Saturday, January 7, 2012

Weekend Cooking...Time for that Super Bowl Thing Yet?

Something very strange, very unexpected, happened in my Bro's household a few years ago.

I blame the Niece.
She when to college at the University of Florida, a college perhaps best known at the time for it's quarterback, some guy named Timmy Tebow. Won some games there I hear, won something called the Heisman Trophy and before I knew it they were all watching football games.

Now Timmy...as I like to call him...is playing for some team in Denver...with some name that has to do with horses for some reason. Mustangs...no....oh yes, the Broncos.
All I know is, if I go over there on a Sunday afternoon, they are sitting around discussing players and rankings and all sorts of things I do not understand.
If you don't get a first down, do you get a second...or a third? What do those quarterbacks keep in that little fanny pack they wear? Snacks? A tissue? Perhaps not. But some of the uniforms are very pretty colors and I must admit that Timmy is a cute looking feller, and as the Niece, who almost ran him over once with her scooter, will tell you, a really nice guy.

So, while I always hope Timmy has a good day playing his little game, I just try to ignore all the rest, all that running around on the field and the all that yelling and concentrate instead on the other thing that seems required when watching football on TV.

Football food!!

I understand that shortly there will be a BIG game of the football, so big it is called Super and that this Super Bowl, as it is known, requires seriously Super Bowls of Football Food.
But do not worry. The Niece is testing recipes. And we were lucky enough to sample a few of them last weekend.

One very tasty one is..
Queso Dip

Ingredients:
1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
1 pkg (8 oz) Cream cheese
8 ozs. shredded Mexican mix..or Pepper Jack...or Monterey Jack cheese


Directions:
Combine undrained tomatoes and cheese in medium saucepan.
Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until cheeses are completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Add a bit of milk if it is too thick.
Serve warm as a dip with tortilla chips, crackers or cut-up fresh vegetables.

Very easy, very tasty and always a favorite.

And then there is a new recipe she tried out and it was a winner!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs (adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza warmed sauce for dipping.

If you get the King Arthur Flour e-mail letter, you might have noticed that they had a very similar recipe in the latest edition, but they left out the dipping sauce, which I think is a big mistake. Warmed pizza sauce..and the Niece strongly recommends the pictured brand..makes it.


Bandit and Sammy totally agreed!




This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.


21 comments:

  1. We don't have gridiron here but I think these snacks would do for a rugby test.

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  2. yes, I agree. Most likely any sporting event...none of which I am interested in...would do well with these additions.

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  3. Well we don't really have superbowl season over here. Such hype is only when the world championships soccer are on TV. But these snacks are also great for a movie night with friends. So thanks for the inspiration :)

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  4. Seems like you will be well-fed during the game!

    Those pizza puffs intrigue me -- I would leave out the pepperoni for the vegetarians.

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  5. Oh I love chile con queso! And I didn't know King Arthur has a newsletter - gaaah, I have to go subscribe!

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  6. yep, to me football is all about the food. I think my football fans here would love the dip and the puffs, they look so good!

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  7. Football is king around here and we're mourning the end of the college season. I'm sure you can hear us yelling when the Hokies play. Those recipes look delicious! I just may try the pepperoni pizza puffs.

    Oh, those little fanny packs you write of? Those are hand warmers. If you have any other football questions, let me know. ;)

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  8. I did notice the KAF recipe and I think you're right -- dipping sauce would be needed. I bet the pizza puffs would be good with almost any pizza topping in them.

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  9. We watch a lot of football at our house. My husband is a huge fan and I like it too. I like both your recipes and will try them the next few weeks during the playoffs. And, thanks for the tip about King Arthur's newsletter.

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  10. My book club is coming tomorrow. I think these pepperoni puffs would be a big hit! Thanks!

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  11. I'm definitely trying those Pepperoni Pizza Puffs :)

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  12. Oh man. It is really just a bad time to be on a diet. But I bet those pepperoni puffs are low cal, right?

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  13. LOL. You're a funny non-football fan! These look great.

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  14. Oh no! Super bowl already? So glad you posted this queso recipe. My coworker shared some with me yesterday and I HAD to know what made it so yummy. She said cream cheese. Who would have thought? Guess you, too. ;)

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  15. if you check the rotel recipe they use Velveeta. as someone I know said, can you trust 'cheese' that does not have to be refrigerated and lasts for years? I will go with real cheese!

    about the Pizza puffs, yes, I think you could change it up and add any pizza fav instead of the pepperoni actually, I don't like pepperoni but I like it in these.

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  16. Thanks so much for sharing these!!! Great Superbowl Ideas!! They sound fabulous!

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  17. The pepperoni puffs sound wonderfulfor any time but I would make my own marinara sauce for dipping. Unlike TBG and my daughters I don't have too much interest in football unless it is the Pats playing.

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  18. Pizza puffs! We'll be making those for Sunday football in the next few weeks.

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  19. Tebow .. he sort of like that over hyped books you mentioned above .. I am so not a football fan ..

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