Summer Hot Dog Series: The Corn Dog, Kinda

 Since the moment my children have been able to eat real people food I have been a fanatic about cutting everything up into itty bitty pieces. This includes the foods that are wildly popular but, perfectly sized to be lodged in any child's windpipe, like grapes and hot dogs. I have also been like this for the less scary foods, like watermelon and scrambled eggs. I have video of my oldest eating watermelon when she was about 9 months old. The pieces were so small she couldn't even pick them up. She had to slurp them off the table! 

 Moreover, I hate grapes at playdates! If grapes are brought to a playdate I am constantly watching to ensure that my children do not eat a whole one while wondering why the other moms seem so relaxed. I am certain that my kids will be full grown adults and I will still be cutting up their grapes! 

This all holds true for the hot dog too. I cut that dog up into so many pieces that one wouldn't even know that it started its life out as a hot dog. Moreover, it looks rather pathetic there on the plate next to the ketchup and the ever important apple sauce (which has been accompanying every meal lately.) 

My solution to my neurotic mommy behavior, but more importantly, to the boring plate problem is the creation of the toddler friendly corn dog. Here the little doggie pieces are baked into a tasty cornbread muffin. Add in a stick and you are good to go!

What You Need:

• 3 Hot Dogs
• Corn Muffin Mix (you could be an overachiever and make your mix from scratch but Jiffy makes it too easy!)
• Can of Creamed Corn
• 1/4 cup of Sour Cream
• One Egg

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Dice up your hot dog into little pieces.

Next, crack one egg into a large bowl. Mix in the can of creamed corn and the sour cream. Beat together.

 Next, add in the box of Jiffy Cornbread Mix and the hot dog pieces. Mix completely.

After spraying your large muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray fill your tins about 2/3 of the way full. Pop them into your oven for about 20 minutes. 

Once they've cooled a bit take them out of the pan and pop in a cake pop stick. Let them cool completely.

Now, you have the Corn Dog, Kinda without the worry about cutting up the hot dog. 

yummy!

Perfect for little hands

I also tried it with a mini muffin tin and stacked a few corn dogs onto the stick. If you go this route they only need to be baked for 10- 12  minutes.

Summer Hot Dog Series: Slinky Dog

For some people the hot dog is all about keeping the hot dog in its "true" form. They don't want it cut up or made to look cute or baked into something. They want their hot dog in a hot dog bun with ketchup and mustard and relish and whatever. These are the traditionalist and their needs are important too.

With these people in mind I am offering you the Slinky Dog. It looks like a slinky it even acts like a slinky but it is all dog. The spiral cut adds a funny dimension to the hot dog that provides nooks and crannies to catch all your yummy toppings.

What you Need:

Hot Dog
Skewer

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. (I have not tried this on the bbq yet...)

First, carefully skewer your hot dog right down the middle. If the skewer goes off to the side just bring it back in and line it back up again. The skewer will allow you to cut the hot dog without slicing all the way through.

Start at one end of the hot dog and press the knife down at an angle onto the skewer.

Now for the tricky part:
With the knife pressed down at an angle onto the skewer begin to roll the dog along the cutting board. The knife will begin to make a spiral cut around the dog.

Cut all the way to the other end of the hot dog.

Carefully place the dog into the water and boil for 8- 10 minutes. When it is cooked it will have a slinky shape to it. I did try to make it "walk" down the stairs but, surprisingly, it didn't work.

When I showed my daughter the Slinky Dog she looked right into my eyes and said "You're weird." And then walked away. She has no idea!!

Summer Hot Dog Series: Bug Builder

When you have children you know that you have to feed them every. day. It becomes more breakfasts, lunches and dinners than I care to count! When the last thing that I want to do is make lunch or dinner I end up making a simple sandwich or I microwave some chicken nuggets Very uninspiring, like my mood!

What is even more uninspiring is a bunch of cut up hot dog. Wouldn't you agree? An easy way to add inspiration to a quick and easy meal is by turning a pile of meat into a bunch of bugs.

INSPIRING!

Uninspiring

What you need:
Hot Dogs
Ketchup
Candy Eyes (I got these in the baking section at Safeway)

Directions:

Boil your hot dog for about 8 minutes. Then cut your hot dog in half lengthwise and then into small pieces.

Using only half the hot dog arrange the pieces on the plate as desired. There can be super long bugs or short bugs.

Then put the ketchup into a bag and add on a small hole icing tip (is that what you call them?) and pipe on the legs, etc. I did try just squirting it out of the ketchup bottle, no bueno.

Seriously, this is easy. In this picture is my first attempt. And I did it with 2 toddlers hovering over me wanting to touch it.

This is how close I let her get to my creation. She was pretty excited about it. Actually, she was excited about eating the candy eyes. It's the little things!

Little sister was excited for real! She loves bugs and poked at these guys for a few minutes before eating every last bug part.

You can get pretty creative with your bug building. 

Post some pics of your own bugs!

Summer Hot Dog Series: The Noodle Dog

In this installment of my week long Summer Hot Dog Series I present the Noodle Dog. 

This recipe is so playful and creative that I had to include it here. It is one of those recipes that seems impossible but I can tell you without a doubt that it works. I affectionately call it the Noodle Dog.

I could have been more creative then that. But I didn't want to limit myself here. These tasty bites can look like spiders, jelly fish, or even a baby version of spaghetti locks.  I leave it up to you on how you want to present it. Whatever way you choose though you are sure to get some smiles from kiddos and grown ups alike. 

What you Need:

• Dry spaghetti noodles 
• Hot Dog

How to Construct the Noodle Dog:

First, place a pot of water on the stove to bring to a boil.

Slice up your hot dogs.

Next,  insert the noodles into the hot dog slices. The easiest way to do this quickly is to lay the sliced hot dog on a plate and to stick the dry noodles into it. It is up to you how many noodles you want to push through. I used about 8 for each slice.

Then pickup your spiky hot dog and carefully push the noodles through the dog.

















Finally, gently place your Noodle Dogs into boiling water. Boil for as long as your noodles require.


Once they are done cooking gently scoop your Noodle Dogs out of the water.








You can decide what sauce to use. Marinara is a good one as it adds some much needed vegetable to this tasty and funny dish.

-------------------Food. Play. Create.----------------

Pool Noodle Fun

What you need:

Pool Noodle and String

There are many creative ways to use the pool noodle. In this activity the grown up must cut the noodle into many pieces. You will end up with lots of rings (which are fun for stacking too!)

With a hole down the middle they are perfect for having those little hands string up the noodle. It is not about what they make but rather how they make it. Learning to thread the string through the hole takes some coordinated effort and concentration.

I tied a string to one noodle piece so that the other noodles don't fall right off. On the other end I tied a small spoon that could fit through the noodle hole to help with the stringing process (my 4 year old didn't need it but the 2 year old sure did!)

 Have your kiddo string up those rings and show off their creation with pride!

Summer Hot Dog Series: Banana Dog

Let the Summer Hot Dog Series begin!!

I thought I would start my week of hot dog inspired food with a banana. Not what you were expecting, huh? And that is what makes this all so exciting... expect the unexpected!

This is about as simple as it gets people. And I can attest to its utter tastiness. My almost 4 year old ate 1 1/2 of these the other night. And my 2 year old wolfed one down for snack (remember, she is a hobbit! See previous post for reference.) If that does not inspire you to try it out on your little one then I have nothing more for you!

So here's what it takes: hot dog bun, peanut butter and a banana. I added some cherries for pizzazz!

Spread peanut butter onto the bun.Then, to create a fun design on top of the banana add some peanut butter to a plastic baggie and cut one of the corners. Squeeze the peanut butter over the banana. Easy enough!

I did cut the Banana Dog in half to make it easier for little hands (just a suggestion!)

I also think this would taste amazing with Nutella (just another suggestion!) 

Enjoy!

One happy hobbit about to enjoy her b-dog!

Summer Hot Dog Series

Happy Summer! 

What better way to celebrate this time of year then with a work weeks worth of hot dog inspired foods. That is 5 new ways to make the hot dog a part of your summer. You are going to love it, trust me.

Let's face it, for many of us the hot dog invokes happy childhood memories! It is so quick and easy to cook that the hot dog has become a staple at all backyard BBQs, camping trips and other summertime get togethers. It is a part of our American way of life!

I have to admit though that, in general, the hot dog is pretty boring.  Just look at it...

Sure,this log of meat may get spruced up with some ketchup and mustard but that is as crazy as it gets. Poor, poor hot dog!

This is a food that is screaming for some playful creations. So, I have dedicated an incredible amount of time and energy into sprucing up the hot dog. Well, maybe not an incredible amount. More like an hour or so.  I have already added some fun thinking to the dog in a previous post, Squid Attack. Remember?

Now, I will seek to amaze you with 5 new hot dog inspired concoctions.

Here They are:

Noodle Dog

The Corn Dog, Kinda










Banana Dog

Bug Builder

Slinky Dog

Summer Hot Dog Series

Happy Summer! 

What better way to celebrate this time of year then with a work weeks worth of hot dog inspired foods. That is 5 new ways to make the hot dog a part of your summer. You are going to love it, trust me.

Let's face it, for many of us the hot dog invokes happy childhood memories! It is so quick and easy to cook that the hot dog has become a staple at all backyard BBQs, camping trips and other summertime get togethers. It is a part of our American way of life!

I have to admit though that, in general, the hot dog is pretty boring.  Just look at it...

Sure,this log of meat may get spruced up with some ketchup and mustard but that is as crazy as it gets. Poor, poor hot dog!

This is a food that is screaming for some playful creations. So, I have dedicated an incredible amount of time and energy into sprucing up the hot dog. Well, maybe not an incredible amount. More like an hour or so.  I have already added some fun thinking to the dog in a previous post, Squid Attack. Remember?

Now, I will seek to amaze you with 5 new hot dog inspired concoctions.