Bacon Wrapped lil Smokies

I love Hillshire Farms lit'l smokies® any time... we can have a party just so I can serve these! When we wrap these little cocktail weiners in a good smoked bacon, and top with brown sugar... oh my goodness. Over the top good! 

These sweet little niblets are served at our annual New Year's Eve party, and they are on my Super Bowl menu. I know. I treat my guys so good.

Bacon Wrapped lil Smokies 

Ingredients

• 1 package lil smokies 
• 1 package smoked bacon 
• 3/4 cup brown sugar

Directions 

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Cut bacon slices into thirds 
• Wrap sliced bacon around each lil smokie and place them into a pan, 
• Evenly spread brown sugar over the top of the bacon wrapped lil smokies.
• Bake 40 minutes - until the bacon is crispy and the sugar is melted.

 Notes**

• It is easier to wrap the bacon if it is cold
• You can make these ahead and reheat at party time
• I prefer Hillshire Farms lit'l smokies®, but you can use any brand cocktail links. 

 I'll be posting a few more of our Super Bowl Sunday recipes as it gets closer.

Baked Jalapeno Popper Dip

Jalapeno Popper dip is a favorite for our annual New Year's Eve party, and it is a great dip to serve at a Superbowl football party. It is hot and melty, but with the crunchy topping, it really resembles a fried popper.

My son-in-law threatened to hide with the dish and a spoon... yes. It is that good.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Ingredients

• 16 oz cream cheese (2 - 8oz packages)
• 1 Cup mayonnaise (Kraft or Best Foods)
• 1 4oz can chopped green chillies drained 
• 4 oz canned jalapeno pepper chopped 
• 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese - divided
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• In a small, microwaveable bowl, microwave the cream cheese for about 30 seconds just to soften it, making it easier to mix with the other ingredients. 
• Mix in the mayonnaise, chopped green chillies (sometimes I add in a teaspoon or so of the liquid from the can)
• Mix in the jalapeno peppers and 2/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. 
• Spray a baking pan with pam cooking spray - a deep dish pie pan or similar size baking dish, then pour the mix into the dish
• Mix the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese and spread over the top of the dish
• Bake uncovered for about 10 - 15 minutes - it is ready when the dip is hot and melty and the top crust is lightly brown.

NOTES**

•  For a milder flavor, use half the canned jalapeno peppers, for more flavor you can add more. You may want to add half the jalapeno peppers and taste test it before adding more. 
• You can use fat free cream cheese / mayonnaise or low fat versions
• Remember, the flavor of the dip is only as good as the ingredients you use. In other words, do not use cheap mayonnaise. It makes a difference - Kraft or Best Foods.
• Serve with French baguette sliced thin - it is also good served with ritz crackers or Keebler® Town House crackers, but we prefer it with the sliced bread. This is the bread we used NYE. The texture was really good with the creamy dip.

New England Clam Chowder - Super Bowl Menu

I realize this is down to the last minute, but here it is, I finalized my menu for game day. Tomorrow. Wow... that is calling it close. This is a pitch-in super bowl party, so there will be a lot of other great foods on the table too. Here's what I'm taking to the party...

1. Chipotle dip
2. 7 layer bean dip
3. Tortilla chips
4. lil' smokies
5. Buffalo wings
6. 4' sub sliced into individual slices - from our local sub-shop

And because I'm all for the New England Patriots continuing with their winning season, I'm also making up a big pot of New England style clam chowder. Now if the Seahawks were still in the game, it would have to be a pot of Ivar's clam chowder!

New England style Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb smokey bacon cut into small pieces
• 1 cup onion diced
• 1/2 cup celery diced
• 2 (5 oz ) cans baby clams
• 7 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 cans (10 1/2 oz each) cream of celery soup
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup half and half
• butter
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

• In your soup pot, cook bacon until it's crispy
• Add the onion and celery, cook until it's translucent
• Add the juice from both cans of clams
• Add potatoes
• Cover and cook until the potatoes are done. Stir occasionally to keep the potatoes from sticking.
• Add soup, and cream and half & half. Stir completely.
• Add the clams and butter.
• Cover and continue cooking over medium low heat for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally so it doesn't scorch.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe can easily be doubled.

What I love about a super bowl party, and the menu, is how laid back everyone is on game day. It all equals up to good entertainment, good food, and good company... it doesn't get much better.

Go Patriots!

Super Bowl Sunday - Chipotle Dip

Super bowl Sunday... it's all about the food! So what's on your menu?

Here is a really good and super easy, chip dip recipe, originally posted on lilbitgabby.com.

Creamy Chopotle Dip
ingredients:
24 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 package Ortega chipotle taco seasoning mix (dry)
a dash or two of cayenne pepper (to taste - optional)
directions:
Mix the sour cream and the taco seasoning mix together. Fold in the shredded pepper jack cheese. Now stir in the cayenne to taste. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

This is really good served with sweet potato corn tortilla chips. But you can also serve it with any corn tortilla chip, fresh vegies, or serve it as a coctail sauce for spicy shrimp.

I'm figuring out the last minute details of my Super Bowl game menu and grocery list. I'll be posting a few of my favorite appetizer recipes over the next couple days.