Superbowl Sunday--and Dessert Recipes!

We are still recovering from the bittersweet Superbowl....meaning we were cheering for the Niners but had an awesome time partying on Sunday! We attended a party at a friends house and had a great time....the first half was spent eating and looking away as the Ravens scored, and scored, and scored. And then more eating to dull the pain. Halftime came and we went crazy when Destiny's Child appeared-- Say My Name, Say My Name--anyone? Beyonce was looking pretty bootylicious so the men watched too. After halftime we all settled in for a long second half ---with high hopes for the Niners....and then Jacoby Jones went lights out with a kickoff return and we started biting our nails. I'll be honest, I thought the media made a HUGE deal out of nothing with the whole lights off situation, we just kept watching the commentators repeat themselves and thinking of how much more intoxicated people were getting with the extra 34 minutes of spare time. After the lights came back on, so did the Niners. Thank goodness. They scored, and scored, and scored. We screamed, and chanted, and high-fived. The last minutes were full of some terrible calls, seriously PASS INTERFERENCE AND HOLDING exist! After the safety I was terribly confused where the ball would be but I still had hope--and then the game ended. Congratulations to the Ravens. Booooo.

The Boys in the Niners shirts--so darn cute.

Trying to avoid the camera.

Focused on the game, hoping for a miracle!

Now let's talk food. Food is what actually matters during the Superbowl. I made three "dishes" on Sunday and I'm going to share two of the recipes with you because I searched on Pinterest way too long for  two of these and actually tweaked them a lot. These are both very easy to make so even if you are an amateur in the kitchen it would be hard to screw these up! In the interest of keeping this post short I will be posting about the third and best dish next....and I promise it is worthy of its own post.

DISCLAIMER: NONE OF THESE ARE HEALTHY. But you could tweak all of them to make them healthier.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

RECIPE

Ingredients

1 Pound Strawberries 

(A normal container at the grocery store--organic if preferred.)

8 ounces Cream Cheese

(Full-Fat or 1/3 Less Fat both work--organic if preferred.)

5 Tablespoons Powered Confectioners Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

4 Graham Crackers Crushed 

Directions

Wash the strawberries thoroughly and cut a hole into the tops of the strawberries with a paring knife. Set aside. In a Ziploc bag crush the four graham cracker--I used a rolling pin and my frustrations. Place the crushed graham crackers in a small bowl. Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together in a small mixing bowl. Transfer the cream cheese mixture to a pastry bag aka a gallon sized Ziploc bag then snip off one corner. Pipe the cream cheese mixture into the top of the strawberries. Dip the tops of the strawberries into the graham crackers. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

These little gems are delicious, easy to make, and probably too easy to pop in your mouth one after another!  TIPS --Keep them cold! They got kind of mushy and gross once left out--I usually use the two hour rule for foods like this but that's probably just my home economics preaching Mother coming through in me! You will probably get frustrated when cutting your strawberries as it takes patience and time, TRUST me its worth the deliciousness in the final product.

"Football" Scotcharoos

RECIPE

Ingredients

1 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1 Cup Sugar

1 and 1/4 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter

6 Cups Rice Krispies

1 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

3/4 Cup Butterscotch Chips

White Frosting (optional, used for decoration)

Directions

In a saucepan combine the corn syrup and the sugar over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts to bubble. Stir in the peanut butter. In a large mixing bowl add the Rice Krispies and make a hole in the middle of the Rice Krispies. Pour the mixture from the sauce pan into the Rice Krispies and mix together immediately and thoroughly. Transfer into a 9 x 13 pan and press down. In a microwavable bowl mix together the chocolate and butterscotch chips--microwave in 15-30 second increments until melted, stir well between. Don't burn the chocolate! Once melted pour the mixture over the Rice Krispie mixture in the pan. Allow to cool, they will harden up (this process goes faster if you put the pan into the fridge!) 

To add decoration just add frosting to a Ziploc or pastry bag and decorate however you choose! If you want to make shapes like the one in the center above (a football) just use any circular container than can bend to look like a football. I used an old sour cream container that I cut to create a "cookie" cutter. I chose not to create all football shapes so that we would have enough for everyone but it would be so cute to do this! Also, practice with the pastry bag before or you will end up with non-straight lines like I did! (Oops!)

If you live anywhere near the Midwest I hope you have had these before--my recipe is just tweaked in the peanut butter and butterscotch chips area...I find it makes them a little creamier and less butterscotch tasting which is what I prefer--feel free to change it up to your needs or taste buds!

We are so thankful we had lots of food and friends to celebrate the Superbowl with regardless of who won the game! Whip these recipes up and let me know how you like them, I promise they are worth all the calories for a special occasion!

Ashley