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These cheesy cheddar chicken bites are the perfect appetizer for your Super Bowl party, March Madness, or any party in between!

I’m the kind of person who marks their year with the seasons. Not like the season seasons {fall, summer, blah blah blah} I mean the activity seasons. Mainly sports. And it starts for me in the fall with football. College football, then playoffs, then basketball, then the Super Bowl, the March Madness. I don’t really follow pro sports except for the Super Bowl. Perhaps it is the number of times pro athletes have gone on strike and demanded more millions of dollars. Or the fact that these millionaires have a union which is a luxury my profession was not afforded under the law in Virginia. Whichever.

But then the Super Bowl rolls around in February and the NFL and I make peace for a few hours. I feed my friends, make some delicious snacks, and pick a team to cheer for about 15 minutes before the game starts. I love football so I can easily overlook their pro status for the thrill of the game, the halftime show {eh, sometimes}, and the commercials.

Then there’s the food. There’s always my standard loaded baked potato dip and chocolate shortbread football cookies but sometimes I like to mix up the classics like meatballs with a little something different. A few months ago my roommate tagged me in one of those food videos that you can’t help but watch every. single. time. you see it in your Facebook feed. It was a chicken breast stuffed with cheddar cheese, rolled in panko, and deep fried. Didja see that one? We made it and other than one roommate not really being a panko lover they weren’t bad.

I’m not sure I’d add them to the regular rotation and make them over and over because 1) They were hard to test for done-ness, 2) I’m terrible at maintaining a steady temp for anything that needs more than 45-60 seconds per side in the oil, and 3) they were so. dang. messy. All the chicken juice and bread crumbs all over my fingers and being careful not to accidentally shove the cheese clear through the chicken. I’m sure I could have done it a little more gracefully/organized but it wasn’t a process I was excited about repeating any time soon.

I did really like the flavor though, even if most of my cheese oozed out into the oil because I kept having to constantly cut into the breasts to make sure they were cooked through. So I turned to ground chicken, shredded cheese, and the oven. All the flavors are still there but now they’re nicely shaped into a meatball, mixed with shredded cheddar, and topped with more cheddar in the final moments of baking. In return you get a cheesy, flavorful meatball that doesn’t require you to stand over hot oil and hope and pray that your chicken is cooked through. Win-win!

When it comes to the Super Bowl are you more interested in the game or the commercials?

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Cheddar Chicken Bites

Yield: 2 dozen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

These cheesy cheddar chicken bites are the perfect appetizer for your Super Bowl party, March Madness, or any party in between!

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Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 Tbs Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1 cup shredded cheddar, divided

Instructions

1. In a medium sized bowl combine ground chicken, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, salt, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar until well combined.
2. Shape into 1 Tbs sized balls and place on a greased or lined baking sheet.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, top with other 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar and bake another 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
4. Serve warm with ranch dipping sauce.