Chili Cheese Dog Baked Potatoes

Ban the bun and pass the potatoes! These chili cheese dog baked potatoes will be a favorite at your next family dinner or barbecue.

After making a good pot of hearty spicy beef chili to serve over a chili cheese omelet a few weeks ago, I was looking for ways to make the leftovers into different meals. One night we had chili cheese dogs. Not being much of a bread person, I ate the first one in a hot dog bun and then had a second wienie straight on the plate with just the chili and toppings.

The next day, with leftover chili still to eat, I considered my options. A bowl of chili with tortilla chips? Another chili cheese dog? And then it hit me. Chili Cheese Dog Baked Potatoes! No buns, just lovely baked Russet potatoes with their toasted skins cut open and fluffy insides filled with all the good stuff a chili cheese dog would have. Genius, no?

I may never eat a chili dog in a bun again.

Chili Cheese Dog Baked Potatoes

Ingredients - for 2 chili cheese dog baked potatoes
2 large Russet potatoes
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup or 240ml chili of your choice - or make my hearty spicy beef chili
2 good quality wieners
4 oz or 113g sharp cheddar, grated

Optional toppings:
Chopped onions
Minced fresh jalapeños
Mustard

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Scrub your potatoes clean and dry them thoroughly. Poke them several times with the tines of a fork. Rub the potatoes with the oil and place them on a baking pan. Or, if you have metal shish kabob skewers, you can put one through each potato and put them directly on the oven rack.

Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes or until they are cooked through.

Panfry or grill the wieners until they are golden on the outside and hot on the inside. Warm the chili as well.

Once the potatoes are done, cut them open lengthwise and use a towel or oven mitts to push them open from the ends, to fluff up the insides. Add a wiener to each potato.

Top each with half of the chili and then the cheese.  Garnish with additional ingredients, if desired.

Enjoy!

This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing creative hot dog recipes and I am hosting! Please check out the fabulous recipe links below.

Many thanks our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections and my co-host Mary Ellen from Recipes, Food and Cooking who will be handling the Twitter chat this evening.

Cheesy Dogs

• Cheesy Pretzel Dogs by A Mind “Full” Mom
• Jalapeño Popper Hot Dogs by Life Tastes Good

Meaty Dogs

• Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs with Fruit Salsa by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Honey BBQ Hot Dogs by Home Sweet Homestead
• Hot Dog & Hamburger Cowboy Beans by Soulfully Made

Regional Dogs

• All American Hot Dog by The Freshman Cook
• Banh Mi Hot Dog by Cricket’s Confections
• Buffalo Hot Dogs by The Crumby Kitchen
• Copy Cat Detroit Coney Dogs by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Matcha Ochazuke Hot Dog Rice by NinjaBaker.com
• Memphis Hot Dog by Bottom Left of the Mitten
• Philly Mushroom Swiss Dog (Low Carb) by My Life Cookbook
• Sauerkraut Stuffed Dogs by Gourmet Everyday
• South of the Border Hot Dogs by My Blissful Mess

Tex Mex Dogs

• Chili Cheese Dog Baked Potatoes by Food Lust People Love
• Burrito Dogs by Our Good Life
• Hot Dog with Chili Sauce by Recipes Food and Cooking
• Taco Hot Dog is Nacho Regular Dog by Sunday Supper Movement
• Hot Dog Breakfast Tacos by Pies and Plots

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The Texas Dog #BallparkFood #Giveaway

A bacon-wrapped hot dog, tucked into a well-buttered, grilled slice of Texas toast, then heaped with jalapeño relish. Make your own or head on over to Minute Maid Park and enjoy a baseball game as well. 

One baseball season, 30 baseball parks to visit, with the sole goal of trying All The Food. Sounds like a dream job. The author of The Joy of Ballpark Food – From Hot Dogs to Haute Cuisine, Bennett Jacobstein took it upon himself, selfless person that he is, to research ballpark food and, along with his long suffering wife (and photographer) he did indeed visit all the major league parks in the 2014 season, eating his way through a substantial menu of offerings, in support of a bigger cause, the Second Harvest Food Bank. All royalties from his book will benefit SHFB.

Jacobstein shares his culinary discoveries, along with historical curiosities about the start of concession food from the beginning of hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jacks – and a thorough discussion of the song that made the last two famous - through new trendier dishes like carne asada waffle fries and crab-stuffed pretzels. (Unfortunately, no recipes are included, so you have to make the rounds yourself to taste the food!)

Maybe I’m a food nerd, but the history was my favorite part. Who knew that the man most responsible for popularizing hot dogs at baseball games was a Brit, born in Derbyshire, England? Or that nachos were first invented by a waiter named Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya who called them Nacho’s Especiale, since he had created them? I was also tantalized by the menus from each ballpark, starting with the Arizona Diamondbacks and their Venom Dog made with habanero sausage through the Washington Nationals speciality dog named the DVM in which a foot-long half smoke is smothered with Maryland crab dip, then topped with Virginia ham.

This book would be a great gift for a baseball fan, perhaps to accompany some tickets to a ball game or even, maybe, a series of tickets in different cities so the recipient can try foodie favorites in a few places, budget allowing. But I gotta warn you, if your friends and family are the type to quote historical dates and numbers, you may well be hearing more facts about popcorn and hot dogs, not to mention Cracker Jacks, than you ever wanted to know. Because they are all in there, and Jacobstein’s warm and engaging delivery and sense of humor are motivation to keep reading.

I call Houston my hometown on Facebook and here on my blog About Me page, but sadly, I have never been to a home game in The Juice Box, aka Minute Maid Park . Truth is, I haven’t lived in Houston for a good number of years and a trip to the ballpark when I am home just never came up. When I read the fabulous food on offer, I wonder why. It doesn’t have to be about the ball game apparently. There are folks who just go for the food. Jacobstein doesn’t mention it, but Minute Maid Park has an all you can eat option, which includes a game ticket on the mezzanine floor and all you can eat hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, peanuts and soda. Way to upsize it Texas-style, Minute Maid! First thing I’m going to try is the Texas Dog, because it’s wrapped with BACON and cooked, then it’s put in Texas toast, and finally, it’s covered in jalapeño relish. And since I can’t wait, let’s just try one now.

A Note on Texas Toast
Here’s the thing about Texas toast: Don’t be shy about either cutting it thick or spreading on the butter the same way. The butter’s where it’s at when it comes to toasting slices on a griddle. Also, garlic is not essential, never mind what Bobby Flay might have you believe. The original Texas toast, whether it started in Dallas or Beaumont, certainly didn’t have garlic. Okay, tiny rant over. Let’s bacon wrap a dog!

Ingredients
1 slice smoked bacon (not thick cut)
1 hot dog of your choice (These here are Oscar Mayer because that's what I can get in Dubai.)
1 double thick slice bread
Butter, softened
2 tablespoons spicy jalapeño relish

Method
Wrap your bacon around the hot dog and secure it with toothpicks.

Fry the bacon-wrapped wiener until the bacon is crispy and the dog is hot through. Remove the toothpicks.

Apply softened butter liberally to both sides your thick cut bread.

Toast it on a griddle until golden and crunchy on both sides.

Place the hot dog in the bread and fold it up.

Cover it with the relish.

Enjoy!

If you know someone who would enjoy receiving a copy of this book, please head over to the website to buy one. Remember that all royalties benefit Second Harvest Food Bank so you’ll be doing a good deed and making someone happy all at the same time!

And since this is a charity effort, I am going to send my copy to one reader (US shipping addresses only, please, and book will be mailed out at the end of May from Houston, Texas) and the promoter is also offering one Kindle version to anyone worldwide who can accept an ebook from Amazon.com.

To enter the drawing, leave me a comment saying 1. real book or ebook and 2. who you are going to give it to and 3. why you think that person deserves it. It could be yourself and you are the biggest foodie baseball fan you know. Sell me! I’ll choose two winners from the comments on Wednesday, 13 May.

My decision is final and no discussions or objections will be entertained. Winners will be notified by email (The Disqus commenting system automatically saves them for me so make sure you use a valid email to comment.) and will have 48 hours to respond. If an original winner does not respond in that time frame, I will choose another winner. And so on, until we give both books away.

It’s a fun read! You all are going to love it!

Disclaimer: I was sent one copy of The Joy of Ballpark Food – From Hot Dogs to Haute Cuisine. No other remuneration was received. I am delighted to support this fundraising effort for Second Harvest Food Bank.

Update: I chickened out and couldn't chose between the comments for a winner so I let the random number generator at random.org do the job. Our winner for the real book is Jan Elmore and she has been sent an email to confirm this.

Thanks for playing, everyone!

Chili Cheese Dog Muffins for #MuffinMonday

When you think about it, (or is that just me?) almost anything can be made into a muffin, including a chili cheese hot dog: Spicy chili, sharp cheddar and hot dogs baked in a muffin then topped with more cheese, onions and mustard. Happy Memorial Day! 

This week I am channeling Coney Island and bringing you a chili cheese dog muffin, in honor of Memorial Day, the holiday when we Americans honor and thank the members of the armed forces who  sacrificed their lives in the line of duty to protect our nation. It is also the kickoff to hot dog eating season. Not that we can’t and don’t eat them year round but according to Forbes.com Americans eat an incredible seven billion hot dogs between Memorial Day in May and Labor Day in September. No telling how many of those are chili cheese dogs. But this year at least, a few of them will be muffins.

Ingredients
For the muffins:
2 cups or 250g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon flakey sea salt or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 oz or 115g extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup or 250g spicy beef chili
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml water
4 hot dogs (about 7 1/2 oz or 215g total weight) I like all beef Ball Park Franks. (Plus they are on sale this weekend at my Houston grocery store – Score!)

Note: I used homemade beef chili that is very thick, mostly meat, cooked down till there’s not much liquid left. If you are going to use store-bought or juicier chili, cut back on the amount of water.

For garnish:
2-4 tablespoons finely chopped onions
Yellow mustard

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin tin by spraying with non-stick spray or lining with muffin papers. If you have a kind and generous mother like mine, see if she’ll volunteer for a Dollar Tree run to buy paper liners with little blue and red stars. You can pay her back in chili cheese dog muffins.

Grate your cheddar if it didn’t already come grated and finely chop your onion. Set aside a handful of the cheese for topping.

Slice the hot dogs into small circles and set aside 12 to poke into the tops of the muffins before baking.

Combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cheese in a large mixing bowl.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your eggs, oil, chili and water.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stop when it’s still quite dry looking.

Toss in the big pile of hot dog circles and stir again.

Divide your batter between the 12 muffin cups.

Sprinkle the tops with the reserved cheese and chopped onions. Add one reserved hot dog circle to each and push it in just a little bit to make it stick.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove to continue cooling on a wire rack.

Drizzle with a little yellow mustard, if desired. But I say, what’s a chili cheese dog without a generous drizzle of mustard?

Enjoy!

Now go shake a soldier's hand and thank him or her for her service. And pray for peace and that no one need ever make the ultimate sacrifice. And perhaps bake some muffins to share.