Chipotle Chili Chicken Skins

Super Bowl is this Sunday.  It’s one of the best times of the year for watching football and snacking on your favorite munchies. My husband, Richard, has presented a brief list of snack-food requests:

1. Ability to eat snack with left hand so right hand can control the remote.
2. Snack should complement a Michigan brewed beer.
3. Snack must be reasonable healthy but taste like it could have come from an upscale stadium concession stand, if such an outpost exists.

“Progressive Grocer” magazine writes that our nation consumes more potato and tortilla chips in Super Bowl season that any other time of year.

Less fatty than chips, yet sure to satisfy Richard’s primal snack food craving, cheesy and spicy stuffed potato skins should score points with him.

A Michigan brew will cool down the spicy chiptotle (smoked jalapeno) pepper seasoning  in the potato skins.

A few years back, these peppers were dust gatherers in the Hispanic section of most groceries north of the Rio Grande. Since the opening of the popular chain, “Chipotles”, their smoky heat taste has mainstreamed, flavoring everything from ketchup to ice cream.

The labels should, however, come with a warning: These babies are really hot! Wear plastic gloves when handling them and only add to taste in 1/4 teaspoon increments.

I purée and freeze the leftovers in a plastic bag.  It’s easy to chip off a bit of chipotle ice whenever you want to add smokey heat to a recipe.

You could further reduce the fat by substituting low fat sour cream or yogurt for the sour cream. I use full-fat sour cream–that extra bit of richness helps lull Richard into mindless football transcendental consciousness. Peace at last…as long as I don’t touch the remote!