Super Bowl Party Time!

If you're planning a Super Bowl Party, here's some great recipes to get you started.

Whether it's burgers, wings, chips and dip, cake, brownies...lots of great recipes can be found online.

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Below are some of my favorites places:

The Pioneer Woman Cooking

Tasty Kitchen

About's Super Bowl recipes and Party Tips

Deep South Dish

Taste of Home Super Bowl Recipes

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No matter what you make, enjoy the game, family and friends and may the best team win!!!

 

Chocolate Gravy, Southern Style

Gravy, gravy, gravy!

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Here in the South, Chocolate Gravy is served at breakfast over "cat-head" biscuits, as my dear Dad calls them.   My own daughters used to gag at the idea of gravy being sweet, until they grew up a little and learned just how delicious chocolage gravy poured over a warm biscuit and topped with a pat of butter can be.

It's not something I make on a regular basis, but for a special breakfast treat.

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Speaking of Dad, his specialty was always Tomato Gravy, a savory gravy made with bacon drippings and flour, with chopped fresh tomato pieces added.  Yum, yum!  I must make some soon.

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My friend Jada shares her family's secret recipe for Chocolate Gravy.

Chocolate Gravy

2cups sugar

3TBS cocoa

3 heaping TBS flour

add 3-4cups HOT water

Mix sugar, flour, and cocoa with whisk first, then add your water.  Mix well.  Cook on med heat until it boils. 

Add more water if it gets too thick. Some like it thick, some dont. I let mine set and cool about 5 min before serving so its not like lava--lol--ENJOY! I've just let y'all in on a BIG family recipe  :)

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 cup marshmallow creme

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky

1 teaspoon vanilla

Boil sugar and milk in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally, to soft ball stage*, or about 236° on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Beat well with a wooden spoon until the fudge begins to turn glossy.

Pour candy into a greased 8x8-inch pan.   Cut peanut butter fudge into squares when firm.  Enjoy!

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*To Test for Soft Ball Stage
A small amount of syrup dropped into chilled water forms a ball, but is soft enough to flatten when picked up with fingers (234° to 240°).

Weight Watcher's Au Gratin Potatoes ~ 3 pts

Au Gratin Potatoes

(3 Points per Serving using skim milk)
8 Servings

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1 sprays cooking spray
1 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion(s), thinly sliced
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cup fat-free skim milk (I prefer 2%)
2 pounds Yukon Gold potato(es), thinly sliced
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

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Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 2-quart covered baking dish with cooking spray.

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Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour; add milk slowly, stirring. Add potatoes and stir to mix. Bring to a boil. Stir in 3/4 cup of cheese, salt and pepper.

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Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and level out surface. Bake for 1 hour, uncovered. Cover and bake until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes more.

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Change oven temperature to broil. Sprinkle remaining cheese over potatoes. Broil 6 inches from the heating element until the cheese is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces.

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Yum, yum!  These potatoes are worth the effort!

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

So simple yet so delicious!

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What to to with 2 nice bunches of very ripe bananas, but bake?!  This cake is made with a recipe I've been using since the early 90's.   It is very simple, with few ingredients, but it is so delicious and moist!

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I usually top it with a Brown Sugar Glaze, but since I had cream cheese, this time I decided to make a traditional Cream Cheese Frosting for the cake.



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BANANA CAKE

1/2 cup shortening or butter (I used softened butter)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup (2 med) bananas, mashed

1 1/4 cups self rising flour

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Cream shortening (or butter) and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.   Add flour to mashed bananas and mix well.  Next, add the banana and flour mixture to the cake batter.  Stir well.  Pour into greased pan.  Bake at 350º for 45 minutes or until cake is browned on top and springs back to the touch.

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***NOTE- I used a 7 x 11 glass baking dish and the cake rose to the top of the dish and was fairly thick.  The layer could be sliced and a filling added to make a 2 layer cake.

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Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup butter
1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese
½ teaspoon of vanilla

 3 ½ cups of powdered sugar

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In a medium sized mixing bowl cream the butter and cream cheese together.  Add the vanilla.  Slowly add the powdered sugar.  When you are adding the powdered sugar, use a low speed on the mixer.   After you have it all in, put up on a medium to high speed.   Mix the frosting until it is fluffy.

Make sure your cake is completely cooled and spread the cream cheese frosting on it. 

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Vintage Recipe: Pineapple Cheese Ball

The holidays are just around the corner

and eating delicious goodies that we only make on special occasions has become a tradition.



Cheeseballs, Spinach Dip, Peanut Butter Balls, Spiced Pecans...these are a few of my favorite things.

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The special occasion was a wedding on Saturday night.  My friends Terry and Angie decided to tie the knot.  I wanted to help them celebrate by bringing a treat to the reception.  It was all eaten up.   Pictured below was the little bit I had left at home for a midnight snack or early morning breakfast.

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This started out as my friend Laura's recipe.  I've made some tweaks of my own with favorable results.



 

Pineapple Cheese Ball
 
cream cheese, 16 oz
crushed pineapple, (small can) drained dry
pecan pieces, 2 C
chopped onion, 1/4 cup
shredded cheddar, 2 oz
seasoned salt, 1 T
 
Mix all togther.  Refrigerate and roll in chopped pecans.
Serve with crackers.

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Watch for more vintage recipes and hopefully a give-away in the near future!

The Holidays and your favorite recipes

The holiday season will soon be here. 

Thanksgiving is a very special holiday for our family and usually centers around our family dinner.  

Mom's Southern cornbread Turkey and Dressing is the usual star of the main meal.  There are other favorites that complete our meal.  My brother has to have Chunky Potato Salad, made the same way my grandmother made it.  I usually enjoy the Sweet Potatoes and baked Ham.  

One daughter loves the Green Bean Casserole and Yeast Rolls while daughter #2 loves the Ham and Cream Style Corn.

And of course, the dessert choice wouldn't be complete without mom's Angel Salad on the menu.  (Pictures and recipe forthcoming)

 

 I'm a dessert eater.  Below are some of my favorites.

 



Peanut Butter Balls

 



Southern Pecan Pie

 



Chess Pie

 



Sour Cream Pound Cake

 

And if you're watching your sugar intake...



Low Carb Mini-Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

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What special dish are you looking forward to? 

Cheesy Sausage Balls

The high carb version of this recipe has been a family favorite for years now.

Usually we get together the night before Thanksgiving or Christmas to cook for the holiday family dinner.  While we're putting Mom's Potato Salad together and making her fabulous Coconut Cream Pie, we stick a pan of Sausage Balls in the oven to snack on.  It's become a family tradition.

 

Having a little extra sausage on hand, I attempted a low carb version of this easy recipe.

 

They turned out fairly tasty, tho I think I can back off the onion powder next time or leave it out all together.

 

All you need is sausage, grated cheese, and something to bind it all together.  I've read where some use eggs and others use crushed pork skins.  I used a bit of Carbquik (similar to Bisquik and can be purchased at Netrition) and some parmesan cheese to make up the dry ingredients. 

 

It worked and they were quite tasty, although they didn't have the traditional sausage ball taste, because of the added spices, I think.  So in the future, I think I'll skip the spices and hope for that famous sausage ball flavor.

Other tasty low carb snacks and appetizers:

Deep Fried Cauliflower

Aussie Squash Fries

Bacon-wrapped Jalapeño Poppers



Cheesy Sausage Balls

1 lb. sausage
12 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of your choice low carb baking mix, such as Carbquik and parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 º F.  Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.   Mix well with your fingers. The mixture may very crumbly.  Form into 1 inch balls, squeezing the mixture so it holds together, then rolling it between the palms of your hands to form balls.  Place the balls on the baking sheet.  Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.  To prevent sticking, move the balls with a spatula halfway through cooking or use parchment paper to line your pan.  Remove from oven and serve warm.

Apple Dumplings: The Ultimate Fall Dessert

What other recipe speaks Harvest Time than an apple recipe flavored with sugar, butter, and cinnamon?

Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Go here for this easy yet decadant recipe and enjoy the season's bounty of  delicious apples.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

You can always count on a good friend to give you a good recipe.

My friend, Karen, comes from a long line of good cooks.  Her grandmother was a great cook and her mom is "The Pie Lady".  She can whip up a Caramel Pie or a Coconut Cream Pie in the blink of an eye.  She always has the ingredients on hand.

Karen has turned out like her mom in that respect.  She's a great cook.  This is a recipe that she shared with me recently.  It's so easy, yet so delicious!

I've made this cake twice this week.  I polished off most of the first one myself, but took the second one to my inlaws' family get together.  I had to get that evil thing out of the house!  My hips have gotten wider just this week.  I'm trying to low carb, I really am.  I try to save my treat for that one-hour span, like the Carb Addict plan suggests, but it sure is hard with this treat around!

Karen prefers the cake 'nekkid', but I made an Orange Glaze to pour over the warm cake.  Most of it pooled up in the middle, but I just spooned that right out of the middle and onto my slice.  Mmm-mmm, good.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

1 butter recipe yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 half cup sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup sour cream

Mix well pour into bundt pan and bake at 325 until golden brown, 45-60 minutes.

Orange Glaze (optional)

1/4 cup orange juice
2 T butter, melted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Mix together and pour over cooled cake.

Peanut Butter Balls

I’ve been making this recipe for 27 years now.  I first made it as a teenager while living at home back in the 1980's.  It was a favorite of my brother and he still requests them today.   This recipe is great for the Christmas holiday or even Easter! 


Peanut Butter Balls

One 18 oz jar of peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
2 sticks butter, softened
1 & ½ boxes of powdered sugar (I usually buy the 2 lb bag and guesstimate according to the mixture’s consistency)
Chocolate Bark (1 lb or as needed to dip the balls)
(My recipe actually calls for chocolate chips and parrafin melted over a double boiler, but chocolate bark melted in the micorwave is easier)

 Cream the peanut butter and the butter in a heavy duty mixer. I burnt up a couple of handheld mixer motors before my Handyman got me a Kitchenaid stand mixer.  Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until mixed thoroughly. The mixture will be VERY thick.

Roll into 1” or smaller balls. I then chill mine for a few hours. Melt the bark in a small deep bowl in the microwave until creamy smooth. Proceed to dip balls and place on a parchment covered sheet pan until the chocolate hardens.  This recipe makes several dozen.

Store in the fridge for several days or on the counter ‘cause they won’t last long!