Need A Winning Super Bowl Recipe?

Having a crowd of people over to watch the big game Sunday? Our food columnists have been busy in the kitchen cooking up some great ideas to please football fans this weekend. 

From old fashioned chili to a carmel apple dip, grab some new recipes to try and let us know how it goes. Have a recipe you would like to share? Add it in the comment section below the article. 

---

Super Bowl Taco Ring

Ingredients

2 pieces of unroll-and-fill pie crust

1 lb. lean Hamburg

1  1.25 oz package of taco seasoning

1  4.5 oz can chopped green chilies

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg – beaten

1 tsp water

Salsa

Shredded lettuce

Sour Cream

Store bought guacamole

Chopped tomato

To make the filling: Brown the hamburger in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Drain the hamburger and put back in the skillet. Add the taco seasonings and chilies to the hamburger.  Mix well. Then add the cheese.

To make the ring: Take a rolling pin, or just a can from your pantry, sprinkle the can or rolling pin with flour and roll out 1 roll of the dough until it is 12 inches in diameter. Place the dough on a round pizza pan. Cut a circle in the middle of the 12 inch circle that measures about 3-4 inches in diameter. Now spread the hamburger mixture around the center hole leaving about a 1 inch gap between the edge of the dough and the filling. Take the 2^nd piece of dough and roll it out so it until it measures 12 inches in diameter, cut a 4 inch circle in this one too and then place this piece of dough on top of the filling. Seal all the edges of the dough by pressing down on the edges and rolling the edges together so the filling doesn’t come out during cooking. Make ½ inch cuts in the top piece of dough to let the steam out during cooking, about 6 cuts.

Mix the beaten egg with the tsp of water and using a pastry brush, brush the top of the ring.

Cook at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until brown.

Cut into 8 pieces. Serve a piece on top of a bed of lettuce and add the tomato, salsa, sour cream and guacamole as you desire.

----

Easy Beef Chili 

Ingredients

2 packages of McCormick’s Chili Seasonings. I use 1 regular and 1 hot.

2 lbs. of ground, lean hamburg

2 large, green peppers – chopped

2 medium onions – chopped

1 cup of tomato puree

2 cans of stewed tomatoes, or 1 can of diced tomato with green chilis and 1 can of stewed tomatoes

2 cans of Red Kidney Beans or 1 can of red and 1 can of black beans

Brown the hamburg in a skillet and drain well. Put in the crock pot. Add the peppers, onions, tomato and seasoning envelops to the crock pot. Mix and cook in crock pot for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. How long you cook the chili is just a rough estimate. Once the chili starts to boil, I turn it down or I turn it off. I rather it didn’t boil but simmered, so again you need to get to know your crock pot. All crock pots are different; some are more powerful than others. You should be able to run around town for a few hours before it starts to boil if you have it on low. You don’t want the vegetables to be too soft. They have more flavor if they are not too soft.

Before serving, rinse the beans and then add to the chili. Simmer the chili until the beans are hot; it won’t take long. Serve with cheese, sour cream and chips.

---

Homemade Pesto

Ingredients

3 large handfuls of fresh basil - if you put the basil in a cup before you chop it, then you are probably using 3 cups full

1/3 cups of pine nuts

3 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup olive oil – I like to use “light olive oil” for my pesto

½ cup parmesan cheese – sprinkle cheese is ok, fresh grated is better

A sprinkle of salt and pepper

Put all ingredients in a food processor except the olive oil and cheese and process until completely chopped. Slowly add the olive oil while still chopping. Then add the cheese and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and process some more until fully blended. This recipe is enough for 2 pizzas made in 17 X 11 inch baking sheets with edges.

Pesto Pizza

Ingredients

1 frozen pizza dough – I use Market Basket pizza dough.  I let it thaw all day in the refrigerator on just on my counter if I don’t have all day

Extra Virgin Olive Oil – use “light olive oil” for the pesto, but here, Extra Virgin Olive Oil really makes a difference

½ the recipe of Pesto from above 

8 oz. of Fresh Mozzarella – sliced into ¼ inch slices

2 large tomatoes – sliced

2 cups of shredded mozzarella – I use the kind in the bags

1 small handful of fresh basil - chopped

Prepare your dough and place in your baking sheet. Use a pastry brush and brush the dough with extra virgin olive oil, you don’t need a lot but it taste great and makes the pesto easier to spread. Spread the pesto onto the dough. Place the tomatoes on the dough and then the fresh mozzarella. Sprinkle the whole pizza with the bagged mozzarella cheese.  Cook at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the top and the bottom of the dough is brown. After you take the pizza out of the oven, top with chopped, fresh basil.

---

Buffalo Wing Dip

Courtesy 

• 1 Large can of Hormel Chicken or any brand you like, drained and shredded with a fork Tip: If you don't want to use canned, buy Perdue Easy Cuts and chop into smaller pieces, either way works.
• 1 8oz block of cream cheese
• 1 Cup of cheddar or mozzarella or monterey jack, (whatever cheese you prefer)
• 1 Cup of Ken's Buffalo Wing Sauce and Marinade (can use hotsauce instead-Texas Pete)  I tend to use 1/2 cup.
• 1/4-1/2 Cup ranch dressing.

Directions: With a hand mixer combine all, place in a baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 mins til it's hot and bubbly.  Serve with Tortilla chips, celery sticks, carrot stick and a small bowl of bleu cheese dressing. 

Tip: You can also place in a frying pan, cook till its all combined and place into a crockpot and let it go on low or high for hours and serve hot with tortilla chips.

---

Vidalia Onion Dip

Courtesy 

• 3 Large Vidalia Onions Coarsely Chopped
• 2 Tb of unsalted butter

Saute the onions in butter until soft (about 15 mins or so)

Remove then combine all with 1 cup mayo, 1 8 oz package of cheddar cheese, 1/2 tsp Tabasco Sauce, 1 clove garlic minced and 2 T fresh chopped parsley. Stir till smooth and place into a baking dish.

Bake at 375 for 25 mins. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

---

Gina's Sangria

Courtesy 

• 1 Pint strawberries sliced
• 2 peaches pitted and sliced
• 1 large orange, sliced

Put all the fruit into a large bowl and add:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup grand marnier
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon) or Viva Borja-Spanish Red Wine

Stir and cover overnight or up to 2 nights. 

Strain fruit, pour liquid into a serving pitcher add sparkling water/seltzer and garnish with lemon/limes/oranges  (fresh cut fruit, not what was strained)

If you find it too sweet, cut it with more wine, not sweet enough add more sugar. 

Hope you enjoy! Go Patriots!!

---

Toffee Cream Cheese Dip with Apples
adapted from For the Love of Cooking by

8 oz whipped cream cheese
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons Heath toffee bits or butterscotch chips (chopped)

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until well incorporated. Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle toffee bits or butterscotch chips on top.

Serve with apples or pear slices, celery sticks, whole wheat crackers, or pretzels.

---

Panko Chicken Chunks
Serves 4
Adapted from Food Network.com and Cooking Light by

• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (or substitute 1/3 cup milk that has been mixed with 1 tsp. lemon juice or white vinegar for 5 minutes)
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into large bite size pieces
• 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Put in oven for several minutes to heat up the pan.
2) Whisk together egg and buttermilk.  Add chicken to mixture and let sit while you prepare the coating
3) Combine Panko crumbs, paprika, garlic powder, oregano and salt and pepper in shallow dish.
4) Remove pan from oven and coat generously with spray oil.
5) Drench chicken pieces with crumb mixture, coating completely. Gently shake off excess, and place on pan. Spray chicken generously with spray oil.
6) Bake chicken for about 20 minutes. Chicken will be golden brown and no longer pink in the center.
7) Serve with dips such as honey mustard, barbecue sauce, ketchup, or ranch dressing.

---

Grilled Buffalo Chicken Strips

Courtesy Lynnfield Patch Editor Bill Laforme.

 This recipe serves 5-6

Ingredients 

5 Chicken breast

2-12 ounce bottles of Frank’s Red Hot or another buffalo-style hot sauce, such as Texas Pete’s.

Honey

Black pepper

Lime juice

1 small can of crushed pineapple

1 small can sliced jalapenos (optional)

Marie’s Blue Cheese

 Trim the chicken breasts and cut into strips

In a blender, pour the two bottles of Red Hot sauce. Add in the can of crushed pineapple and jalapenos. Add a generous squirt of lime juice, a generous squirt of honey, and some fresh-ground black pepper. Blend it together.

Put the chicken into a plastic cooking bag and with half of the sauce and marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. When cooking, have a small brush handy to add some additional sauce to the chicken once or twice as it cooks. Brush on one final coat of the hot sauce right after you’re done cooking the chicken.  I use an indoor grill when cooking this usually.

If cooking indoors, you might want to open a couple of windows because of the hot sauce. Serve with Marie’s brand blue cheese dressing.

--- 

The Best Chili Ever

Courtesy Lynnfield Patch Editor Bill Laforme

Ingredients:

 
1 London Broil Steak
1 pound ground beef
1 or 2 chopped tomatoes
2 large cans of tomato sauce (plus one or two small backup cans)
1 large can of each of the following: black beans, small red kidney beans, large red kidney  beans (I usually use Goya brand). 
2 packets of hot chili seasoning, McCormick or whatever
lime juice
1 can jalapenos (or some fresh hot peppers)
1/2 bottle of rich-flavored beer

Spices:
Cumin
Red hot chili pepper
Black Pepper
At least one other variety of chili pepper powder, such as ancho, chipotle, cayenne, maybe even a little habanero, etc. Use it in a lesser quantity to round out the flavor however, not to take over the flavor of the chili itself.

 
Trim and cut the London Broil into small pieces, and cook to medium rare (to keep the meat tender).While the steak is cooking, drop the beans and tomato sauce into a large pot with a cover.

Add steak and browned ground beef to the pot.  Turn on a medium heat.  Add chili seasoning packets, then 2-3 generous squirts of lime juice.  Stir thoroughly. 

After stirring, start adding the seasonings - cumin, chili pepper, black pepper, whatever else you want and in whatever amount you like.  I usually use heavy amounts of cumin and chili pepper while cooking, and these days have completely phased out former ingredients garlic and onion powder.

Let the pot start simmering for a while – perhaps 60 minutes, before adding the diced jalapenos and tomatoes. Be careful the heat is not too high - if it's bubbling a lot, turn down the heat.  Stir the chili several times during this period, and then, add more spices to taste.  (This usually comes out pretty hot)

Optional - Add half a bottle of beer (I usually use Blue Moon or Stella Artois) to the mix and stir well.  Allow to simmer some more, 60 min or so.

If the chili is not red and saucy enough and becomes too thick as you cook, you would want to drop in one of the small backup cans of tomato sauce and stir well.  Careful not to have too much in there though.  The a little splash of water can also help if the chili shows signs of drying out. 

If you like the chili very spicy, you may also want to consider adding a bit more spice to the mix, and then stirring some more, before stopping. Spice tends to lose some flavor during cooking, which is why I add it several times.  Stir regularly to make sure the mix doesn't get too dry or overcooked. 

The covered chili usually simmers for at least 90 minutes in total before it is ready and you'll definitely have enough for company. When the whole house just smells great, chances are it's done.  

Serve with side things like tortilla chips, corn bread, sour cream, shredded cheese, and scallions.