WINNER ANNOUNCED AT THE END OF THIS POST!
Wow, what a roundup of great recipes for Super Bowl parties! Thanks to all who participated in this contest to win a $250 Sam's Club card. Here are the Super Bowl recipe entries... recipe titles are linked to the blog on which they originated. Have fun exploring!
From the Blog- Baking Like Betty
Homemade Root Beer, Lil Piggies in a Blanket, and BBQ Pulled Pork (Crockpot)
From the Blog- Barbara Bakes: Caramel Corn
From the Blog- 
Crispy Southern Fried Hot Wings with Spicy Dipping Sauce
Grape Jelly Cocktail Meatballs
Mississippi'd New Orlean's Muffuletta
From the Blog: Culinary Adventures of a New WifeHealthy Chile Con Queso with Baked Lime Tortilla Chips
Chocolate Fantasy Kissed Cookies and Gin's Sweet & Spicy Meatballs
BBQ Pulled Pork & Chipotle-Onion Sandwiches
Texas Jalapeno Poppers, Starbuck's White Chocolate Mocha, & So Papilla Cheesecake
From the Blog- Newlyweds: Avocado Salad
Little Eggplant- Parmesan Toasted Hoagies
Spinach- Parmesan & Sun-Dried-Tomato Hummus
Peanut Butter Chocolate & Toffee Chip Cupcakes
From the Blog- Sweet BasilRanch Sausage Stars & Artichoke Dip
Jambalaya- Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
Cilantro- Lime Hummus
Special K Treats
Slow Cooker Fajitas
Crockpot Southwestern Chicken Nachos
Time Out Taffy & Touchdown Taco Pockets
False Start Fun Fondue & Finger Lickin' Fruit Dip
MeMe's Cookies, Hot Wings, & Artichoke- Spinach Dip
From the Blog- Jersey Girl Cooks: Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Grilled Navajo Tacos & Pittsburgh- Style Cheesesteak Panini
Southwestern Eggrolls, Coconut Chicken Bites and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
From the Blog- Peanut Butter Boy
Super Peanut Butter Chili Bowl, Indonesian Meatballs w/ Peanut Sauce & Butternut Squash Fries
From the Blog- Karen Cooks: Armadillo Eggs
I did this the old-fashioned way since my 7 year old was excited to be a part of the contest. I had slips of paper with blog names written on them (up to 3 per blog, depending on how many recipes were submitted). We drew a name last night....AND THE WINNER IS...
Congratulations Barbara!I know you'll have fun spending those Sam's Club dollars. Please contact me to claim your prize!
Thanks so much to all who participated in the contest. We sure got a great collection of recipes out of it all. Happy Super Bowl Sunday!
Costco and Sam's Club both sell big packages of chicken wings for a good price. First off... how to trim the chicken wings.
Cut off the tips of the wings. You can do this with a sharp knife (or kitchen shears). Toss the tips or save them to make chicken stock. Store them in the freezer if you don't feel like making chicken stock right now.
You'll probably need kitchen shears to snip the other part- this will give you a little leg and a little wing (the two parts you'll use in your recipe).
This is what you'll be needing for the recipe. Nothing exotic.
After the wings are trimmed, the recipe couldn't be simpler. Chicken is placed into the crockpot and salt & peppered well.
The marinade ingredients are whisked together and poured on top of the chicken. It simmers all day in the crockpot. I was afraid that simmering them too long would make the chicken fall apart, so I let them simmer for 4 hours, and then I took them out, drained them a bit and finished them in the oven. The oven also dried them out a bit too so they weren't so wet for picking up and eating. You can also choose to do the whole thing in the oven in lieu of the crockpot.
The result was delicious, sweet-flavored wings. If you want them spicy, add additional cayenne pepper. Perfect for Super Bowl. Hate football? Have a party anyway. It's a good excuse to have friends over.
Yes, those yummy little Peanut Butter Cups that we all love to devour get the starring role in this brownie.
Here are the goods... you'll need some sort of unsweetened chocolate. I used 
Sugar, butter, peanut butter, eggs and extract are mixed together.
Melted chocolate is blended in.
The flour is mixed in next.
And the peanut butter chips are stirred in last.
The batter is spread into a foiled and greased pan. I used a 
If you chill the brownies well, you can easily get the brownies out of the pan without breaking them apart. Place a cutting board upside down on top of the pan and gently flip it over. Peel the foil off. Your brownies will now be upside down, so place another cutting board on the bottom of the brownies and then flip them back over. They'll be nice and firm and easy to cut clean squares.
I like to cut the edges off of the brownies and make nicely cut squares. We save the edges for sampling :)
These were everything a brownie should be... chocolatey, fudgy and moist. And all of that added peanut butter stuff happened to be quite a good idea. Kids and adults alike really loved these, and they'll go into that 'definitely make these again' pile.
The butter is browned in a cast-iron skillet, and the other ingredients are mixed together and poured on top of the browned butter.
I didn't have the right size cast-iron pan, so I browned the butter in a saucepan and then poured it into a 9-inch square pan and continued the recipe from there. The batter contains whole grain cornmeal, which I love. It gives the bread a slight crunch. If you don't like that of course you can use regular ground cornmeal.
Sour cream, Farmer's Cheese, and the nutty-flavored browned butter help to make this cornbread a moist creation. No dry cornbread here. Chunks of corn and freshly chopped thyme are mixed in there too. There are three Tablespoons of sugar in this one, so it's not terribly sweet- the savory flavors take over in a good way.
The 
And this 
Here's the How-To:
Canned pinto beans are rinsed and drained. Then they're heated in the pan with water and a few added spices. Simply mash them up a bit and you'll have your 'homemade' refried beans.
To assemble the nachos: spread chips into a casserole dish.
Sprinkle half of the cooked chorizo and half of the beans on top of the chips.
Spread a handful of pepper jack and sharp cheddar cheeses over the top. Add a few jalapenos too.
One more layer of chips, chorizo, beans, cheese, etc. Pile it up high! Into the oven it goes... to melt all of that cheese.
Ready for eating... add a bit of lime-tainted sour cream and freshly chopped cilantro.
I look forward to cooking with my new cookbooks, and I'll try Jillian Michael's DVD workout on a day when I don't feel like heading to the gym.
Here's the How-To:
Saute garlic in a little bit of olive oil.
Add canned chopped tomatoes and chopped parsley- let that simmer for a while.
Add shrimp (I used 'jumbo-sized' for this recipe) and let the sauce cook the shrimp.
Spoon the shrimp & sauce over cooked spaghetti into a casserole dish.
Sprinkle a cup of crumbled feta cheese on top.
Throw it in the oven to melt (about 10 minutes). When it comes out of the oven, sprinkle lemon juice, parsley and salt and pepper on top.
I know that some people are hesistant to use the whole grain pasta for fear that it'll be grainy tasting and icky. Let me just tell you that everyone is my family has always loved pasta... and they can't detect a big difference with the whole wheat kind. You'll notice a difference... to me it's not as soft as white flour pasta, but you get used to it and it's really so much better for you. As feta cheese lovers, we enjoyed this shrimp recipe a lot. It doesn't have a big, heavy sauce on it... it's very light but it works. Even the kiddo ate it (after he picked out the little green things).
These cookies are sweetened only with honey and agave nectar. If you're not familiar with agave nectar, you can find it at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or other specialty or health food markets. The recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour and toasted wheat germ. I subbed ground flaxseed for the wheat germ for a little added fiber.
Anna made hers with raisins. I thought I might be a bit more successful in getting my kiddo to eat these 'healthy' cookies if I left out the raisins and studded a few M&M's on top. We happened to have some of those mini M&M's leftover from Halloween. The kid had fun doing the 'studding' part, putting all of his favorite colors on 'his' cookie.
These oatmeal cookies stay pretty thick- not a lot of spreading out. They're not a crispy or cakey cookie. The texture is a little like a dense granola bar. The spattering of M&M's on top was a perfect addition to give them a bit more pizzazz and sweetness. The kiddo loved them... I've been tucking them into his lunch all week. The husband enjoyed them too. I sampled one (sans M&M's), and it sure felt like an indulgent treat after all of my wise food choices. The best part about these cookies... this recipe makes only 8 cookies- just enough so that true indulgence is barely an option.
I won't ever be classified as 'petite.' I'm rarely seen in a one-piece bathing suit (let alone a bikini!) I'd order Mexican food over a salad anytime. I might bike or run around the neighborhood (but no further). And I haven't had any plastic surgery. I do love where I live, but I've had to come to terms with the fact that I just won't ever be one of those people, and I'm still working on feeling okay about that.
Look at all of those fresh, spa-like ingredients... fresh spinach, chickpeas, red onion, Italian parsley, a lemony cumin vinaigrette, and an orange-tainted yogurt sauce! Am I on the right path to healthy eating or what??
This was a fabulous lunch choice from 
I actually sat down... in the kitchen to eat this salad. Usually I'm on the run or eating in front of my computer screen. I forced myself to eat slowly, relax and enjoy my lunch. It was a wonderful salad with a light & flavorful dressing. Salads are pretty much a lunch staple around here, but it was nice to make one that was a little bit different.
As you can see from the diet-friendly portion of my cookbook collection, I've obviously had the desire to lose weight many times before. Yes, I've tried most of the diets... 
Regular oats are toasted in the oven just as you would toast nuts... on a cookie sheet at a high heat, just until fragrant. The toasted oats are then transferred to a big bowl and mixed with Rice Krispies.
In a saucepan, butter, sugar, water, corn syrup and salt are boiled together for 5 minutes. In the middle of making this, I realized that I had less than 1/4 cup of the 1/2 cup of corn syrup needed for the recipe. Panic ensued! Scouring the pantry for a proper substitute. I spied a bottle of 
The boiled syrupy mixture is mixed with the oats/krispies and some marshmallows, and then pressed into a half-sheet pan (not to worry if you don't have one of these... you can also use 13x9 pans).
More marshmallows and desired chocolate chips are sprinkled on top.
I used another sheet pan (bottom greased) to press on top... it made the mixture flat and even, and all goodies were compacted together nicely.
The pan is popped into the oven for a short three minutes- just enough to toast those marshmallows so they become '
Cutting is easiest while they're still warm. I got about 25 good-sized granola bars out of the batch, but you could likely get about 35 if you cut them into smaller squares. Each granola bar was packaged individually... I wrapped them with plastic wrap and then stuck them into a sealed container.
We've been eating these for a couple of days now and they're still very good. I'd probably package them in zips next time though as they did harden up a little... but that's ok since most granola bars are more firm than soft. They were quite delicious fresh out of the oven though!
What did my official taste testers think of these bars? Well, my son raved and raved about them. And Mr. Picky Eater Friend? He was pleasantly surprised that he liked them (he ate his whole bar), and he was very happy that I sent home a bunch for his family to enjoy too.
Dump in white wine, chicken broth, water and thyme and yes, you guessed it, return to the oven for a little more roasting.
Pour the soup into a serving bowl.
Scoop out a couple of ladlefuls of the soup (with some mushrooms in there too). This is the amount that you will puree- so you can choose to do it in the blender or you scoop it into a bowl and use your immersion blender. I got 
Scrape the pureed mixture back into the soup bowl (however gross it may look).
Add just a smidgen of heavy cream, as well as a squeeze of lemon juice, & it's ready to serve.
When I roasted the mushrooms, I kept four of the shiitakes whole with the intention of using them for garnish- a little extra fresh thyme is thrown on there too.
Here's the 'How-To':
Triple vanilla = scraped vanilla bean, vanilla extract and melted vanilla baking chips. Mixed with brownie-like ingredients, it's baked into one big bar. The bar dumps easily out of the pan and is topped with a vanilla icing.
I went nuts with a little extra melted chocolate decor (after all, it was New Year's Eve). I just melted a few chocolate chips w/ a dab of shortening and spooned it into a zip top baggie... then I snipped the corner and drizzled away.
Since I prefer to cut the edges off of my bars before cutting them into nicely shaped squares, I didn't worry too much about getting the icing all the way to the edges. I always use the edges to sample my product!
Super tip: It is much easier to cut clean squares when bars & brownies are chilled. Use a long, sharp, thin knife, and wipe it with a paper towel after each cut.
Up close yummyness. These were very moist and very sweet. I believe that you must be a lover of vanilla to enjoy them. I loved them, of course. And it seems that all of the other samplers enjoyed them too as they slowly disappeared from their platter throughout the evening.
Chopped bacon is sauteed until crisp. I used "Center-Cut" bacon (more meat, less fat). The bacon is removed to a towel-lined plate. The grease is left in the pan.
Flour-dusted chicken is browned in the bacon fat on both sides, and then it's removed to glass baking dishes to await additions.
Shallots are sauteed with garlic, 
A bottle of red zinfandel is added to the mushroom mixture, along with chicken stock and the reserved bacon.
This mixture is then poured on top of the chicken in the glass baking dishes. The given recipe serves 6. I made a little more than that to serve a few more people.
The pans are covered tightly with foil and then placed into the oven where the chicken has a chance to simmer in that wonderful liquid for an hour.
The chicken is then removed from the pan to a platter, along with the strained vegetables. The remaining liquid is left to simmer for a short time and is thickened with a butter/flour mixture.
We had a large amount of sauce, so I placed the chicken and veggies into a large serving bowl and poured the sauce on top (along with some fresh chives). This turned out to be a great way to serve it- the liquid helped the chicken to stay warm on the table and it kept it moist.
We could not have been happier with this recipe. Everyone at the table wanted seconds (and the leftovers were great too!) It's not often that you can really rave about a chicken recipe, but this one was utterly delicious. It would be a great one for a gourmet dinner club party.
Here's what I purchased at 
Regular-sized jars of spices fit nicely inside of each tin. I adhered a little round sticker and labeled them as shown. If you had a 
I wanted to be able to remember what date the spices were purchased (with the intent of keeping them fresh on a somewhat regular basis). On the inside of the lid, I placed a little sticker and put the month/year of purchase. If I wasn't sure, I put the current date. You might notice that I'm still not comfortable with '09 yet. My mind was thinking '08!
The utensil trays were nailed into the back of the inside of my spice cupboard. And the magnetic tins stuck easily onto the metal trays, with the dividers acting as a nice 'shelf' so they wouldn't slice down.
Here's my spice cupboard... now organized (alphabetically) and extremely easy to see everything that I have. No more digging around! For the ones down below- I used the same sort of mesh metal but in the form of a tiered sheld (
A few months ago I also organized my pantry. I bought several of these 
There you have it- the favorite new recipes of 2008. Makes me want to get right back into the kitchen and discover some more, which is what I'll be doing this year.
