Super Bowl LVII will be played on Sunday, Feb. 11. The Super Bowl has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966. It is watched by Americans more than anything else on television. Unlike other championships, it takes place over the course of a single game. It’s easy to plan for and only takes a few hours on a Sunday in winter. When the NFL moved the game to primetime in 1978, the result was the most watched Super Bowl to date. The Super Bowl has advertisers that use a chunk of their advertising budget to advertise during the game. During the 1984 game, Apple introduced the Macintosh computer to the world; it was the first all-in-one personal computer to be a mass-market success and the commercial ran just the one time. At halftime, some of the most popular musicians take the stage to perform. While in recent years it has dropped in the ranks of popular gigs for entertainers, it still is looked forward to by millions of viewers.
Whether you watch for the football, the commercials or the half time show the Super Bowl counts as a food holiday. According to the National Chicken Council- yes, there is National Chicken Council- Americans eat more than 100 million pounds of chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday alone. That’s more than 1.25 billion individual wings. Other game foods include pizza, queso dip, chili, chips and salsa, cocktail meatballs, sub sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs. This week’s recipes are good additions to that roundup.
Buffalo chicken meatballs
Ingredients:
Oil spray or non-stick spray
1 ¼ lb ground chicken
¼ cup panko crumbs
1 large egg
2 scallions chopped
1/3 cup finely minced celery
1/3 cup finely minced carrot
1 clove garlic crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup Franks Hot sauce
¼ cup blue cheese dressing, optional
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spray a baking sheet with oil. In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, panko crumbs, egg, scallion, celery, carrot and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using clean hands mix until combined. Roll the mixture (1/8 cup each) into 26 round meatballs. Place the meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and bake until cooked through and golden, about 16 to 18 minutes. Place the meatballs in a bowl, add buffalo sauce and gently toss to coat. Serve with blue cheese dressing, if desired.
Slow cooker Rueben dip:
Ingredients:
1 jar/can (14 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
1 8 oz package cream cheese cubed
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 3 oz package deli corned beef, chopped
3 Tablespoons prepared Thousand Island dressing
Snack rye bread or crackers
Directions:
In a 1 ½ quart slow cooker, combine the first 5 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours or until cheeses are melted. Stir to blend. Serve warm with bread or crackers. You can also heat this in the microwave on high for 1 minute intervals stirring and checking each minute until cheeses are melted.
Pizza balls:
Ingredients:
1 pound ground Italian sausage
1 16 oz package Shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups baking mix
1 chopped green pepper
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup pizza sauce, divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or to taste
Salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Mix the Italian sausage, shredded mozzarella, baking mix, bell pepper, yellow onion, ½ cup pizza sauce, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper together in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Roll the sausage mixture into 1 inch balls, arrange on prepared baking sheet. Bake pizza balls in the oven until lightly browned, about 23-25 minutes. Serve hot with pizza sauce for dipping.
Courtesy photos