Super Bowl Sunday

Coming up with a great menu for the Super Bowl is very important. I didn't want to do the typical hamburgers, hotdogs, or cliche chips and dip, so I decided to branch out by taking some game day and comfort food favorites and adding a gourmet twist. I made Buffalo Chicken Sliders, Gruyere Bacon Mac and Cheese, and Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus. Let's just say this meal was any man's dream for a gameday meal, since there was chicken, bacon, and prosciutto.

Slow Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Ingredients:
4-6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (can be frozen)
1 (12 ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided
1/2 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons butter
2 packs of soft rolls like Kings Hawaiian brand rolls

Materials:
Slow Cooker
Forks (2)
Spoon to stir

Yields: 20 sliders or 7 full sized sandwiches (or more)

Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. (I stirred twice).

Once the chicken has cooked, (usually after 4 1/2 to 5 hours) drain liquid if any, and shred the chicken with two forks. Then add the butter and the rest of the buffalo sauce.

Serve with rolls and coleslaw with blue cheese or ranch dressing if desired.


Gruyere Bacon Mac and Cheese

I used a little more gruyere cheese than what the recipe called for. I bought a block of gruyere cheese and shred it myself.  For grated parmesan, I used Parmesan Romano Cheese. I highly recommend using a Fusilli pasta or a fun shaped pasta of your choosing. In terms of bacon, make sure to use a good quality bacon like Jones Dairy Farm Sliced Bacon. Cook the bacon before cooking the past or the cheese sauce.

Ingredients:
1 lb of pasta
6 slices of bacon diced
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 1/4 cups (or to taste) shredded gruyere cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Materials:
Large pot
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Large spoon
Wooden spoon
Cutting board
Knife
Aluminum foil
Medium saucepan
Cooling rack
Pasta strainer

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cook the bacon on a large cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil with a piece of parchment paper on top. Cook for about 10-15 minutes until crispy. Remove from oven and let it cool. Transfer to paper towel and remove the excess grease. Dice the bacon on a cutting board, and set aside.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, in a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream, garlic, and thyme over medium heat. Bring to a slight boil and reduce by half, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in cheeses, a handful at a time, until smooth, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in pasta until well combined.

Garnish with bacon, and serve immediately.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 Asparagus spears
6 prosciutto slices/strips

Materials:
Large frying pan

Wash asparagus and cut 2 cm off the ends. Cut prosciutto strips into two halves, going lengthwise, you should end up with 12 strips.

Place each prosciutto strip on a chopping board at a 45 degree angle. Place one of the asparagus spears on top of the meat, perpendicular to it. The tip of the asparagus should be lined up with the bottom of the prosciutto strip. Wrap the bottom end of prosciutto over the asparagus and holding the meat tight start rolling the asparagus up.  The prosciutto strip will wrap around the whole length of the spear because it's on an angle. You can try a different wrapping method, but I find this is a very quick way to do it. Don't worry if parts of the asparagus spears are not covered completely.

Sautee the asparagus in a large frying pan on medium heat cook each side for 1-2 minutes or until prosciutto is brown and crispy.

FALLing for Apple Cake

Sorry for the delay in my posts! Work has been hectic lately with the Holidays coming up. My boyfriend and I went hiking and pumpkin picking in North Georgia last month and happened to stumble upon the Ellijay, GA, the apple capital of Georgia. We went Apple Picking at R & A Orchards and loved it. Of course, I had to find the perfect Fall Apple Cake Recipe.... Let me just say this one is delish. Happy Fall Y'all!!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for the tube pan

3 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/8 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup honey, preferably golden blossom (I used Wildflower) 

3/4 cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped coarsely

1 Granny Smith apple, sliced

Materials:

Large & Medium Mixing Bowls

Measuring cup/spoons

Spatula

Wooden Spoon

Sifter

Electric mixer

Bundt pan (or tube pan)

Toothpick

Cooling Rack

Preheat the oven to 350 °F and grease a 10-inch tube pan.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and sugar. Set aside. With an electric mixer, beat the sugar, oil, and eggs on low speed until combined. Add the honey and beat until well blended. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the coffee, beating on low speed until combined. Stir in the chopped apples by hand.
Pour the batter into the tube pan and arrange the sliced apples on top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out easily, about 1 hour. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the cake from the pan and let cool. (This cake can be baked 1 day ahead.)

Corn Muffins

Y'all these corn muffins are absolutely DELICIOUS. I was beyond impressed how good the recipe was  that I found on Pinterest by the way. These are a perfect accompaniment with BBQ, Southern/Soul Food, and Low Country Food. These will be a hit for sure at any American Football Tailgate or party.

Ingredients:
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 (9 oz) package yellow cake mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon miracle whip light
14 ounce can whole kernel corn (well drained)


Materials:
1 medium mixing bowl
1 large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Measuring cup/spoons
Muffin/cupcake tray
Cupcake liners
Whisk

Whisk together cornmeal, cake mix, baking powder, salt, and cayenne in a bowl, set aside.  Combine milk, buttermilk, oil, eggs, brown sugar, and honey in another bowl and mix well.  Add to the cornmeal mixture and gently stir-- there should be no lumps, but do not over mix.  Fold in the miracle whip and canned corn.

Let rest, covered, in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 °F.  Line cupcake pan with liners. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

Gameday Dip

So my boyfriend gave me a great recipe for a dip that's to die for. It's perfect for Football (American Football) Parties and Tailgates. The best part is that this dip is very inexpensive to make. Sorry, I didn't get a good picture of it!

Ingredients:
3 frozen Cream of Spinach (microwavable frozen veggie side dish)
1 lb hot roll spicy sausage (I use Tennessee Pride)
Grated Parmesan Romano cheese, to taste

Materials:
1 medium sized casserole pan
Tablespoon
Knive


Microwave the 3 frozen cream of spinach, separately using the cook time as directed on the box.
Put one layer of cream of spinach on the bottom of the medium sized casserole pan, then put enough circles of sausage on that layer. Repeat this step for the next two layers. 
Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top. 
Cook for 20-30 minutes at 400 °F until sausage is cooked.

Serve with Pita chips.

Healthy Pasta Bake

Sorry for the late blog post-- work has been hectic lately. However, I managed to try a new recipe last week. This pretty inexpensive and fairly easy to make. This pasta bake was delicious. I recommend making this for a large group of people, unless you don't mind having a lot of leftovers.

**I used two bunches of Asparagus, which was probably a little over a pound. I cut the asparagus in halves after I steamed it in order to make it easier to eat and dish out. For the chicken, I cooked 3 chicken breast, which equaled a pound, in 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil in a Deep Frying Pan. However, I'm sure you could buy a cooked chicken and cut it up, if you needed to save some time. Feel free to add more cheese, if needed.

Ingredients:
1 lb Asparagus- Steamed
1 1b of pasta (penne, zitti, or rigatoni)
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1 lb Chicken Breast- Cubed and Cooked
1/2 Cup Sargento 6 cheese Italian Blend
1 tablespoon of garlic, minced (feel free to add more if you like garlic)

Materials:
Large casserole pan
Measuring cup
Serrated knife
Serving spoon
Large, deep frying pan (to cook the chicken)
Tablespoon



Add all ingredients into a 9 x13 pan (or large casserole pan) and stir to combine. 
Top with Cheese and Broil for 10-12 minutes at 400°F or until cheese is golden

Killer Tomatoes

Sorry for the late blog update y'all! I have some good news. I will be posting two other recipes this week. 

The other week, I decided to make a recipe I saw on Pinterest with tomatoes that was originally intended for peppers. However, I kind of tweaked the recipe! Y'all know I get bored following exact recipes unless it's for baking, which is a different story. I used feta cheese, but goat cheese or mozzarella would work well too! I only cooked them until the cheese was golden brown and the tomatoes were soft, but I would recommend cooking them for a little bit longer until the cheese starts to melt. This would be a great item for a tailgate or football party because each person gets their own individual tomato to eat. Adjust the number of tomatoes you need to make based on the size of your party. 

**Please note that the measurements below are for each tomato, and NOT for all 3 as a whole.

Servings: 3

Ingredients:
3 medium sized heirloom tomatoes 
1 tablespoon of feta per tomato, or to taste
1-1/2 teaspoons per tomato of mixed bell pepper, diced (use 1 yellow, 1 green, and 1 red)
1-1/2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) per tomato to coat inside and outside
Pepper, to taste per tomato
Pinch of salt per tomato

Materials:
Cutting board
Serrated knife
Sharp knife
Cookie sheet
Tin Foil
Parchment Paper

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and parchment paper placing the parchment paper on the top.

Wash the Tomatoes, and cut off the small bit at the bottom and a circle around the bad bit at the top. Make sure that you cut a hole deep enough at the top to fill the tomato(es) up with cheese and peppers.

Place the tomatoes on the cookie sheet lined with parchment and tin foil and pour the EVOO inside and out, coating the tomato.

Next, put half of the feta measurement on the bottom. Add the mixed bell pepper on top of the cheese.

Add the rest of the feta on top (or enough to cover the bell pepper). Top with salt and pepper.

Cook for 20 mins or until tomatoes are soft and cheese is cooked.

Salmon Salad

I have to say that Salmon is one of my favorite dishes. I was telling my boyfriend how I wanted to make some recipes that would be perfect for tailgating for Football (American Football) Season. This recipe is by Barefoot Contessa. I will have to say that the recipe takes a long time if you  cook the salmon yourself, which is what I did (you're looking at about 3 and a half hours because you have to cook, cool, and chill the salmon).  However, it is completely worth the wait. The best part is there is no mayo in this recipe, so it's really healthy.  You can eat it either on top of a salad or make it more of a gourmet sandwich using baguette bread or a nice roll.

How to cook the Salmon: 

I baked the salmon, which I coated in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and topped with sea salt and ground black pepper, in the oven at 400 °F  for 35 mins. I let it cool for 30 minutes before I cut it up into chunks (removing any skin and bones) and placed it into a large mixing bowl, which I refrigerated for an hour. 

Ingredients:

2 pounds of salmon, chilled

1 cup small- diced celery (3 stalks)

1/2 cup small- diced red onion (1 small red onion)

2 tablespoons minced fresh dill

2 tablespoons capers, drained

2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Materials:

Large mixing Bowl

Tablespoons/teaspoons

Measuring Cup

Large Wooden spoon to mix everything together

Cutting board

Serrated knife

Sharp Knife

Break the salmon into very large flakes, removing any skin and bones, and place the salmon in a bowl. Add the celery, red onion, dill, capers, raspberry vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Season, to taste.  Mix well and serve cold or at room temperature.