Superbowl Snacks

Are you ready for some football……snacks?

Super Bowl Sunday is right around the corner. The Super Bowl has grown to be one of the major party dates on the calendar, right up there with Christmas and Halloween as a national favorite social event.

If you are like most Americans, you will be watching at least part of the football game while eating lots of "sporty" snacks. You know the kind - no raw vegetables or dainty finger sandwiches for this day.

What's called for is warm and hearty food - chili, ribs, pizza, and wings - that are meals in themselves.

You want to throw a good party but have no time to simmer chili or fry wings? Not to worry. Here are some recipes for tasty, sports fan pleasing hot dips that will give you all of the flavor and heft of your favorite football snacks, but go together in minutes.

All of these recipes can be made well in advance and simply heated before serving. Order a pizza, chill some beer and you'll be ready to sit back and enjoy the game.

The first recipe is for a hearty chili and cheese dip. Serve this with the sturdy corn chip "scoops" so you can really load each bite with the hot dip. Any concentrated chili bean canned soup will work - just don't use a diluted soup.

CHILI BEAN DIP

• 1 (10 oz) can of chili bean soup
• 1 (8 oz) jar of taco sauce
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix everything together until well combined. Microwave just until the cheese melts and the dip is warmed through.

Mexican food goes so well with all those cold beers. How about serving a no fuss chicken enchilada casserole that can be eaten with nachos or spooned into flour tortillas?

If you have chicken for dinner during the week, put aside some cooked chicken breasts to use in this recipe. Should you not have any cooked chicken on hand, you could use a purchased rotisserie chicken from the deli, poach a few chicken breasts in the microwave, or use canned chicken.

If opting for the latter, use a good quality canned chicken and drain it thoroughly so as not to dilute the sauce. A few companies are packaging chicken chunks in the new foil pouches, similar to tuna. That would be a good choice, as would the precooked frozen chicken chunks sold in some of the warehouse clubs.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

• 3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts (about 2 cups)
• 2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese at room temperature
• 4 chopped green onions
• 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies, drained
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 TB chili powder
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano

Beat the cream cheese with the spices until soft and creamy. Stir in the chicken, green onions, tomatoes, and chilies. Microwave until warmed through, or chill and serve cold.

Everyone loves Buffalo chicken wings. Here's a boneless version of that popular snack that combines the chicken and dip in one bowl for all of the flavor and none of the mess.

As with the enchilada dip, use whatever form of chicken you have on hand. Suit the heat level to your taste by adjusting the amount of hot sauce.

Prefer ranch dressing to blue cheese with your wings? Then replace the blue cheese dressing with ranch dressing and the crumbled blue cheese with shredded cheddar. Serve with crackers (chicken flavored crackers are nice) and celery sticks.

BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

• 2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese
• 2 ½ cups cooked chicken, in large chunks
• ½ cup hot pepper sauce (if you like it hot!)
• 1 cup blue cheese dressing
• 1 ½ crumbled blue cheese

Heat chicken and hot sauce over medium heat until warmed through. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Stir in the dressing and heat gently. Mix in half of the cheese, cooking just to war. Remove from heat and top with the remaining cheese. Serve warm.

Now, how about some nachos? This is truly the easiest recipe ever, but it is soooo good. Use any salsa, hot or mild, you like, but you must use Velveeta cheese. You can use more salsa if you like a spicier sauce.

Serve this with a variety of flavored nachos, either as a dip or poured over the top of a big pile of nachos.

CHEESY NACHO SAUCE

• 1 lb. Velveeta cheese
• 1 (16 oz) jar of salsa

Rough cut the Velveeta into chunks to aid melting. Heat and stir until melted in a saucepan over low heat, or in a microwave. Be sure to stir the cheese as it melts so it warms evenly and doesn't burn.

When most of the cheese is melted, stir in the salsa. Heat just a few seconds to bring everything to temperature and meld the flavors. For a meaty nacho sauce, stir in ½ to 1 lb of browned and drained ground meat.

Now for one last dip, Hot Mozzy. This is a warm, stringy mozzarella dip that is sure to please a cheese lover.

Serve this in a fondue pot or chafing dish with chunks of French bread or pumpernickel for dipping, or spread the mix on mini bagels or party rye and serve hot from the broiler. Either way is delicious.

HOT MOZZY

• 1lb shredded mozzarella chees
e
• 2 TB minced onion
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 (4oz) can of green chilies, drained
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce.

Mix all in a greased 4 quart casserole or fondue pot. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, or heat in the microwave or over the fondue pot sterno until everything is melted and bubbly.

With these easy, do ahead snacks you'll be able to relax and watch the game with your guests. Enjoy!

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