2011 Super Bowl Snack Recipes: Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts Make Heinz Ketchup Gourmet

If cheese dip counts as Green Bay Packers food, what recipe can we use for our Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XLV snack? This one is easy, too -- the Steelers play at Heinz Field, so let's try and make something delicious out of ketchup. It can be done, believe it or not! Ketchup is good for more than just dipping french fries.

The recipe below will produce 25 to 30 snacks, though you can always easily adjust if you need to stock a bigger platter.

Ingredients:

1 package of bacon (cut strips into thirds)
3 cans whole water chestnuts
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup Heinz ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
Toothpicks

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut bacon strips into thirds. Roll one whole water chestnut into each 1/3 strip of bacon, inserting a toothpick to hold it together, and place on cookie sheet. (Use nonstick foil on cookie sheet to make cleanup easier.)

Continue this until you run out of bacon or water chestnuts.

Once oven is preheated, bake for 30 minutes.

While those are baking... in a small mixing bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce.

Once the 30 minutes is up, spoon the sauce over each of the bacon wrapped water chestnuts, then continue baking for 25 minutes.

Serve! But first, take them out of the oven!

2011 Super Bowl Dip Recipes: Spinach And Artichoke Dip Makes A Great Game Snack

One of the fun things about Super Bowl recipe ideas is coming up with team-related snacks. When you think Green Bay Packers food, you think cheese and green. And bratwurst and beer and whatever B.J. Raji eats, but we're going for quick and easy here!

No Super Bowl party is complete without dip, and here's one of our favorites: spinach and artichoke dip. It's got cheese in it, and it's mostly green, so it's Packers dip. From start to finish, it should take even a kitchen rookie under 30 minutes, and you'll have enough to fill a medium sauce pan.

Ingredients:

1 pkg frozen or fresh spinach
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 small red onion (diced)
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
8 oz monterey jack cheese (shredded or cubed)
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 can of marinated artichokes (chopped)
Bread, fajitas, or tortilla chips for dipping

In a medium pot, add 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter. Add diced onions, and on medium heat, sauté to light brown.

Add spinach, and keep stirring unitl thawed (or wilted, if using fresh spinach).

Add sour cream, and mix. Then add cream cheese, and mix.

Add monterey jack cheese. Stir until melted.

Mix in chopped artichokes. Finally, stir in shredded parmesan.

Serve hot with bread or chips!

2011 Super Bowl Dessert Recipes: Packers Or Steelers Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

The Super Bowl is about more than just a game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. It's about friends, food, and that amazing Darth Vader kid. Here's the first in a batch of Super Bowl snack recipes I've whipped together for SB Nation Atlanta: lemon cream cheese cupcakes. They're unbearably delicious, and since they're already yellow all they need is a black or green sprinkling to match your team's colors.

Cupcake ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
1 3.4 oz box lemon pudding
1 cup water
4 large egg whites (you'll want to save 3 of the yolks for the filling!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Frosting Ingredients:
16 oz powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 a large lemons juice.
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter softened.
(I also added 3 drops of yellow food coloring)

Filling Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 large egg yolks (well beaten)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp lemon zest

Heat oven to 350° whilw bringing a small saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water to boil. Beat cake mix, pudding, water, egg whites, and oil on low speed until moist. The batter should be thick. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each about halfway. Should yield 24 cupcakes or 12 large cupcakes. Bake 17-18 minutes for smaller cupcakes, 20 for large.

While that's baking, add 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 of your large lemon's juices, and 16 oz powdered sugar to a bowl. Mix on low speed until well blended. This is your frosting!

While cupcakes are cooling, beat 3 large egg yolks well, in a small bowl. Zest your lemons and add your 1/2 cup of lemon juice to 1/2 cup cold water. Set these to the side for now.

In a medium saucepan, sift in sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually blend in the lemon/water. Place the pan over medium-low heat, and whisk until smooth. Add egg yolks and butter and blend well. Stir constantly until thickened.

Meanwhile you should have a small saucepan boiling 1 1/2 cups water. Once thickened, add the 1 1/2 cups boiling water, and continue stirring until filling reaches your desired thickness -- this should take approximately 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add in lemon zest. To keep the top of the filling from forming, lightly rub butter over the top. Once cupcakes have cooled, you can fill them.

To fill the cupcakes, use a pastry bag and tip. Squeeze the desired amount into the cupcake, and continue until finished. Frost, garnish, and enjoy!

Head to SB Nation's Super Bowl hub for more Super Bowl recipes.