Mapping out recipes for birthday boy, NCAA title game

By Susan McClanahan

Happy birthday to my husband, Scott. Today is his birthday, and we will be celebrating today and looking forward to the NCAA national-championship basketball game tomorrow evening.

God certainly knew Scott would become an avid basketball enthusiast to let him be born at the same time as the NCAA championship games every year.

Of the two events, Scott would far rather watch basketball than celebrate his birthday, but we are going to celebrate today anyway.

Another thing Scott enjoys is a buffet of snack and finger foods as a meal. Occasionally we will prepare a variety of items, and he can snack on them and he loves it. I can only imagine that for his birthday and for the big game tomorrow evening, he will want several finger foods on hand.

These are among the recipes I am pondering to prepare for his very special weekend.

Ham and Swiss Dip

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup real mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 cup fully cooked ham, finely chopped
• 1 cup (4 ounces) Swiss cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• 3/4 cup rye cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• Rye crackers

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth. Stir in the ham, cheese and mustard. Spread in an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Toss the cracker crumbs in butter; sprinkle over cream cheese mixture. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until heated through. Serve rye crackers.

Barbecued Pecans

• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Dash cayenne pepper, (a little goes a long way)
• 1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted
• Seasoned salt

Mix together white vinegar and honey; coat pecans with mixture. Place in a large, flat glass baking dish, do not use metal. Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Pour melted butter on pecans and bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees and then for 10 minutes at 300 degrees. Stir often while baking. Remove from oven and sprinkle with seasoning salt, as desired to taste. Spread out onto a paper towel to cool. Store tightly covered after cooled.

Cajun Crackers

• 1 1/4 cups canola oil
• 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
• 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
• Pinch cayenne pepper, adjust to personal taste
• 1 box saltine crackers, 4 sleeves

Mix first 5 ingredients together. Pour all the crackers into large bowl. Pour mixture over crackers. Put lid on tight. Gently roll and turn bowl every 10 minutes for 1 hour. Store in plastic zip-top bags or tightly covered bowl.

Yummy Little Smokies

• 1 pound little smokies
• 1 cup cranberry sauce
• 3 tablespoons mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 or 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 bottle (12 ounce) chili sauce

Place smokies in a flat glass baking dish. Mix all other ingredients together. Pour over smokies. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.

Hanky-Panky

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground sausage, hot if desired
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound processed cheese spread, cubed
• 1 small loaf party rye bread or party-sized sourdough bread, sliced

In a skillet, brown ground beef and sausage; drain. Reduce heat to low and add garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add cheese. When mixed thoroughly, spread on slices of rye or sourdough bread. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Note: These can be made and frozen in a single layer, then placed in a container or zip-top bag. When ready to serve, bake only the desired number you need at that time.

Cheesy Crab Bites

• 1/2 cup butter, soften
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mayonnaise
• 1 jars (5 ounces) Kraft Old English cheese spread
• 1 can (6 ounces) flaked crabmeat
• 1 packages (6 count) English muffins

Mix together the first 5 ingredients. Slice muffins in half horizontal. Spread each muffin half with the cheese/crab mixture. Place under broiler and brown (watch carefully so it doesn't burn). To serve, cut each muffin half into quarters when cool enough to handle.

Note: I keep a bag of these in the freezer for when unexpected guests show up. Place on a cookie sheet to freeze, then transfer to freezer bags. When guests arrive, broil as instructed above.

Pizza Balls

• 3 cans buttermilk (10 count) biscuits
• 60 pepperoni slices (2 per biscuit)
• Block of cheese (colby/Monterey Jack or cheddar)
• 1 egg, beaten
• Parmesan cheese
• Italian seasoning
• Garlic powder
• 1 jar pizza sauce

Slice cheese into approximately 28 small squares. Flatten each biscuit and stack pepperoni and cheese on top. Gather edges of biscuit and secure on top of the roll. Line rolls in greased 9x13 baking pan. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Bake at 425 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Serve with warm pizza sauce for dipping.

Finger Lickin' Good Chicken Wings

• 4 pounds fresh chicken wings

For the sauce:

• 1 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all sauce ingredients in medium container with lid. Cover container and shake vigorously. Place washed chicken wings in aluminum foil-lined pan so that they are all lying flat in a single layer, not on top of each other. Pour sauce over chicken wings to coat. Place in preheated oven and cook for an hour and a half. Turn wings over and raise temperature to 425 degrees and cook for an additional hour and a half.

Sweet-N-Sour Sausage Bites

The recipe calls for the small cocktail sized smoked sausages or frankfurters, but you may also use regular smoked sausage and cut into man-sized chunks for a hearty snack for the bigger eaters of your group.

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 pound cocktail sized smoked sausage links or cocktail franks, heated

Blend brown sugar, flour and mustard in saucepan. Stir in pineapple juice, vinegar and soy sauce. Cook, stirring over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in sausage links and heat through. Serve with party picks.

Jalapeño Popper Roll-Ups

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 8 slice cooked bacon crumbled
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 medium jalapeño, finely chopped and seeded
• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 cans (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
• Salsa

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients together except crescent dough. Separate each can of dough into 8 triangles; cut each triangle lengthwise in half. Spread each dough triangle with generous teaspoon of cream cheese mixture; roll up from ending with points. Place, point side down on baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with salsa.

Have a great week and, until next time, happy cooking.