Super Bowl Snack - BBQ Pulled Chicken Bites with Tex-Mex Feta Slaw

With the Super Bowl less than a week away, I thought it was way past due to share this super snack I made for last year's festivities! One of my favorite things to do when making a food item for a particular event is to take classic types of foods and give them a new spin. For example, the Super Bowl is all about American snack foods, meat, and beer. I went with BBQ and made a tasty treat that while a little higher end than what you might find at a Super Bowl party it fit in perfectly. Unfortunately the photos I took were not very good but I promise you the food is delicious! I probably could have made twice as many!


BBQ Pulled Chicken Bites with Tex-Mex Feta Slaw

The slaw was inspired by the Feta Slaw in Cooking Light.

1 package Trader Joe's BBQ Pulled Chicken (or your favorite local brand or restaurant)
1 package Trader Joe's Puff Pastry, thawed (2 sheets, total weight 1lb)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (I substituted red wine vinegar and it turned out fine)
1 tablespoon canola mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups angel hair coleslaw (I used one bag (10 oz) Trader Joe's Shredded Green Cabbage)
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (I used Trader Joe's Fat Free Feta)

1. Heat the oven to 400. Combine vinegar, mayonnaise, and black pepper in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add coleslaw, cilantro, jalapeno, feta and green onions; toss to coat. As with most recipes, I suggest that you work with this as to your own preference. Want a little more heat? Add more jalapeno. Want more moisture in your slaw? Make more dressing. For best results, make at least an hour before serving so the flavors and meld.

2. Cut puff pastry into approximately 2 inch squares. I suggest that you measure you puff pastry and take those measurements into account so that your squares are even.

3. Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray and press a piece of puff pastry into each muffin cup. Top with pulled chicken.

4. Bake for approximately 15 minutes (you may wish to check beginning at 10 minutes. They are ready with the pastry is golden brown.

5. Serve either with the slaw on the side or top each bite with the slaw before serving. This will make about 36 bites though you will likely have leftover slaw. It was even better the next day!

Super Bowl Decor

Last year I posted some fun decor items for your Super Bowl party. There are so many great inspirational sites out there with great ideas from the simple to the elaborate. I was impressed that Target has created some cute items of their own for game day. You don't have to be crafty to elevate YOUR Super Bowl game! Here are two of my favorites - mini foam fingers and astroturf coasters! Of course the foam fingers aren't in either team's colors but they are in MY alma mater's colors (hint: Ohio University - buy these out!).

Have a great Super Bowl everyone!

Online Recipes Tested - Jalapeno Popper Dip

Now that I have discovered the crack that is Pinterest, I have found some fun new recipes that require trying. Of course I will ultimately pin about 1000% more recipes than I can ever hope to make but the ones that I do make will receive a write up here. Since the Super Bowl was last weekend, it only seems appropriate to start with my contribution to that gluttonous evening.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

(Note: The above link goes to the site and original recipe. The recipe below includes my alterations.)

Dip

2 8oz packages cream cheese (reduced fat), room temperature

1 cup light mayonnaise

1 cup light Mexican cheese blend, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

1 4oz can green chilies, diced

1 4oz can diced jalapenos or 4 fresh jalapenos, seeded & finely diced (I used four large fresh jalapenos and this had good heat but wasn't too hot. Add more it pump up the heat.)

Topping

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

1/4 cup light butter, melted

1. Mix the dip ingredients together and spread into a greased pie pan or 2 quart baking dish (I used cooking spray to grease the dish).

2. Mix topping ingredients until even consistency is reached.

3. Cover dip with topping being sure to cover evenly.

4. Bake dip in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes. Dip is done when top is brown and dip is bubbling. (Note: I was cooking this in an older oven with other items and it took much longer than 20 minutes to cook. I recommend checking it at 20 minutes and go with your instincts from there. Also, the center of my batch was not quite as bubbly as the exteriors so be sure to check that area before removing from the oven.)

5. Serve with crackers, baguette or chips. I used a baked blue corn chip from Trader Joe's and it was fantastic.

So my overall review of this dish was that it was fantastic! Can you tell that I couldn't wait to try it - didn't even get the photo off first! It was really easy to make though cutting up the jalapenos did stretch out the prep time. I would still use the fresh over the canned or jarred for that fresh popper flavor. This dip was a huge hit and I don't think that lightening the calories up took anything away from the flavor. I highly recommend this dip for any party but particularly anything sports related.

Have you tried this recipe? Please let me know what you think!

Jalapeño Lemonade

Note: This was originally written in November 2009 and I never posted it. I've finally decided to start telling people about this blog so hopefully that will motivate me to post more regularly!

So I’m not known for being much of a cook. This isn’t because I can’t cook - I just don’t. I have a small kitchen (without a dishwasher), am usually just cooking for one, and in general don’t have time. I am a wiz at food assembly though and have been more experimental lately as I’ve had a bit more time on my hands.. As I create new “recipes” I thought I’d share them with you.

Jalapeño Lemonade

Crate and Barrel sells a mix (this is a seasonal product) for Jalapeño Lemonade but I think it would be just as easy (and taste better) to create this yourself. My recommendation would be to make lemonade from scratch and use a jalapeño simple syrup to sweet it. To make the simple syrup, just add a sliced jalapeño (seeds removed), while the sugar is simmering. I haven’t tried this myself but I’ve seen a lot of infused simple syrups and this is the process. I also recommend cutting up lemon wedges and jalapeños (seeds removed again) and adding them to increase flavor. When I made the Crate and Barrel lemonade, I put the lemon wedges and jalapeños into ice cubes. This made a lovely garnish and continued to flavor the lemonade as they melted. If you wish to make this an alcoholic beverage, you can add either vodka or tequila. Somewhere I think I have a photo of the ice cubes and will post once I locate it (I made this for 4th of July 2009). While this is more of a summer drink, I think it would be a nice addition to a Super Bowl party too. Try it and let me know what you think!