Chili Cheese Dog Casserole

I was beyond excited when I found this recipe in my inbox from Taste of Home.  Chili cheese dogs are awesome, and anything I can throw into the oven scores extra bonus points from me.

I was disappointed, though I think this dish still has potential.  I think it still needs more cheese, and the cornbread ended up a bit too dry.  I'm posting the recipe as is, but stay tuned - I definitely want to try this again with some changes.

Chili Cheese Dog Casserole

from A Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1 package (8-1/2 ounces) corn bread/muffin mix
  
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
  
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
  
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1 package (1 pound) hot dogs, halved lengthwise and cut into bite-size pieces
  
• 1 can (15 ounces) chili with beans
  
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Prepare corn bread batter according to package directions.  Spread half the batter into a greased 8-inch square baking dish; set aside.

In a large skillet, saute the green pepper, onion and celery in oil until crisp-tender. Stir in hot dogs; saute 3-4 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Stir in the chili, brown sugar, garlic powder and chili powder; heat through. Stir in 3/4 cup cheese. Spoon over prepared corn bread. Spread remaining batter onto hot dog mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. 

Superbowl Snack Throwdown: Pigs in a Thermal Blanket

Week 7 of HighLowAha's Superbowl Snack Throwdown is upon us, and the black bean is the secret ingredient. Please make sure you go vote from now until 9pm (EST) on Sunday!

When I made these hot dogs a year or so ago, I remember thinking that they'd make a great little snack if you scaled them down. So when the black bean was selected for this week, I immediately started thinking about a mini version: Pigs in a Thermal Blanket! (Ha, get it? Thermal? 'Cause they're warmer now? You know? Oh... never mind.)



You really have a few options here. You can follow the above recipe to the letter and just use coctail franks, or you can really take a shortcut and use canned chili; no one will be able to tell. ;)

But whatever method you decide to do, you will LOVE these. Seriously. Ryan ate a ton, and I didn't even bother cooking dinner because Patrick and I just keep grabbing them. The flakiness of the croissant coupled with the hearty chili is going to please everyone. They are sure to be gone before the coin toss!

Ingredients

• 1 tube of croissants
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese - I used a Mexican blend, but you can use Cheddar or whatever floats your boat!
• 1 1/2 cups of black bean chili, warmed (I love this recipe - you can also use a can)
• 16 mini hot dogs (or 8 hot dogs cut in half)

Preheat your oven according to the tube of croissant dough.

Unroll the croissants. With a sharp knife, cut each triangle in half length-wise so you have two long pieces of dough.

Sprinkle the cheese at the wide part of each triangle, and top with a spoonful of chili. Place a mini hot dog on top of everything, and start rolling down towards the narrow end. This part might get messy!

Place each little hot dog on a baking sheet, and bake according to the tube of dough.

Chili Cheese Dogs in Beach Blankets

Any recipe that is considered as "classy as a cheeseburger casserole" absolutely HAS to be delicious. And thoroughly artery-clogging.

Rachael Ray's Chili Cheese Dogs in Beach Blankets (thanks, Brooke!) was both.

They were pretty fun, as long as I pretended that serving them with this Tomato and Veggie Casserole made them healthy. Ryan loved it, and Pat ate THREE of them (and then wondered why his stomach hurt later...). I would totally make this again.

And I'm sorry for the pictures. There was no way I could make them look less phallic. I tried...

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 3/4 pound ground beef or turkey
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 2 teaspoons dehydrated onion
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tube pizza dough, from the dairy aisle at the grocery store
• 8 beef, turkey, pork or tofu dogs
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 400°F.

In a small pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the meat to the pot and brown it up, 6-7 minutes. Season the meat up with chili powder, granulated garlic, dehydrated onion and a little salt and pepper.

Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir it around a minute, then add the water to help loosen the tomato paste up and get it everywhere. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for five minutes, then turn the heat off.

Roll the pizza dough out into a big rectangle. Cut the dough in half lengthwise with a small knife. Cut the dough into four equal pieces across so that you end up with eight small, rectangular pieces of dough. Across the center of each rectangle, place a couple of spoonfuls of chili sauce and a small handful of cheese sprinkled on top. Set the dog on the dough and wrap and roll the pizza dough around the dog like a blanket, sealing in the chili and cheese too! The nubs of each end of the dog should be peeking out.

Bake in the oven 18 minutes, until golden.