Football season is officially here, and that means tailgate parties and football potlucks abound.

The following recipes are a triple threat: easy on the cook, easy on the budget and guaranteed crowd pleasers. They're also easy to eat: no utensils required, except maybe toothpicks.

The meatball recipe yields a lot, but freeze extras for your next party or use them in spaghetti for a quick weeknight meal.

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 carton (8 ounces) fresh button mushrooms
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 envelope (1-3/8 ounce) dry onion soup mix (such as Lipton's)

Remove stems from mushrooms; mince stems. In bowl, combine mushroom stems, cream cheese, and soup mix; mix well. Fill mushroom caps and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12 appetizer servings.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 80 calories, 7 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 350 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 1 g sugar, 2 g protein

Fried Chicken Wings

3-1/2 pounds frozen chicken wings
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup mochiko (glutinous rice flour)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons minced green onion
2 teaspoons salt
5 teaspoons shoyu
2 eggs
1 clove garlic, crushed
Vegetable oil for frying

Thaw chicken; drain well.

In large bowl, combine remaining ingredients, except vegetable oil. Add chicken and marinate for 2 hours in refrigerator.

Heat oil to 400 degrees. Fry chicken in hot oil until golden brown; drain. Serves 8.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 300 calories, 19 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 115 mg cholesterol, greater than 800 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 6 g sugar, 18 g protein

Miniature Meatballs

6 pounds lean beef, ground
12 cups soft bread crumbs, loosely packed
3/4 cup finely chopped parsley
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
Vegetable oil for frying

In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Shape into small balls.

Heat oil in a skillet. Fry meatballs until thoroughly cooked. Drain on absorbent paper.

Serve with food picks. Makes 100 meatballs (50 servings, 2 meatballs each).

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 100 calories, 3 g total fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 1 g sugar, 13 g protein

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Hawaiian Electric Co. presents this weekly collection of recipes as a public service. Many are drawn from HECO's database of recipes, accessible online at www.heco.com.