Recipe

College Football is Here!!!

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Roll Tide, ya’ll!  College Football has returned, thank heavens!  What do we do with ourselves the other 8 ish months of the year?  While college football is severely cutting into my foodie restaurant reviewing experiences, it does give me a chance to do something I love equally well:  Test out new recipes on hungry fans.  Each Bama game day I make a bunch of snacky foods for us to grub while we watch the Tide roll.

Last weekend was my first trial run.  I learned a lot about the day.  First, think about the appliances you have in your home for cooking.  Make sure you only have one oven food, one stovetop food, one crockpot food…you see where I’m going here?  I scheduled myself too tightly on stove/oven duty and ended up missing the first quarter due to poor planning.  Never again.

thelephant

My Stove Top Dish

Cumin-Crusted Chicken Cheddar Quesadillas W/ Basil Sour Cream

INGREDIENTS

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For chicken

  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • 4 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless (about 1 1/2 pounds)

For sauteed mushrooms

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 portabello mushroom caps, cleaned and thinly sliced
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced, salt and pepper, to taste

For basil sour cream

  • 1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 cups sour cream

For quesadillas

  • 6 (12 inch) flour tortillas
  • 3/4 lb cheddar cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS

  • For chicken: In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne. Rub chicken breasts with spice mixture. Grill chicken 6 minutes on each side or until tender. Remove from heat and thinly slice; set aside.
  • For sautéed mushrooms: Heat butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms and onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • For basil sour cream: Combine basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor. Process until pureed. Mix into sour cream. Set aside.
  • To assemble quesadillas: Pre-heat grill or griddle to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place tortillas on a flat surface. Generously sprinkle cheese onto one half of each tortilla. Combine chicken and mushrooms; divide evenly on top of the cheese. Sprinkle cheese on top of the chicken and mushroom mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Fold each tortilla in half (creating a half circle shaped quesadilla). Cook each quesadilla about 4-6 minutes, until cheese is melted and the tortilla begins to brown and crisp. Flip tortilla and repeat about 4-6 minutes. Remove quesadilla from heat and cool about 30 seconds before cutting into 3 triangle slices. Serve with basil sour cream.

My Crock-Pot Dish

Apple Dip

This dip is sweet with just the right amount of peanut butter to give it depth. We gobbled it right up!

Apple Dip
Apple Dip

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups brown sugar, packed
  • 2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup corn syrup
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • apple, slices to dip

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine all ingredients except apple slices in a saucepan, stir until smooth, and heat until scalding, watching to make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
  2. Transfer dip to slow cooker, if needed, cook on low for 20 minutes.
  3. If not transferring, simmer on stovetop for 5-10 minutes.
  4. While the dip is warming, slice the apples and place on a serving plate.
  5. Serve the dip from the cooker, while turned on low to keep it creamy, or from bowls.

The Oven Dish

This recipe has been allllll over the internet, but there’s a good reason for that.  It is simply delicious.  And, if you are having a football party, you have to include some form of Buffalo Wings, right?

Buffalo Chicken Dip (photo by Delicious as it Looks)
Buffalo Chicken Dip (photo by Delicious as it Looks)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

INGREDIENTS

  • 1(8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup ranch dressing
  • 3/4 cup red hot sauce
  • 1 (10 ounce) can chicken, drained (or equivalent rotisserie or freshly-cooked, chopped chicken)
  • shredded cheddar cheese, you decide how much
  • Frito corn chip, scoops

DIRECTIONS

  1. Beat cream cheese, ranch dressing, and red hot sauce.
  2. Fold in shredded chicken.
  3. Spread mixture into pie plate sprayed with Pam.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
  5. Add cheddar cheese to top.
  6. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
  7. Serve hot with Frito scoops.

And you know you can always do make aheads and put them in the fridge!

The Panini Press Dish (you know you can use a skillet or even your oven!)

This is officially a sandwich, yes.  But cut in in smaller pieces and bang! you have an appetizer.  These are so darned good.

Touchdown Pepperoni Pizza Sandwich

Touchdown Pepperoni Pizza Sandwich

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 slices Italian bread
  • 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons pizza sauce (or spaghetti sauce)
  • 6 slices pepperoni
  • 2 slices sharp cheddar cheese (or mozzarella)
  • 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese (or Asiago)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Spread mayonnaise on one slice and pizza or spaghetti sauce on the other slice.

  2. Lay pepperoni slices on the pizza sauce and the cheese over the top of that.

  3. Sprinkle Parmesan on the mayonnaise slice.

  4. Pop both pieces into the toaster oven (or put together and use a panini maker) until cheese is bubbly and melted.

  5. Fold sides together, and serve while warm.

  6. VARIATION: try this with your favorite pizza toppings OR cheeses.

  7. SERVING SUGGESTION: Cut on point into four pieces and use as “appetizers” or little kid-wiches.

    Big_ears

     

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