When you are at the mall, do you ever get a craving for a smooth and fruity Orange Julius as you walk by it's brightly colored stand? And while ordering said Julius, do you see the hot dogs turning away on their spit, smell their sweet greasy scent and then get a craving for a hot dog smothered in chili and cheese?
I sure do. And so does my husband. We love those Chili Cheese Dogs. I just can't justify paying $3 for a small little hot dog though. So a few months ago as I meal planned I got a hankering for an Orange Julius Chili Cheese Dog and went looking for an at-home recipe. I knew my own chili recipe just wasn't right for this kind of meal...too smokey and full bodied. When I saw this one was made in only 10 minutes and was utterly quick and easy it seemed like a shoo-in.
I admit it's not the healthiest supper in the world, but just serve it with a side salad and you'll be fine...or make this a totally Orange Julius meal and whip up a fruit smoothie. You gotta satisfy those cravings every once in a while.
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence
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Serves 6
1 lb ground beef
1 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
Salt and pepper
6 Hot Dogs (the big Ball Park variety work well)
6 hot dog buns
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
1/4 onion, diced (optional)
In a frying pan over medium high heat, brown the ground beef with garlic, salt and pepper. Drain any fat that remains. Add the kidney beans, ketchup, mustard, chili powder, and cumin. Turn to medium-low and let simmer for a couple minutes while you make the hot dogs.
Cook the hot dogs in your favorite method: In the summer we like to do them on the BBQ, but in all honesty our favorite method to cook hot dogs is...your gonna laugh...the microwave. I don't know what it is, but the microwave cooks a hot dog perfectly! Depending on their size they need about 1 minute. But if you prefer them boiled, baked, broiled...whatever floats your boat, go ahead.
Serve by placing a hot dog in a bun, top with chili, shredded cheese and diced onion (if you like that sorta thing.) Go ahead and eat up, but you may at this point want to give it 20 seconds in the microwave just to get the cheese all melting and the bun nice and warm.
Click here for printable version of Chili Cheese Dogs
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THE RESULTS?
We love these things in our house! The chili is quite sweet because of the ketchup, but it really compliments the beefy hot dog. I'm sure this meal would satisfy kids...my 15 month old really dug it.