By By Lisa Tindell
news editor
With only Iron Bowl Weekend more popular (at least in Alabama), plans are being made all across the country for what is billed as the biggest football weekend in America.
This Sunday’s matchup between the Cardinals and the Steelers is one many fans will be anticipating greatly.
Even more than the game, some fans will be anxious to see what’s on the buffet table. Jamie Riggs, head coach at T. R. Miller High School, is hoping someone remembers the wings.
Riggs said it really doesn’t matter much what else is on the table, the wings will be enough.
I’m with Coach Riggs. I love wings just about any way you serve them and I like them hot, too.
If you’re hoping for some wings on the buffet Sunday you could make sure they show up by making them yourself.  I’m thinking sauce for wings recipes make Paula Deen happy — they all call for melted butter.
This recipe calls for the wings to be cooked on a medium-hot grill. You can certainly bake them in the oven or simply fry them and add the sauce. That’s pretty much true for any wing recipe.
Hot Honey Wings  
2 pounds chicken wings, tips discarded
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (add more if you can stand it)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup hot sauce
Wash the wings well and pat dry with paper towel. Season the meat with cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook the chicken wings on preheated grill until cooked through and juices run clear, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the wings. Brush the wings liberally using 1/2 cup of honey while they are cooking. Melt the butter, pour into a large bowl and mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of honey and hot sauce. Remove the wings from the grill and immediately toss them in the hot honey butter sauce to coat. Serve the wings ‘wet’ or return them to the grill for 1 minute per side to set the sauce.
Coach Blaine Hathcock, head coach at W.S. Neal High School, said he is looking forward to having some cheesy dip at his house.
Like most football fans, Hathcock likes his tailgate dishes hot.
If you’re not familiar with this dip, it’s a fantastic dish and a few ingredients can feed a crowd. This dip is served with a variety of chips or crackers, but Hathcock said he likes the Fritos Scoops the best.
Rotel and Sausage Dip
1 pound bulk hot sausage
1 (16 ounce) package Velveeta Cheese, cut up
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
Crumble and cook sausage in large saucepan over medium heat until browned. Drain on paper towel then return sausage to saucepan. Cut cheese into cubes and add to sausage. Cook, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted. Stir in tomatoes. Serve warm with tortilla chips.
As you prepare your party food, keep in mind that you can add just a little bit of “healthy” to a lot of recipes by exchanging some ingredients for healthier choices. This first recipe is one that incorporates spinach into the dish. My guess is that those who devour the morsels won’t even notice.
Beefy Pinwheels
12-ounces thinly sliced deli roast beef
1 (4-ounce) package herb flavored cream cheese
4 large flour tortillas (about 10-inches)
2 cups spinach leaves (about 20 leaves)
1 (7-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained
Spread cheese evenly over one side of each tortilla. Place deli roast beef over cheese leaving 1/2-inch border around edges. Place spinach leaves over beef. Arrange peppers down center, over spinach. Roll up tightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to overnight before serving. To serve, cut each roll crosswise into 8 slices. Arrange cut side up on serving platter.
One tip for this recipe is to be sure to dry the peppers before putting them on the tortillas. This will help to keep the wraps from getting soggy.
If you want to serve a full meat dish without standing over the fryer to prepare wings, this next recipe is a good one to give a try.
I’ve cooked meatballs many times to serve as party food and have had wonderful results with a variety of sauces. I have used everything from barbecue sauce to Tiger sauce on meatballs and they are all very good.
If you want to take a shortcut on this next recipe, you can buy meatballs already mixed and rolled out into perfectly round balls. That’s probably what I would do, but making them from scratch will give you an opportunity to cut down on fat and fillers.
Any way you do it, the sauce on these meatballs sounds wonderful and I plan to give it a try.
Saucey Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup seasoned dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons shortening or vegetable oil
2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1/2 cup Heinz 57 Sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flour
Combine ground beef, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, milk, and egg. Using 1 rounded tablespoon for each, roll ground beef mixture into about 20 meatballs. In a bowl, mix together canned tomatoes, Heinz 57 Sauce, sugar, and salt until combined. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add shortening or oil and brown meatballs on all sides. Drain fat. Sprinkle with flour and gently stir meatballs to coat. Pour tomato mixture over meatballs. Simmer uncovered about 30 minutes or until sauce thickens to your liking. Stir several times as it cooks to prevent sticking and encourage even cooking.
If you’re cooking for more than just a handful of people, this next recipe will feed several people and could be considered a little healthy. Our sports guy, Adam Robinson, gave me this recipe and told me how much he likes veggie pizza. This recipe sounds easy to prepare and it’s healthy taboot.
Vegetable Pizza
2 packages crescent rolls
2 packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon dill weed, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 cup broccoli florets, finely chopped
1 cup cauliflower, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, finely shredded
Place crescent rolls on a jelly roll pan and press seams together. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  While crust cools, combine cream cheese, mayo, milk, dill, and garlic. Spread over cooled crust. Sprinkle vegetables and cheese over cream cheese. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut into squares to serve.
I hope that you have a chance to try some of these recipes whether it is for the Super Bowl or not. Good dishes make everyone happy and satisfying hungry mouths satisfies the cook.
Check back here next week for more recipes. I have some great dishes in mind to share with you.
Until next week, happy cooking.