Part of the fun of a Super Bowl Party, besides the game and the commercials, is the food! But you don’t want to spend your entire day in the kitchen and be exhausted when guests arrive. I like to prepare a main dish that cooks in a crockpot, where people can serve themselves when they feel like it. Then I supplement with simple appetizers and finger foods.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Crockpot Beef Barbacoa

Barbacoa refers to a way of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean, and eventually was adopted in Mexico and the Southwest.  It is where the term “barbecue” came from, but this has nothing to do with an open flame! It is meat, slow cooked with wonderful spices, then shredded and served in a flour tortilla. In this recipe, I’m using chuck roast cut of beef.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 Cup beef stock
• 3-4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped  (The amount depends on the heat level you like)
• 3-4 pound beef chuck roast

Preparation:

Combine vinegar, onion, lime juice, garlic,cumin, oregano, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper, beef stock in a blender and puree.

Place roast (trim off excess fat from roast) in crockpot and pour puree over the roast. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 6 hours. Shred beef in crockpot and serve in soft (and warm) flour tacos. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, beans, or whatever else suits your tastes!

Un-Sloppy Joes

I loved sloppy joes as a kid, but they were always so messy! Well, a simple solution to that is serve them in pita bread halves! Use your favorite sloppy joe recipe (or use mine below!) and serve them in pita pockets! In this recipe, I use Stonefire Authentic Flatbread Pitas (yes, I love their products and use them a lot!). Stuff shredded cheese on top, add a dash or two of hot sauce and you have the neatest sloppy joes on the block! You can make this up ahead of time and put the beef in a crockpot to keep warm – guests just help themselves! Double the recipe for larger groups.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 Cup onion, chopped
• 1/4 green pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
• 1/2 Cup ketchup
• 1 can tomato paste
• 6 oz. water
• 3 teaspoons brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 Stonefire Authentic Flatbread Pitas, halved to create 6 pockets

Preparation:

In a large pan, cook beef, onion and green pepper over medium high heat until beef is cooked.  Drain off liquid.  Add garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, tomato paste, salt, pepper, water and brown sugar. Stir until thoroughly blended, reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. Serve in pita halves with shredded cheese and hot sauce as desired.

Thai Chicken Flatbreads

For a flavor change, try making a variety of flatbreads! Since I am a SIMPLE Solutions Diva, I used pre-made flatbreads by Stonefire Authentic Flatbread Naan because they are light and have a variety of flavors;  you can make your own flatbread dough if desired. Prep the flatbreads in advance, then toss in the oven as needed!

This is a nice spicy recipe with an asian twist:

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup cooked chicken, cut or shredded into small, bite-sized pieces (I used store-bought rotisserie chicken)
• 6 Tablespoons thai peanut sauce (I used House of Tsang Bangkok Peanut Sauce)
• 2 Tablespoons shredded carrots
• 1 1/4 Cups shredded mozzarella (use more or less, depending on how cheesy you want your pizza)
• 1 Tablespoon green onions, sliced on bias, for garnish
• 2 Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads Naan, original flavor.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (if using a pizza stone, place stone in oven before preheating).

In a bowl, toss chicken with 4 tablespoons of thai peanut sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella on both flatbreads. Divide the chicken mixture between the two flatbreads. Sprinkle with carrots and green onions. Drizzle each flatbread with 1 tablespoon of remaining thai peanut sauce.  Place flatbreads in oven for 5-10 minutes until cheesy is melty.

Serve warm!

A BIG THANK YOU to Stonefire Naan for providing me with a large selection so Stonefire Naan Flatbreads to use in this post!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Love Buffalo Chicken Wings but want to avoid the mess and the bones? Try this simple recipe, courtesy of my sister-in-law, Jennifer.  This stuff is truly addictive! Serve warm with corn chips or pita wedges.

Ingredients:

• 1 Rotisserie chicken, shredded and cut into bite-sized pieces (approx. 2.5 cups)
• 1 6 oz. bottle of Texas Pete Hot Sauce
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 Cup Ranch Dressing
• 1 8 oz. bag mexican shredded cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9 pan. Place shredded chicken in bottom of pan and pour hot sauce over the chicken, covering the chicken in sauce.

In a microwave safe bowl, place cream cheese and microwave for 30 seconds (until the cream cheese is softened). Add the ranch dressing and stir well. Pour mixture over the chicken; top the dish with the cheese and place in oven until the cheese is melted and the entire dish is bubbly (approximately 15-20 mins). Serve with chips.

Magic Cookie Bars

A blast from childhood, these scrumptious bites of chocolate and coconut goo are so sweet, just one or two will do! Make them the day before and store at room temperature.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup butter, melted
• 2 1/4 Cup graham cracker crumbs (about 18 crackers)
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 Cup semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1 Cup butterscotch flavored chips
• 1 Cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 Cup chopped pecans (Not everyone likes pecans, so I use 1/2 cup and place pecans on one side)

Preparation:

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat 13×9 inch glass baking pan with non-stick cooking spray (I actually used a 9×9 pan, made the layers thicker, and cooked them longer.)

Melt butter in the glass dish, and add graham cracker crumbs. Mix thoroughly and press into bottom of prepared pan. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, and nuts. Pour sweetened condensed milk over mixture, making sure it covered entire surface of the pan.

Bake approximately 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars. Store covered at room temperature, well hidden so everyone does not eat them all at once!

More Simple Super Bowl Recipe Ideas:

Looking for other simple, crowd pleasing recipe ideas for Super Bowl?  Try these:

Crockpot Ropa Vieja (Cuban Shredded Chicken or Pork) – Perfect to serve on yellow rice, in tacos or burritos!

Creamy White Chicken Chili – Crowd pleaser!

Simple Flatbread Appetizer Done Four Ways

Chipotle Chicken and Rice Soup – Warm and spicy!

Taco Cupcakes – Perfect for kids to make AND eat!

Toasted Coconut Refrigerator Cake – A wonderful sheet cake serves a crowd.

Simple Cocktails Round Up – Several recipes to choose from!

Roy’s Hawaiian Martini -Large Batch!

Sangria Di Cava – A White Sangria made with champagne

Thank you to WTLV-TV’s First Coast Living for inviting me on to share these yummy recipes!