Super Bowl Sunday

I am not an avid football watcher. In fact, the only time I actually do watch football is during the Super Bowl (primarily for the commercials and halftime). I also really like that people celebrate the Super Bowl by having family and friends over and throwing elaborate parties. I always love to see the creative recipes that people come up with for this special day like 17-layer dips, ultimate chili recipes and elaborate desserts.

This years Super Bowl was special for me. For the past five years, my brother has been living up North and we haven't been in the same city for more than a week. He moved back to Philadelphia a couple of months ago and now we can finally spend time with one another. We decided to spend Super Bowl together and my dad spent it with us as well.

I decided to take the time to make some great dips and a delicious chili for them. Since chips and dips are really popular during the Super Bowl, I made homemade hummus, salsa and of course, guacamole (According to the Hass Avocado Board, approximately 100 million pounds of guacamole was consumed during the Super Bowl weekend). To pair with the dips, I made homemade garlic and herb pita chips and roasted chickpeas.   

For the main course, I made a turkey chili with whole corn bread croutons. This chili is rich in flavor with little fat (except if you add cheese and sour cream). The corn bread is also a mix of both whole wheat and all purpose flour with whole corn cornels in the batter. To make them into croutons, I baked a loaf and then cubed the loaf and toasted them in the oven. 

Here is how I did it: 

Turkey Chili with Whole Corn Bread Croutons 

Turkey Chili: 

- 2 tbs of olive oil

- 1/2 large yellow onion

- 2 cloves of garlic

- 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp pepper

- 1 lb of 99% ground turkey meat

- 1 large hot green chili pepper

- 1/2 Jalapeno pepper

- 2 15.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes (no sodium added)

- 1/2 6 ounce can of tomato paste

- 1 cup of water

- 1/2 packet of chili seasonings

- 1 15.5 ounce can of kidney beans

Place a large pot over high heat and add the olive oil. Chop half an onion into small pieces and place in the pot. Cook the onions until they are slightly translucent (about 5 minutes). Mince the 2 cloves of garlic and add to the pot. Add the salt and pepper and cook for another 2 minutes. 

Place the ground turkey in the pot and brown the meat. While the turkey is cooking, chop up the hot green pepper and mince the garlic. Once the meat is fully cooked, add both the peppers. 

Pour the two cans of diced tomatoes, half a can of tomato paste, water and chili seasoning and reduce the heat to low. Cover the chili and let it simmer for an hour, stirring periodically so that nothing sticks to the bottom. After an hour, pour in the kidney beans with the liquid and cook for another hour. 

Serve with with toppings such as cheese, sour cream, avocados or red onion. 

To finish the meal, I made a fresh fruit salad with apples, pears, bananas, mangos and oranges. 

What I like the most about all of these dishes is that they are great to eat in front of the TV and you can prepare them ahead of time so that you can sit and watch the game without worrying about what's going on in the kitchen.

Anne