Summer is finally here in Minnesota; we’ve only waited 8 months for it to happen. I think being cooped up for so long makes us crazy for getting outdoors, especially to grill. I recently checked out Nate Dogs, you can read that post here and was inspired to come up with a creative hot dog I could do at home. For the Twin Cities Live segment, I wanted to do 3 versions of creative dogs that were all easy recipes (5 minutes or less).
I should start by saying I’ve always thought hot dogs were well, ok. At a BBQ I’d pick a burger hands down every time over a dog. Maybe that’s because most people are serving those mystery ingredient bland dogs. But maybe its also because people get creative with burgers-different cheeses, stuffing, etc.-example in point would be my Northwoods Burger from last summer filled with wild rice and blueberries. So when I had Nate Dogs recently and enjoyed his out of the bun thinking, I guess you could say I had a hot dog awakening and was inspired to do something creative with a hot dog that people could do at home.
So I started working on a few recipes. All of my recipes are my own and it usually takes a few trials to come up with the final recipe. My husband enjoys this because that means lots of taste testing but I think it confuses my almost 2 year old who thinks its normal to have these taste testings. Recently I made cupcakes for a friend’s wedding so literally for months we’ve been taste testing different versions of cupcakes and I knew things were crazy when Stella woke up one morning and her first word of the day was, “cupcake!” So the week leading up to the Twin Cities Live episode was no different and the Seuffert family enjoyed a hot dog smorgasbord.
I think these dogs would be a great way to spruce up your next BBQ, backyard party or even as a creative buffet at a graduation party. The recipes are simple and tasty; I actually set my timer for each dog when prepping the ingredients, ensuring that the prep time was less than 5 minutes. I’ve moved beyond thinking hot dogs are just ok and based on the reviews, the breakfast dog is the champion of the three!
Click here to watch the June 1, 2011 segment on Twin Cities Live when I made this recipe.
Breakfast Dog
Ingredients:
2 Eggs
1 tsp Maple Syrup
1TB Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits
Directions:
In a large frying pan, fry two eggs for each hot dog you are making. Cook eggs until over medium (clear turns to white and yolk is still runny). Cook hot dogs on grill according to package directions. For each dog, place 2 eggs on the bun, top with a hot dog, drizzle 1 tsp of maple syrup on each dog and then sprinkle 1 TB of bacon bits on top.
Makes 1 Breakfast Dog
Philly Dog
Ingredients:
1 TB Butter
½ medium Yellow Onion (sliced)
1 Cup Baby Bella Mushroom Slices
8 ounces of Frozen Mixed Peppers (defrosted)
Provolone Cheese Slices (4)
Directions:
In a sauté pan, melt butter and sauté onion and mushrooms until golden brown. Once cooked, add peppers and cover. Cook hot dogs on grill according to package directions. For each dog, place one slice of provolone cheese on the bun, then add ¼ cup scoop of pepper sauté and top with a hot dog,
Makes 4 Philly Dogs
Apple Pie Dog
Ingredients:
2 Medium Gala Apples
2 TB Melted Butter
1 tsp Baking Spice
2 TB Brown Sugar
Directions:
Use a food processor’s grater disc to grate 2 apples (core removed, skin on). To the grated mixture, add melted butter, baking spice and brown sugar. Toss to combine. Cook hot dogs on grill according to package directions. For each dog, place ¼ cup of apple pie mixture on bun and then top with a hot dog.
Makes 4 Apple Pie Dogs
