A game plan for the big day

Over the weekend, we watched about every sporting game there was on television. In addition, our daughter played basketball Saturday morning, and her team came up just one basket short. They lost by 1 point, following our loss last weekend by 2 points in triple overtime. My husband is a huge North Carolina basketball fan, so when they lost by one basket it was a heartbreaker for him. While not every game we watched went to our liking, maybe next time we will end up on top.

In thinking about sports, the big Super Bowl weekend is coming up in a couple of weeks. I have a few recipes to pass along to you that you might want to add to your big game day menu.

I have a really good buffalo chicken dip recipe that I got from my cousin Kristin Steimel over the holidays. I made it New Year's Eve and it was a big hit. While thumbing through a cookbook today I found another similar recipe, so you are going to get both of them and you can decide which one you like best.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

4 chicken breasts, cooked until done and shredded

1 (12-ounce) bottle Frank's Hot Sauce

Combine these two ingredients together and spread in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

24 ounces bottled ranch salad dressing

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup finely diced celery

Combine these ingredients together in a saucepan and heat until all are smooth and creamy. Spread over the chicken and hot sauce layer. Top with 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven until bubbly and slightly browned. Serve with celery sticks or tortilla chips.

Hot Wing Dip

3 large chicken breasts

12 ounces cream cheese

1 (8-ounce) Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

3 cups shredded cheese

1 (10-ounce) bottle Frank's Hot Sauce

Mix all ingredients except chicken together in a large bowl. Chop chicken into small pieces and add to other ingredients. Place in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with crackers or your favorite breads. Note: do not substitute Frank's or Hidden Valley for other brands.

While on the hot wing theme, here is a recipe for the actual wing and not a dip.

Sweet and Spicy Hot Wings

1 1/2 cups Frank's Hot Sauce

1 cup honey

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

5 to 6 pounds chicken wings

Grill or bake the chicken wings in a hot oven until the juices run clear and they are done. While the wings are cooking, mix together the sauce, honey, pepper, butter and garlic powder in a saucepan. Put wings in a baking dish, pour sauce over, bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

4 pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

3 avocados, diced

1 red onion, finely diced

1 or 2 jalapenos, finely diced

4 limes, juiced

1/4 cup ketchup

1 large bottle V8 juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook shrimp 2 to 3 minutes and cool. Mix all ingredients, except shrimp, in a large container. Add shrimp and chill at least 4 hours.

At church last week, the children made some fun food for their activity and snack. When I stepped in the kitchen, it smelled so good, and they immediately gave me the recipes to share with you to make with your children or grandchildren. The Pebbles and dip was my favorite.

Pigs in a Blanket

8 hot dogs

8 slices American processed cheese

1 (12-ounce) package refrigerator crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut each hot dog in half. Wrap cheese around each hot dog, then the crescent around that. Put on a cookie sheet with the overlap of bread face down, so you don't have to use a toothpick. Bake in preheated oven until bread is brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Pebbles Chips and Dip

4 (10-inch) flour tortillas

1 egg white

1 cup Fruit or Cocoa Pebbles cereal

1 (6-ounce) container strawberry low-fat yogurt

1/4 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tortillas in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Brush evenly with egg whites. Sprinkle each with 3 tablespoons cereal. Bake 10 minutes. Cool. Cut each tortilla into 12 pieces. Combine yogurt and strawberries in serving bowl. Serve as a dip with tortilla chips.

Dirt Pie

Oreo or chocolate wafer cookies

Chocolate pudding

Gummy Worms

Crumble up the Oreo cookies and place them in a small bowl. Then layer the top with a layer of pudding. Repeat cookies and pudding until you are at the top and end with cookies. Place the gummy worms down in the cookies to look as if they are coming out of the dirt.

I am out of room, but certainly not out of recipes to include here, so I will bid you a great week and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff