Oven Hot Dogs

I didn't think that a chili dog could get much better, until we had these for dinner tonight. Seriously, the chili dog is my favorite hot dog application and I was very dubious that it could be improved upon. My friend, Claire had tried these awhile back and emailed me the recipe. Even with her glowing reviews, my skepticism put this recipe on the back burner for awhile. I finally made this dish and instantly fell in love. I should've known that Claire would not steer me wrong! I was in chili dog heaven, to say the least!!!

Oven Hot Dogs
From: In the Wabe blog via the Cooking Claire blog

Ingredients:
8 hot dogs (I used turkey dogs)
8 hot dog buns (I used whole wheat buns)
1 or 2 cans of chili with beans (we like them with a lot of chili, so I used 2 cans)
1/2 an onion, diced
shredded cheddar cheese (about a cup)
mayonnaise (I used light mayo)
mustard (I used deli style mustard)
sweet relish (I used dill relish)

Directions:
Line inside of hot dog buns with mayonnaise and sweet relish. Evenly add mustard. Fill with hot dogs and squish into a 13×9″ baking pan lined with foil.

Top hot dogs with chili, cheese, and diced onion. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Carefully remove from the pan with a spatula and serve.





The Result:
So I made some adaptations to suit our family and to lighten them up a tiny bit. These hot dogs are decadent any way you cut it, but I felt the need to ease my food induced guilt with whole wheat buns, light mayo, and turkey franks. I know it's mostly faux "healthy", but it made me feel better about our dinner. Anyway, these dogs were fantastic...just don't think about the whole nutrition thing and you will love them!

Note:
Our side dish was easy and very yummy, too. I roasted a spaghetti squash by coating it with olive oil, salt, and pepper and then baking it cut-side down at 400 degrees for 1 hour. When the squash was finished, I scraped the roasted insides into a bowl with a fork, seasoned with a little more salt and pepper, and threw in about a 1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. I then mixed it all together and served the squash on the side. YUM! I sooooo love a good veggie side dish!!!

Grilled Hot Dogs, Creamy Parmesan Orzo (& Recent Meal Updates)

Last night we decided to go out for dinner to a local Mexican restaurant. We had a busy day, and I just didn't feel like cooking again. I suppose that is how it is going to go for awhile; depending on what I do during the day and how I feel afterward. It amazes me how quickly I get wiped out, energy-wise. Anyway, since we ate out yesterday, there was nothing really new to post or report.

Tonight is kinda the same way. We went out to Costco this morning and stocked up on some staples. When we got home, the husband and I worked on straightening up our pantry and picking up the house. By the time our little reorganization project was done, I was wiped out again. We decided to make an easy dinner again tonight and just grill up some regular hot dogs, served on buns. I know...nothing spectacular. To go with our hot dog feast, we are going to make an easy and yummy side dish of orzo, and then steam some frozen veggies.

Here is the link to my orzo recipe. It is truly one of my favorite side dishes!

Creamy Parmesan Orzo

Tomorrow night is another no cooking night. The family and I are going to a football party, hosted by one of the moms in my MOMS Club. There is going to be pizza and side dishes, so it should be fun for both kids and adults. I will be back on Monday with a new dinner post.

Chili Cheese Dogs

I frequent a blog called, Living in the Kitchen With Puppies, who had these delectable looking Chili Cheese Dogs posted this morning. This is a Tyler Florence recipe, that is drool-worthy...if you are a person who likes Chili Cheese Dogs. I happen to love Chili Cheese Dogs, and I am interested in continuing my round of "Food Court" worthy dinner choices. I am telling you...I am trapped by some sort of carnival-type food kick. (You are allowed to officially start worrying about me if I start deep frying snack cakes for our evening meals.)

Here is the blog link (with great pics) for the Living in the Kitchen with Puppies post for this recipe. I see no point in re-typing everything myself, so here ya go...

Tyler's Chili Cheese Dogs

The only thing better would be if I were start putting our dinners on a stick!

The Result:
Oh man. These were awesome. I didn't take a picture, because I was too busy devouring my chili dog. Seriously, this is an easy and delicious recipe!!!! I would recommend top quality hot dogs in this application. If you decide to eat hot dogs for dinner, make sure they are the good ones. We garnished our chili dogs with Monterrey Jack cheese and raw, diced onions. Yum!!!! I served these dogs with some fresh corn on the cob and a simple side salad. Oh man, it was perfect! My husband had to actually talk me out of having a chili dog the next morning for breakfast!

*****************************************
I totally changed my mind!

I wanted to make sure I had this recipe documented, so I copied it off of the LITKWP website. It's just way to yummy to not have posted in full!

Chili Cheese Dogs
From:Tyler Florence, Eat This Book

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 all beef hot dogs, about 1/2 pound
4 hot dog rolls
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar

Directions:
To make the chili: Heat a skillet over medium flame and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil gets hazy, add the onion and cook, stirring, until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef, breaking it up with the back of a spoon, and cook until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the ketchup, chili powder, and mustard; simmer for 15 minutes until thick; season with salt and pepper.

For the hot dogs: While the chili is cooking: place a large grill pan on 2 burners over medium-high heat or preheat an outdoor gas or charcoal barbecue and get it very hot. Brush the grates with oil to keep the hot dogs from sticking. Parboil the dogs first before grilling: bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the hot dogs for about 5 minutes. Remove from the water and grill the hot dogs just long enough to give them grill marks. Brush the insides of the rolls with the remaining oil and place them face down on the grill until toasty. To serve, top each hot dog with the chili and some Cheddar cheese.