Superbowl Sunday

I'm not exactly a huge fan of football (although I am an avid devotee of of tailgates), but I do love watching the Superbowl every year. Between the commercials, the halftime show, and the snacks I can more than put up with pretending to understand what is going on during the game. This year, there wasn't much hype surrounding Katy Perry's performance, but I did enjoy the chess piece dancers, the kitschiness of the beach scene and the firework display. But what really made the show was Missy Elliot throwing it back to my middle school days. And the commercials? They were weird this year. Right? An odd mix of serious, confusing, and sad. At least there wasn't an overload of golden retrievers.  

But the Superbowl food? Between the wings, pizza, the dips... I have no complaints on game day snacks. A classmate was having a bunch of us over to watch the game at his apartment, and I knew I wanted to venture away from my buffalo chicken dip comfort zone this year. I did a little digging on Jessica's website, and found this recipe for sweet potato skins. My expertise on potato skins solely lies in heating up the frozen T.G.I.Friday variety, but it was a pleasant surprise to discover that these are a snap to make. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the potatoes to roast until tender enough to scoop out the flesh. I set aside the flesh and mixed it with nutmeg, ground ginger, and cinnamon to eat later this week as mashed potatoes, but feel free to do with it what you please. Maybe baked into a casserole or pureed into a soup? Adding to the simplicity of this meal was my choice to use precooked bacon bits making the process even easier. Additionally, after the baking and topping assembly was over I cut the skins into bite-size pieces, but these would be just as good eaten whole!

As luck would have it we ended up getting a foot of snow overnight and throughout the day on Sunday. A couple of hours before kick-off my friends and I had to make the call... the roads were not going to be in any condition to drive. Between getting my car cleared off of snow and the time it would take to trek over to the other side of town where he lives, it just didn't make any sense to go to the party. Now, he's only a 10 minute drive, but I live in an apartment complex a couple of miles  from school, so everything becomes a little farther. Why couldn't we get this kind of snow on a Monday (when I have an 8:15 bankruptcy class!) instead of a Sunday when I want to go to a Superbowl party?! Life's little mysteries.

The good thing about living in the apartment complex I live in though is that besides my three roommates, there are more 2Ls living next door in a four bedroom, and another quad of my closest friends living around the corner in another building within the complex. So, we just had our own impromptu party. My roommates and I ordered wings, pizza, and parmesan bites, and we popped in next door after halftime (the easiest walk ever). And these skins I made? Everyone loved them. They're so simple, but a definite crowd pleaser. Plus, making them with sweet potatoes is a fun and unexpected twist that requires no extra work. And hey, maybe next year I'll get that snow day too.

Ingredients
Sweet potatoes: 4, large
Cheddar cheese: 6 ounces
Bacon bits: 1 ounce
Greek yogurt: 7 ounces
Parsley: 2 tablespoons

Recipe
1. Wash potatoes and cut in half lengthwise
2. Place on greased tray flesh side up and bake for 60 minutes in 400° oven
3. Scoop out flesh, leaving a small amount of potato covering the skin
4. Turn potatoes skin side up, spray with oil, and sprinkle with salt
5. Bake for 10 minutes
6. Turn potatoes flesh side up, spray with oil
7. Bake for 10 minutes
8. Sprinkle liberally with cheese and bacon
9. Bake for 3 minutes for cheese to melt
10. Garnish with parsley and Greek yogurt and serve hot

Recipe source: How Sweet It is