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For people with limited culinary skills such as myself. . .seriously, I’m pretty sure I’ve burned water at least once. . .the crock pot is one of the greatest inventions of all time. I believe the hierarchy is
- Sanitation
- The wheel
- Electricity
- Internal combustion engine
- Crock pot
With Super Bowl LI coming up and many folks out there hosting parties for friends and family, the crock pot can be a lifesaver. They’re relatively inexpensive, and you can pretty much “set it and forget it” as far as food preparation is concerned. So, as we prepare to combine the greatest sporting event of the year with gastronomic bliss, here are a few of my personal favorite party recipes featuring that greatest of all kitchen implements, the crock pot.
Crock Pot Root Beer Chicken Wings
What you need
- 2 pounds of chicken wings
- 1 can (12 ounces) of root beer
- 1 cup of barbecue sauce, divided (I prefer Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Chipotle, but YMMV)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
What you do
- Place wings in crock pot.
- Pour root beer into crock pot.
- Pour half of barbecue sauce over wings. Set the rest aside.
- Turn on the crock pot. You can either do 4 to 5 hours on low or 2 to 2 1⁄2 hours on high.
- Turn off the crock pot.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place wings on cookie sheet.
- Brush wings with remaining barbecue sauce.
- Sprinkle brown sugar over wings.
- Place wings into oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove wings from oven.
- Eat wings
Crock Pot Chili Mac ‘n’ Cheese Dip
What you need
- 1 15 ounce can of chili con carne
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1⁄3 cup lager
- Hot sauce, to taste
- Kosher salt
- 12 ounces of macaroni
- Sour cream and cilantro (for garnish)
- Tortilla chips
- Large pot of water
What you do
- Combine chili, onion, cheese, cream cheese, lager, and hot sauce into the crock pot.
- Cover crock pot and cook on high for one hour.
- Bring large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt and add macaroni.
- Cook macaroni until al dente (approximately two minutes), and drain.
- When ready to serve dip, add macaroni to mixture in crock pot and stir until combined.
- Garnish with sour cream and cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.
Crock Pot Whiskey Meatballs
What you need
- 2 pounds frozen meatballs (1/2 ounce size)
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1⁄2 cup whiskey or bourbon
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
What you do
- Combine all ingredients in crock pot.
- Cover and cook on high for 1-2 hours.
- Serve with toothpicks.
Crock Pot Jalapeño Popper Taquitos
What you need
- 3-4 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1⁄2 cup water
- 1⁄3 cup chopped jalapeños (or more, if you prefer mas caliente)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 16 taco-sized tortillas
- 1 1⁄2 cups shredded cheese, whatever kind you’d like
- Cookie sheet
- Cooking spray
What you do
- Put chicken breasts, cream cheese, water, jalapeños, garlic powder, salt, and cumin into crock pot.
- Cover crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. (You can trend toward the shorter times for thawed chicken and longer times for frozen.)
- Just before serving, preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and grease with cooking spray.
- Shred chicken with two forks and blend into rest of mixture.
- Sprinkle cheese into the center of each tortilla.
- Top cheese with 2-3 tablespoons of shredded chicken mixture.
- Roll tortillas tightly into taquitos.
- Place taquitos on cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray.
- Cook taquitos for 10-15 minutes (until cheese is melty and tortillas begin to brown). Use broil for the last 2-3 minutes if you want crispier taquitos.
- Serve warm with dipping sauces and/or toppings.
Those are a few game day recipes from me, folks. If you have some game day recipes you’d like to share. . .whether or not they involve a crock pot. . .be sure to put them in the comments section for the rest of your fellow Minnesota Vikings fans to partake in.