Super Bowl Appetizers

With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, I know that many are on the lookout for great appetizers and finger foods that they can serve up for the big game. Last year, I was able to feature a variety of recipes leading up to the big weekend. Unfortunately, time was not on my side this year, and I was unable to try out any new recipes.

Regardless, I'd still like to feature some great appetizer recipes. I hope that you'll give some of them a try and enjoy them during the big game this weekend! Not sure which one to try? I have to say that the most popular recipe (out of all the recipes, not just appetizer recipes) on my blog to date is the Sweet and Sour Meatballs recipe; the second most popular recipe is the Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce.

Buffalo Chicken Dip (aka Crack Dip)

Sun Dried Tomato Dip

Baked Zucchini Coins

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Spinach and Artichoke Dip


Chicken Satay

Bacon Pinwheels

Tex Mex Salsa with Homemade Tortilla Chips

Pan Fried Onion Dip

Sun Dried Tomato Basil Crostini

BBQ Baked Beans

Guacamole

Southwestern Wagon Wheel Pasta Salad

Baked Brie

Caramelized Onion Cranberry Cream Cheese Bites

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

This was another quick and easy weeknight meal. I'm sure this would be even better if you make your own homemade pizza dough and homemade red sauce, but if you're looking for something you can throw together after a long day at work, this is so easy and convenient.

Yellow onions actually have more sugar in them than "sweet onions," making them ideal for this recipe. When you caramelize onions, you are actually converting the sugars within the onion into caramel. As the oil heats up, the water from the onions evaporates, allowing the temperature of the sugars in the onions to rise. Once the sugars reach a temperature of 310°F, they begin to caramelize, and the onions change from light tan to golden, and then eventually deep brown.

The onions do get a little burnt around the edges while the pizza cooks in the oven, so next time I may wait until the last 3-5 minutes of cooking to add them to the pizza.


The combination of caramelized onions, goat cheese, and sun dried tomatoes is excellent. I imagine it would have been even better if I had some basil on hand. I love sun dried tomatoes, so I doubled them in this recipe. Even if you don't love them as much as I do, I'd still recommend adding a little more than what is indicated in the recipe, maybe 1/3 cup instead of 1/4 cup.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza
from Cooking Light


2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced onion, separated into rings (about 1 onion)
1 (1-pound) Italian cheese-flavored pizza crust (such as Boboli)
1/2 cup bottled pizza sauce (such as Contadina) (I used Prego roasted garlic and herb)
1/4 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves (I used 1/2 cup)
2/3 cup (3 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I omitted this - didn't have any on hand)
Preheat oven to 450°F.

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook for 11 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. (After I uncovered the skillet, I turned the heat down to low-medium to avoid burning the onions.)

Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet. Combine the sauce and tomatoes. Spread sauce mixture over pizza crust. Top with onion and cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with basil. Cut into 6 wedges.

Try some goat cheese!

I had never had goat cheese until about a month ago. In general, I do not like the more pungent cheeses like gorgonzola and bleu cheese... so I am very reluctant to try new and different cheeses. However, after hearing so many cooks on the What's Cooking? Board rave about how wonderful goat cheese is, I finally decided to try it. I love it, and wish I had tried it sooner :) It is a very creamy cheese, and is slightly tart. Since trying it, I have been looking for various ways to cook with it.

I love anything with sun dried tomatoes, so when I saw this recipe for Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes on MyRecipes.com, I knew I would like it. The balsamic glaze is a great compliment to the dish too.

This was my first time making a stuffed chicken dish, and to my surprise, it was very simple. After I cut the 'pockets' into my chicken breasts, however, I realized that I was doing it wrong. I started out thinking it was supposed to be like a chicken breast cut almost completely in half but left with a sort of 'hinge' that would sandwich the filling.... and then realized it's just supposed to be a small hole on one end of the breast. Oops! At least it didn't change the taste... next time I'll make it look prettier :)

I served this chicken with orzo and Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits. When I saw these biscuits featured on Oprah, I knew I had to try them. They were good, but I have to admit that the Cheesy Garlic Biscuits I made recently are easier and taste better :) Still, they were a great compliment to the stuffed chicken.

I should add that shortly after I discovered my love for goat cheese, my husband told me that he does not like it! Determined to show him how good it is, I did not tell him that there was goat cheese in this dish until he had finished his plate ;) Needless to say, we'll be adding this dish to our rotation and I will be looking for other ways to use goat cheese in our meals now :)

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
from CookingLight


1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots, divided (I didn't have any on hand, so these were omitted)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (I didn't have any fresh basil on hand, so I used 2 tsp dried)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water

Combine boiling water and tomatoes in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and finely chop. (I had the kind that are packed in oil so I simply drained the oil and omitted the boiling step.)

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup shallots, sugar, and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Spoon into a bowl; stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar.

Combine chopped tomatoes, shallot mixture, cheese, basil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well.

Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; cover and keep warm. Add broth, remaining shallots, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and thyme; bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thick, stirring constantly. Serve sauce over chicken. (Approximately 2 tbsp per chicken breast.)

Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits
from Art Smith


2 cups self-rising flour (if you do not have any, use 2 cups all purpose flour + 3 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp salt)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. (2 ounces) cold butter
4 Tbsp. (2 ounces) goat cheese
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk
Extra butter to grease pan and top biscuits
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Preheat your oven to 425°. Place one 10-inch cast iron pan into the oven while it is preheating. (I do not have a cast iron pan/skillet but found that my All-Clad pans are oven safe up to 500°.) Place flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl. Cut in the butter and goat cheese. Make a well in the middle of the ingredients and pour in the milk. Stir until the mix is moistened, adding an extra tablespoon of milk if needed.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven and place a tablespoon of butter into it. When the butter has melted, drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter into the pan, (use a muffin scoop to drop the batter if you have one). Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. Bake from 14–16 minutes until browned on the top and bottom. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Enjoy warm!

Sun Dried Tomato Dip

I love sun dried tomatoes. We buy them in bulk from Sam's Club or Costco and I love to cook with them whenever possible. So when I came across this recipe from Ina Garten on foodnetwork.com, I knew I had to try it! The recipe says to serve it at room temperature, but I found it was good chilled too.

I also found that this was great as a spread... I used it in pitas and wraps. Then I added some chicken and veggies, and I had quick, easy meal to bring to work for lunch!

Sun Dried Tomato Dip
from the Barefoot Contessa

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped (8 tomatoes)
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
10 dashes, hot red pepper sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

Puree the tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, red pepper sauce, salt and pepper in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the scallions and pulse twice. Serve at room temperature.