A couple of surefire hits for gameday.
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Meatballs in a spicy BBQ sauce,( bring a box of toothpicks.)
1lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup italian flavored bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup finely minced onion
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Roll into roughly 1" balls. Pan fry over medium heat until browned and cooked through. Place meatballs in a cooking dish that has a lid, and cover generously with your favorite BBQ sauce. Place in microwave for 1-2 minutes or until the BBQ sauce is hot. Serve with jumbo toothpicks.
Recipe can easily be doubled if you expect a good crowd.
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Frito Pie
This is a simple dish that has a long tradition in my wifes family. You used to be able to get this served right in the little snack sized bags at the Woolworths in downtown Santa Fe.
2Lbs course ground beaf. (ask your meat department if you dont see any, they will custom grind it for you)
1 4 oz. can tomato paste
1 small can tomato sauce
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (I like the ones with onions and jalapenos in it)
1 small can of diced green chilis
Spices to taste - I like to cheat and buy the Caroll Shelby's chili mix. Its just easier to get the flavor I like. Go easy on the chayanne pepper if you want to keep your stomach lining.
(notice: no beans? yeah around here chili with beans in it is gringo chili, I dont eat that. Besides, for this dish its better with no beans)
Ok so you made some chili (or you shortcut and bought some canned chili, which is perfectly fine). Now you need to grate some medium cheddar cheese into a sealable container. You are going to need a big back of fritos corn chips. For frito pies, the originals are really the best. Also dice up some onion as well.
Bring everything to the gathering and set up the fixins in a triangle. Chili in the center, and at each of the points of the triangle, put the Fritos (NO, in a BOWL you HEATHEN!) cheese, and onions. If no one around has ever had a frito pie show em how its done. Put some fritos in a bowl, sprinkle em with cheese, cover with a big spoonful of chili and top with onions. I like to let my cheese melt a little first then kinda mix it all up into a sort of frito casserole.
Enjoy!
Go Bears!
