftover bread, tore it into big pieces, and then tossed it with olive oil, garlic powder, dried parsley, red pepper flakes and sea salt, and baked that into croutons while dip was baking. Fantastic idea Jaclyn, thanks!

Tailgate version: Triple and prepare in a disposable aluminum pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Place the pan on a hot grill and heat until bubbly.

Variations: Instead of ham, substitute 1 can of deviled ham, 1/3 cup of chopped, dried beef, or 1 small, well drained can of shrimp or crab, cooked crawfish or cooked sausage.

Be sure to check out Deep South Dish website for more goodness! And Thank You Deep South Dish for sharing!

Steelers Cake (store bought):

I haven't finished cooking everything so f you read this post before game time then you'll need to check back for the final goods.

GO STEELERS!