I am not a huge football fan.  As a college student, I went to one game and I do not think I stayed the entire game. Here in the South though, everyone is die hard about their football, basketball and baseball,  so the Super Bowl is a huge thing.

We always throw a Super Bowl party.   Of course, for me it is about food but for my kids, family and friends it is about whose team is going to smash the living daylights out of the other team. Loads of yelling at the tv while lauging with each other and of course, some good game day eats.


Here are some things my oldest son tested with me yesterday to make sure they could go down on the menu. They were a huge hit and we can't wait to have these again for game day. And one thing rings true abut the South, we love football and bbq. These game day treats are the perfect combination of cheesey potato goodness with amazing bbq flavor.



Twice Baked Sweet Potato BBQ Chicken Baby Potatoes

One Bag of Baby Potatoes
Kyvan Sweet Potato BBQ Sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 - 1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup of Shredded Cheddar
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons Kyvan Dry BBQ Rub
2 tablespoons Butter
Micro Greens

In a meduim size pot of water, bring the baby potatoes to a boil then reduce to meduim heat. Cook for twenty minutes until potatoes are tender.

Remove potatoes from water and allow them to cool.

Once cool, slice the potatoes in half and use a spoon to scoop out the insides of the potatoes.  Place what you scoop out into a bowl.

Add in sour cream, salt, pepper, cheese and mix well. Should be thick and creamy. If dry or too chunky, add in more sour cream.

Set potato mixture aside.



In skillet on meduim heat, cook your chicken breasts with dry bbq rub and butter. Cook breasts until done. Allow to cool once removing from heat and then shred the chicken.

Coat the shredded chicken with 1/2 cup or 1 cup of bbq sauce.

Line the potato skins on a baking sheet and scoop in a spoonful of the potato mixture. Top with shredded cheese and a half a spoonful of chicken. Place in oven and bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve hot and fresh, and add a garnish of microgreens.



We also did a variation of this added by sprinkling Kyvan Dry BBQ rub over the potato mixture and baking plain.  After they were removed from the oven, I added a piece of bacon that had been cooked after being sprinkled with the rub for a nice smoky bbq flavor.

One potato, two ways!

Amazing butcher blocks courtesy of Woods Rooted.

I always tell myself I should do more baking. When I was growing up, my mom baked a cake or something each week. Seriously, my mom is my inspiration. You know how they always tell you that you come to appreciate things from your youth once you get older...it is true. As a mama myself now I realize just how important those little things were that my mom did for us...like her baking us something every single week.



My kids love peaches. While I don't usually cook with canned or frozen goods these days, we keep non-perishables in our pantry in case of emergencies or for those lazy days when I do not feel like doing much.  We have a ton of canned peaches and I was a bit tired of making only peach cobbler so I thought it would be awesome to find another pie idea for my bajillion cans. 


And thus peach and apple butter handpies were born. Dude. These are so easy. You only need three things: pie dough/pastry dough, apple butter and peaches. You do not need sugar, vanilla or anything extra. The apple butter adds in the perfect touch of cinnamon and the peaches combined brings about the perfect sweetness. And you don't have to do any cooking of the fruit before hand either! Perfection, yes!

You will need:
Roll out pie dough or pastry dough
Kyvan Apple Butter
Canned Peaches in heavy syrup


Drain syrup from the peaches, cut into smaller cubes and pour peaches into a bowl. Mix in 4 tablespoons of apple butter and mix.

Roll out dough and cut out 4 inch circles.  Scoop 1-1 1/2 spoonfuls of peach and apple butter mix into middle of dough circles.  Fold over one side of the circle and use a fork to crimp the edges. Use a knife and cut small vent lines in the top of the handpie.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream or with a simple powdered sugar icing drizzle.

My mom claimed she did not want prime rib or ham for Thanksgiving as my menu so beautifully stated.  Of course, she got a serious side eye and a "What would you like instead?" 

I was serious. This is my mama and even though I was in charge of Thanksgiving dinner and my kids and other invited family members had no say in what I was making, my mama was the exception. Shoot, I still remember those epic punishments I would get when I kept running in and out the house as a kid, so there was no way I was going to say, deal with it mama. Instead, I asked her what she wanted and she answered with chicken.



I consider myself I foodie. I was not just going to do any kind of chicken for her, I planned out this epic worthy whole baked chicken that was sure to knock her socks off but exxxxxcuse me when she called me up and said, Never mind on the chicken, your Aunt Angie bought me some. Now, ok. It's only the day before Thanksgiving. I head to the kitchen, glance in the fridge at the lone whole chicken that is chilling inside and give it a "Maybe tomorrow" salute.



And then tomorrow came. Not thinking, I left most of the leftovers at my mom's, so I was limited on corn, bread, salad and that lonely whole chicken that never made it to the rack of the oven.  I decided that it would make a nice lunch for my crew.



I opened my pantry and pulled out some Kyvan bbq dry rub, Honey Apple BBQ Sauce, some balsamic vinegar and decided, hey, let's make it happen.

Look at that drizzle...Oh yeah.

Thus, this lunch was born.


This is a super tasty and easy to make dinner or lunch for your crew.



My kids could not get enough of the bbq dry rub croutons so I had to use my entire leftover loaf of crusty italian bread to make them more. They popped them like popcorn, so this is a nice way to use leftover bread, an addition to a great salad, or an amazing snack option.

You will need:

Chicken
Whole Chicken (cleaned)
1/2 cup Kyvan BBQ Dry Rub
1/2 cup Kyvan Honey Apple BBQ Sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1.2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup softened butter

Spread softened butter all over chicken. Pat on and spread the dry ingredients. Bake at 450 degrees in oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat in oven to 350 degrees and cook 25 minutes per pound.

Once roasted, coat chicken with bbq sauce and place in oven for 10 minutes.



Kyvan BBQ Vinaigrette 
1/2 cup olive oil
1⁄2 cup balsamic vinegar
1⁄3 cup Kyvan Honey Apple BBQ Sauce
1⁄2 lemon squeezed
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or parsley, chopped fine
1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger

Mix all ingredients well. Shake well before serving and refrigerate after making and use.



Kyvan BBQ Croutons
Bread (cut into one inch cubes)
Kyvan BBQ Dry Rub
Olive Oil

On baking sheet line cut bread cubes. Sprinkle lightly with olive oil and then sprinkle bbq dry rub.

Herb Salad
1/2 cup basil
1/2 cup mint
1/2 cup dill
2 cups of arugula spinach mix
1/2 cup micro greens
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup of almonds




Check out Kyvan and purchase their deliciously southern products here.

DIY Sandwich Tray. Arrange all the necessities for a tasty sandwich and let everyone make their own.

Fajita Platter.  It took me about fifteen minutes to cook the steak and chicken and veggies, then it was just laying them out to be eaten. Super easy and we all love fajitas around here!

Poboys are popular here in the South. I fried up some catfish, steamed some mussels and we had a simple dinner ready to be picked up and devoured.

Who doesn't love a good burger? I know I do. Today I was originally wanted something with marinara sauce. It went from pizza to calzone to stromboli. I just needed some sauce in my life. I was all over the internet, typing in my search and drooling over the deliciousness that was on my screen.

Then my daughter walked in. She didn't want a calzone, she wanted a burger. Being hungry, I was easily persuaded to ditch said calzone and move on to burger lusting. Still wanting some sauce, I traded the marinara for bbq sauce.  Oh my word. My kids loved these bad boys. They were just so good. I doubled our patties because I made them quite thin but like, oh my oh my....so darn good.




Rodeo Burger

Texas Toast

Ground Beef (one fistful per person)
Worcestershire Sauce (2 tbsp per person)
Teriyaki Sauce (2 tbsp per person)
Salt and Pepper

Frozen Onion Rings
1/2 Bell Pepper (chopped)
1/4 Onion Chopped
5 Slices of Bacon Chopped

Sharp Cheddar Cheese Slices

BBQ Sauce

(if cooking for less than four people, use 2 tbsp chopped veggies and 2 slices of chopped bacon per person)


In mixing bowl mix ground beef, Worcestershire and teriyaki. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Mix beef and grab by the fist full and form a ball. Flatten the ball of beef into a patty shape. 

Heat skillet on medium high. Add in patties. Cook and turn over until desired wellness. Place a slice of cheddar cheese on the patties while still in skillet until melted.

In small skillet, add in chopped veggies, bacon and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until bacon is completely done.

In oven at 350 degrees, bake onion rings for 30 minutes until crispy. 

Toast your bread!

Now assemble your burger.

Finish with a nice drizzle of your favorite bbq sauce.

When it comes to dinner for my kids, most times we keep things very simple and light. I am always thinking of foods that I see on television or online and it is so refreshing to take a break from traditional heavy Southern meals and try something from the Mediterranean area.

One of our favorites are chicken gyros. I must admit, I am an absolute sucker for tzatziki sauce. I can eat it by the spoonfuls. 

I use this recipe here for the sauce but I add in a tablespoon of pickle juice to it as well. I really like dill. Like, dude....seriously.



Chicken Gyros

1 chicken breast per person, cut into cubes
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Thinly sliced cucumbers
Lettuce
Tomato slices
Soft Greek Style Pita bread

Preheat oven to 350.

Place cubed chicken on skewer. Place on baking sheet. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper over skewers.

Put in oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Remove chicken from skewers and place on top of soft pita. Add lettuce, tomato and tzatziki sauce. serve with extra sauce.

                     

Yeah, here I am old as all get out and whowouldathunk that I have never had a bloody mary. To me, the idea of tomatoes and alcohol was a bit of a turn off. I mean, really? And I won't mention that one time my friend bought me a bottle of black pepper vodka so that I could try bloody marys and it sat and sat and sat in the cabinet until I finally threw it out 3 years later. It was just not something I could imagine drinking.

So one day, I was walking in my favorite store ever, Kroger (swoon), and they always have amazing samples at the cheese counter. This particular day, there was not the usual gourmet cracker paired with some delicate and stinky delicious cheese, it was a small cup with some tomato looking juice in it and a green bean. Yeah. A green bean. It was that green bean that caught my eye. I grab a cup and take a  bite of the green bean. Ohhhhhh, a pickled green bean! Then I took a swig. Oh some deliciously dill tomato-y concoction that was sorta spicy. It was delicious. One of the best things I have tasted.



It was McClure's Bloody Mary mix and  a Rick's Mean Green Bean (at 13 bucks a jar locally, they are online much cheaper).  Yes, lawd. Yes. I was so good.



I bought two jars of the mix, a jar of the green beans.

I chose not to add alcohol to my Bloody Mary because still, the thought kind of does not sit well with me but if it is your thing, you have got to try this mix.

I topped mine with a slab of beef jerky, pickled okra (Talk O'Texas), olive, celery, lime and the rim is covered in Tajin seasoning. Yes. I even made some super mini two sip ones for my kids and the Mormon Missionaries who had stopped by...because hey, I like to have my kids try different stuff and it was a super tasty non-alcoholic drink.



Just might serve these at the murder mystery dinner party I am having for friends and family in two weeks.

Here in the South during the holidays there are certain desserts that you just know will be at almost every family dinner. One of them is the must have, pecan pie.

Pecan trees are a'plenty here and while some make their way through heavily leaved yards and gather them, most of us resort to the grocery store for a bag or two of super expensive pecans already de-shelled.