Cookerati

Pace did a giveaway last year for the Superbowl, and is doing it again.  We love Pace, don’t we.  Actually, we do love Pace, my husband is a salsafied salsa fiend. He eats a quart of salsa a week because he loves the fresh tomato taste.  Salsa is one of the healthiest dips/sauces around because it has lots of fresh vegetables and not a lot of fat and sugar.  You can top eggs, sandwiches, chips, burgers, beef, chicken, spaghetti.  It’s such a versatile topping, though you can just go at it with a spoon.

In preparation for Super Bowl XLIV (taking place this Sunday, Feb. 7 in Miami), here are four of Pace Kitchens’ favorite recipes for Super Bowl Sunday, to help make your party more festive and more memorable. Note:  Giveaway at the bottom of the page.

Warm Spinach Dip with a Kick

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Makes: 32 servings (2 tablespoons each)

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
• 4 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 1cup)
• Tortilla chips or fresh vegetables

1. Spray a 2-quart saucepan with the cooking spray and heat over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the onion and cook until it’s tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir the spinach and flour in the skillet. Gradually stir the milk in the skillet. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Stir in the picante sauce and cheese and cook until the cheese is melted. Serve with the tortilla chips for dipping.
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Sweet & Spicy Chicken Wings

Prep: 10 min.
Bake: 35 min.
Makes: 24 pieces

• 12 chicken wings or 24 chicken drumettes
• 1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1. Cut off chicken wing tips and discard. Cut chicken wings in half at joint. Place chicken into foil-lined shallow baking pan.
2. Stir picante sauce, honey and ginger in large bowl. Toss chicken with 1/3 cup of picante mixture.
3. Bake at 500°F. on lowest oven rack 35 min. or until crispy and cooked through, turning chicken over once halfway through baking. Remove chicken and toss with remaining picante mixture.
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Sweet & Spicy Barbecued Brisket

Prep: 10 minutes
Marinate: 8 hours
Bake: 4 hours 30 minutes
Makes: 10 servings

• 1 trimmed beef brisket (about 5 pounds)
• Ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 cups Pace® Picante Sauce
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 10 Pepperidge Farm® Classic Sandwich Buns with Sesame Seeds or PepperidgeFarm® Farmhouse Premium White Rolls with Sesame Seeds

1. Season the beef with the black pepper and garlic powder and place into a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Stir the picante sauce, brown sugar and Worcestershire in a small bowl.  Spread the picante sauce mixture over the beef. Cover the dish and refrigerate overnight.
2. Bake, covered, at 300°F. for 4 1/2 hours or until the beef is fork-tender. Slice or shred the beef. Divide the beef and sauce among the rolls.
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Salsa Verde Meatballs

Prep: 15 min.
Bake: 20 min.
Makes: 16 meatballs

• 1 1/4 cups Pace® Salsa Verde
• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup finely crushed tortilla chips
• 4 green onions, minced

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Thoroughly mix 3/4 cup salsa, beef, egg, tortilla chips and green onions in large bowl. Shape mixture firmly into 16 meatballs.
3. Place meatballs into 3-qt. shallow baking dish. Top each with 1 tsp. salsa.
4. Bake 20 min. or until meatballs are cooked through. Serve with remaining salsa.

Mini Meatballs: Prepare beef mixture as directed above. Shape mixture firmly into 48 mini meatballs. Place meatballs into 4-qt. shallow baking dish. Bake at 350°F. 10 min. or until meatballs are cooked through. Serve with remaining salsa.

Pace Giveaway!

Last year we enjoyed giving away some Pace Salsas, so we are thrilled to offer it again.  This time we are giving away a two pack of Pace Salsa Verde and Pace Picante sauce.  I’m sorry we’re late moving on this, so it won’t arrive for Superbowl Sunday, but it will arrive in time for Valentines Day.  We’re closing this giveaway at half time of the Superbowl. I think Pace salsa is one of the must haves for your superbowl party.

The rules:

1. In the comments, tell me which of these recipes you’d be most likely to make, or give me one of your favorites, that would contain a Pace Salsa.
2. Also in the comments, tell us who you think will win (guesses after half time will be tossed out).
3. US residents only
4. One entry per household
5. Contest closes at halftime on Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Extra entries:

One extra entry each(2 total) for a tweet or if you subscribe to either by @Cookerati (twitter) , a reader or an RSS feed, or become a facebook fan (see link on right), or with network blogs and another one if you subscribe to our weekly newsletter.  Leave a comment with a link to your tweet and/or your twitter name and let me know if you subscribe, fan or friend us.

The winner will be chosen among the people who follow the rules, and also (if we have one) someone who has chosen the winning team.