Easy Super Bowl Recipes

January means Super Bowl parties and our easy Super Bowl recipes make it easy on the cook.

A Super Bowl party seems like a great idea, but after all the work of the holiday season, many of us don't want to put out all that effort again. On the other hand, buying everything you need to feed a crowd can be expensive.

Here are some easy Superbowl recipes, some of which can even be made ahead.  

Garlic Apricot Chicken Wings

12 whole chicken wings (about 2 pounds) or 24 divided wing pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup apricot preserves

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Mix together minced garlic and apricot preserves.

Barbecue, bake or broil wings until almost cooked. Brush with the apricot/garlic mixture and continue cooking until tender.

Make Ahead Notes:
Bake the wings earlier in the day, then brush with the sauce just before you need them and pop them into the oven again to finish up.  

Blue Cheese Dip

8 ounces Roquefort or blue cheese, softened and broken into small pieces
1/2 small onion, grated
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until ready to use. Serve with chips, raw vegetables or crackers for dipping.

Make-Ahead Notes:
This blue cheese dip should be refrigerated for at least two hours to allow the flavors to meld together well. Nothing says you can't prepare it earlier though and refrigerate it until needed.

Hot Filled Bread

Another recipe with lots of tasty variations.

Take 1 long loaf of French or Italian crusty bread and cut it into fairly thick slices. Spread each slice on one side with your choice of filling. Put the loaf back together and wrap in aluminum foil.

Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes. Open the foil and bake for a further 5-7 minutes until the crust is crispy and the cheese is hot.

Make Ahead Notes:
Make the fillings earlier in the day, then just spread them on the bread when you are ready to pop them in the oven.
The bread can also be filled, wrapped well with foil and frozen until ready to bake. Just thaw first and bake for a few minutes longer to make sure the filling gets hot.

Fillings -
For each of these filling recipes, mix all the ingredients together and spread on bread slices. Follow the recipe above to bake.

Garlic and Herb Bread:
Traditional garlic bread at its finest.

3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 to 1/3 pound butter
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
pinch of mixed herbs (chopped chives, basil, or rosemary, whatever you prefer)

French Onion Bread:
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 envelope onion soup mix

Ham and Blue Cheese Bread:
1/4 pound butter
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 ounces of ham, finely chopped
1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled

Cheese and Chive Bread:
1/4 to 1/3 cup butter
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped 
3 tablespoons chives, chopped
3 tablespoons other herbs, chopped if desired (or use more chives)
freshly ground black pepper

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 pound large mushrooms 
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Rinse mushrooms. Pat dry with paper towels. Remove stems. Combine mushroom caps with 1 tablespoon oil, salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place mushrooms stem-side-up on nonstick baking sheet.

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Add spinach. Cook until dry. Remove to a bowl. Add feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, mint, lemon peel and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix well. Spoon into mushrooms. Bake 8-10 minutes until mushrooms are tender and stuffing is hot.

You're done making easy super bowl recipes! Party's on!