Superbowl party

Spinach and artichoke dip

What superbowl party would be complete without dip?  Since I absolutely LOVE spinach (as you can tell I have been putting it on everything lately), I thought I would make a dip and add artichokes since I had some in the fridge. I like putting it in a shallow bowl so that when you put it in the oven, the top gets really golden brown and tasty.

Ingredients

1 cup thawed, chopped frozen spinach

1 cup artichoke hearts

8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Make sure the that spinach is throughly drained.  You can use paper napkins to squeeze the excess liquid.
3) Heat the cream cheese in the microwave for one minute.
4) Using a shallow baking dish, mix all the ingredients together except for the parmesan cheese.
5) Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top.
6) Bake for 10 minutes, then broil for 5 minutes.

Cornbread w/ sweet corn and jalapenos

Cornbread is such a delicious comfort food and I find any opportunity to make it.  I liked the idea of adding sweet corn and jalapenos to give it a little twist.  I have a jalapeno plant in the backyard so anything I can add it to is great.

Ingredients

2 boxes of Jiffy

1 cup of milk

1 cup of sweet corn

2 eggs

1 jalapeno (finely chopped w/ seeds removed)

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.

3) Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

4) Pour the batter into a shallow baking dish.

5) Bake for 30 minutes.

6) Use a toothpick to test if it's fully cooked by poking the middle.  The toothpick should be dry.

7) Set on a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.

Turkey chili

Since I was not sure if it was going to rain today, I bought all the ingredients for chili.  It turns out that it is a nice sunny day, but oh well, I was already dead set on making this.  I decided to use ground turkey since I wanted to experiment with it a semi- healthier alternative.  In the end, I could not even taste the difference, which is assuring if I ever decide to make this in the future.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

2 pounds of ground turkey

70 ounces of chopped tomatoes

28 ounces of black beans

14 ounces of kidney beans

4 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tablespoon of ancho chili powder

2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper flakes

2 tablespoons of red chili flakes

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 jalapeno (finely chopped w/ seeds removed)

Directions

1) In a large pan, saute the garlic in the vegetable oil for about one minute.

2) Add the ground turkey and throughly cook for about 10 minutes.

3) Transfer to a heavy pot and add all the beans.  Make sure to drain the excess liquid in the cans. 

4) When all of that is incorporated, add the chili powders, cayenne pepper, red chili flakes, cumin, and jalapeno.

5) Make sure to mix often so the contents at the bottom of the pot do not burn.

6) Simmer for 45 minutes on low heat.