Souper Bowl Menu

1/29/14 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

It’s that time of year again! Yep. Super Bowl Sunday is coming up! This Sunday the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos will battle it out in what is being hyped as one of the most competitive championship games in years. At 6:30 p.m. EST, the kickoff will have football fans glued to television sets across the country. They will also be looking for something to eat.

Football pundits have been hypothesizing for weeks about the intriguing matchup of quarterbacks in Super Bowl XLVIII. Denver’s Peyton Manning, 37, is the second-oldest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. Seattle’s Russell Wilson, 25, will be the sixth youngest. Evidently a 12-year quarterback age gap is one of the most fascinating pieces of football history ever.

Foodies, however, will be pondering more practical questions. Things like—how many chicken wings should we buy? According to the National Chicken Council, football fans will consume about 100 million pounds of chicken wings this Sunday. That breaks down to about 1.23 billion wings. Personally, I feel a little guilty knowing that all those chickens have donated their wings for this cause!

Party Dip statistics are less controversial. Retail experts say that 32% of fans plan on eating chips and dips. It will take about 11.2 million pound of potato chips to feed the hungry hordes an estimated 27 billion calories! The reason, of course, is that they are fried in fat. I say, ease the guilt. Eat baked instead of fried.

To balance out the grease we’re going to consume, we’ll need a batch of fresh veggies. How about a platter of broccoli florets, carrot sticks, cucumber wedges and pea pods? Of course, both chips and veggies will taste better with some (low-fat) Ranch Dressing, a homemade guacamole or spicy salsa. I’m just sayin’…

At our house, the main football marathon supper dish is usually soup. In the morning, I put together a kettle of soup (Crockpot) and let it simmer. So while some fans prefer to eat pizza, hot dogs, more pizza, hamburgers and still more pizza, we tell ourselves that our dinner is relatively healthy and filling—soup is super! (Groan.)

I have made a zillion variations of today’s Souper Bowl Sunday Soup recipe. If there are only two or three of you, have roast chicken for dinner the night before. Then, pick the bones and use the leftover chicken in the soup. Otherwise, cook a whole chicken. Either way, the flavor and texture of the soup meat will be fabulous.

I usually serve soup with a green salad and crusty French bread. If I’m feeling ambitious, I’ll make a batch of cornbread. Because we’ve been eating all day, dessert is always ice cream and cookies. Strawberry ice cream with store bought cookies is always a favorite.

Or you can try the following Chocolate Brownie Cookie recipe. Warning: It is not a “pretty” cookie but it is rich and delicious. Also, it is a strange batter. Note that it calls for only one cup of flour; two different kinds of baking chocolate (not chips); and two cups of toasted pecans. They are great crumbled over vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

BBQ Honey Chicken Drummettes

1 cup Kraft Honey Barbecue Sauce

14-1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

16 chicken drummettes (1-1/2 pounds)

Heat greased BBQ grill to medium heat.

Mix all ingredients except chicken, Grill chicken 15 in. or until done, turning and brushing occasionally with BBQ sauce. Serves 3-4.

Alternate method: Brush chicken wings with Italian dressing. Line a shallow pan with foil and broil wings in oven. When about half cooked, brush with sauce turning frequently, to desired crispness.

SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY SOUP

3 cups chicken, cubed

1 large onion, chopped

2 large stalks celery, diced

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 jar (can) tomatoes

1 can chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 -3 cups water

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

3 cloves

2 chicken bouillon cubes (unless you’re on low salt diet)

1 can green beans (with liquid if soup is too thick)

2 carrots, sliced, precook about 5 minutes

1 zucchini sliced

1 cup extra wide egg noodles (more if you like)

Briefly sauté onion and celery in oil. Add tomatoes, broth, soup, water, seasonings and cloves. Simmer on low a couple of hours. Add carrots and zucchini and bouillon cubes. Add drained green beans if you have plenty of liquid in the soup. If not, add with liquid. Cook until tender. Taste for seasonings. Add chicken and egg noodles. Cook until noodles are done about 10 minutes. Serves 6

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE COOKIES

6 tablespoons butter

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1-1/4 cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups pecans, chopped and toasted

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Microwave chocolates and butter in large glass bowl 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add sugar; mix well. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and salt; mix until blended. Stir in nuts.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2-inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake 12 min. or until cookies feel set to the touch. Cool 1 min. Remove from baking sheets to wire racks. Cook completely. Makes 36 cookies.

Note: Increase flour to 1-1/4 cups if you omit nuts. It will keep the dough from spreading too much as the cookies bake.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 

Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 

that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.