Superbowl Party Menu

Like most people..we are huge football fans and with the Superbowl right around the corner, here is a great collection of recipes perfect for your party. Most of these recipes can be found in our cookbook - In the Kitchen with the Auxiliary. I also add Janice's Famous Artichoke Dip and Stromboli Bread to my own party menu. Both recipes can be found on here.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 package chicken tenderloins, cooked and chopped
2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
1 - 8 oz. box chicken-flavored crackers

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on LOW setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

Brown Sugar Smokies

1 - 16 oz. package little smokie sausages
1 pound bacon
1 cup brown sugar, or to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut bacon into thirds and wrap each strip around a little sausage. Place the wrapped sausages on wooden skewers, several to a skewer. Arrange the skewers on a baking sheet and sprinkle them liberally with brown sugar.
Bake until bacon is crisp and the brown sugar melted.

Footnote - You can make these little smokies on skewers or toothpick them to secure.

Best Ever Buffalo Chicken Wings

Oil for deep frying
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 dash ground black pepper
1 dash garlic powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 chicken wings

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. The oil should be just enough to cover wings entirely, an inch or so deep. Combine the butter, hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended. Remove from heat and reserve for serving.
In a small bowl mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Place chicken wings in a large nonporous glass dish or bowl and sprinkle flour mixture over them until they are evenly coated. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for 60 to 90 minutes.
Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until parts of wings begin to turn brown. Remove from heat, place wings in serving bowl, add hot sauce mixture and stir together. Serve with bleu cheese dipping sauce.

Sweet and Spicy Wings

6 pounds chicken wings, separated at joints, tips discarded
1 1/2 cups Louisiana-style hot sauce
3/4 cup butter
1 cup honey
1 pinch garlic salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill the chicken 8 to 12 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. (You can deep fry or bake the chicken instead if you want to, but it is best when grilled.) Remove chicken to a large roasting pan.
In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the hot sauce, butter, honey, garlic salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Simmer about 10 minutes, until blended and heated through. Pour the sauce over the grilled chicken wings and stir to coat.

Footnote - You can make two batches of the sauce, use one as a marinade before grilling the chicken, and pour the second batch over the chicken after it is grilled.

Jalapeno Snacks

1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 - 1 oz. package dry ranch salad dressing mix
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
20 large jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded
1 pound sliced bacon, cut in half

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.
Stir together the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, and garlic powder in a mixing bowl until evenly blended. Spoon some of the cheese mixture into each jalapeno half, wrap with half a bacon strip, and secure with a toothpick. Arrange the wrapped jalapeno halves onto a broiler pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until the bacon is no longer pink and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.

Baked Stuffed Mushrooms

1 lb. fresh mushrooms
1 stick of melted butter
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
fresh chopped parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
½ cup grated Romano cheese
½ cup white wine
1 cup frozen chopped onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove mushroom stems from mushrooms and chop. Place caps on a buttered baking sheet and set aside. In a saucepan melt butter and white wine over low heat. In a skillet sauté chopped stems, chopped onions and crushed garlic in olive oil. In a bowl mix together bread crumbs, parsley and cheese then add them to the melted butter and white wine, then add the sauté of mushroom stems, minced onions and crushed garlic, stir everything together. Mold a small amount on the cap of each mushroom. Bake for 30 minutes.