Super Super Bowl snacks: Wichitans share their best game-day recipes
Sure, the football aspect of Super Bowl weekend is a big deal.
I suppose.
But for some, the Super Bowl is all about snacking.
It’s the first “holiday” since Christmas where Americans are invited to recklessly ingest dips, processed mini-wieners and chili with little regard for caloric content. It’s a day when the more dips decorate the table, the better. Bonus points if they’re made with cream cheese or processed cheese stuff.
Basement Super Bowl parties will be breaking out all over the city on Sunday, when the New England Patriots face the Atlanta Falcons live from Houston. I polled some local cooks asking for recipes for the snacks they always serve. I got several responses, and all of these favorites meet the nutritional requirements (or lack thereof) of any self-respecting Super Bowl snack.
CHILI DOG BREAD RING
Wichita Eagle reporter Suzanne Perez Tobias saw the recipe for this decadent snack online and made it almost immediately. “On rare occasions, that recipe you see online turns out to be even better than you imagine,” she said. This was one of those occasions.
Servings: 8-10
12 hot dogs
2-3 packages crescent roll dough
1 small onion, diced
1 pound ground beef
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup tomato sauce
½ cup ketchup
½ teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon sugar
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup finely sliced green onion
Preheat oven to 375. Cut hot dogs into thirds. Cut crescent roll triangles in half lengthwise so you have roughly 1-inch by 5-inch triangle slices. Roll crescent dough around hot dog thirds, starting with the wider end of the dough closest to the hot dogs, making “pigs in blankets.”
Arrange pigs in blankets around a 10-inch skillet in two tight circles, leaving a hole in the center of the skillet. Bake 15-20 minutes, until dough puffs up and becomes golden. In another large skillet, sauté onions until translucent. Add the ground beef to the onions, then season with salt and pepper. Continue stirring ground beef until mostly cooked. Add the tomato sauce, ketchup, cumin, chili powder and sugar to the ground beef and onions. Stir until everything is well mixed. Simmer 10 minutes.
When chili and the pigs-in-blankets skillet are both ready, spoon chili to fill the hole in center of the skillet. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and bake another 12. 5-10 minutes until cheese is well melted. Top with diced green onion before serving.
Source: Tasty on Buzzfeed
OKIE BEAN STEW
Wichitan Linae Bouche originally clipped this recipe from Taste of Home magazine, and now it’s a Super Bowl staple with her family. “ I used to take it to work for potlucks and never brought any leftovers home,” she said. “One of my employees called it a heart attack in a bowl but always came back for seconds.”
Yield: 16-20 servings.
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 cup cubed fully cooked ham
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 32-ounce bottle ketchup
1 16-ounce can kidney beans, undrained
1 16-ounce can great Northern beans, undrained
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, undrained
1 16-ounce can butter beans, undrained
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, cook ground beef and onion until the beef is browned and the onion is tender; drain. Add sausage and ham.
Combine the brown sugar, mustard, vinegar and ketchup; stir into beef mixture. Add all beans and mix well. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until sauce has thickened.
Source: Taste of Home
LUIS’ LAYERED AVOCADO DIP
Local cook Luis Bowers said he’s been serving this dip at his Super Bowl parties since 1999. “I was just a young pup living in Kansas City with my friends,” he said. “We were all 20 to 21 years old and just kinda figuring out how to be adults and throw semi-grown up Super Bowl parties. The ingredients were budget friendly and only one of my friends didn't like tomatoes, but since they go on last, it was easy to please every one.”
Two cans refried beans
5 to 6 avocados mashed
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
1 package taco seasoning
3-4 chopped serrano peppers
2 small cans of chopped black olives
2 cups Mexican cheese blend
2-3 tomatoes chopped and sprinkled over the top.
Spread beans on the bottom of a 9x13 dish. Mash avocados and spread over the beans. Mix mayonnaise, Miracle Whip and taco seasoning and spread over the avocados. Sprinkle peppers, then olives, then cheese, then tomatoes evenly over the top. Chill one hour and serve with tortilla chips.
MOM’S MEATBALLS
Kelsey Unruh of Hillsboro has been eating these meatballs since high school, when her mom started making them. “It became one of my favorite meals that she'd make,” she said. “When I moved out and started hosting my own parties for friends (including a few Super Bowl parties), I instantly went to this recipe to have as an alternative to the BBQ mini hot dogs everyone seems to make.”
1 1/2 pound hamburger
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
3/4 cup milk
Salt to taste
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
Mix hamburger, oatmeal, milk, and salt, and form into miniature balls. Brown in a pan. Add to meatballs ketchup, water, sugar and vinegar. Simmer the mixture and meatballs for about 20 minutes. Serve with sauce in a bowl.
GOOD LIFE GUY’S CHILI GARLIC PEANUTS
Local wine expert Guy Bower, the host of “The Good Life” radio show on NewsRadio 1330 KNSS is also an experienced entertainer. He and his wife, Beth, always have a nice spread of appetizers to share with guests at their dinner parties. Bower likes to serve these nuts when friends come over to watch sports. “The Bowers are party nuts, and so are these,” he said.
2 whole heads of garlic
3/4 c. peanut or vegetable oil
2 pounds shelled raw Spanish peanuts, with skins (I used roasted in can from store)
2-4 fiery-hot dried chilies, slightly crushed
1 tablespoon kosher salt (no salt needed if ones from the cans)
Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
Separate the heads of garlic into cloves. Trim off the root ends but don't peel the cloves. Put the oil in a pan large enough to hold everything and heat until it is almost rippling. Add the peanuts, garlic and chilies; cook, stirring and shaking continuously for 10 -12 minutes (will take less when using already roasted peanuts) until the skins have darkened. Add the salt and lime zest and juice to the pan and give it another good shake. Pour out into a serving bowl and watch them go.
This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Super Super Bowl snacks: Wichitans share their best game-day recipes."