Corn Dog Muffins

I don’t know about your house, but summers are BUSY around here! Lately I have been very dependent on my stand by recipes for dinners. Breakfast in the evenings has been occurring at least twice a week, and the easy options of sweet and spicy chicken tacos, spaghetti with slow cooker marinara and bean and chicken burritos have been regulars. In between baseball practices, tournaments all weekend, work, and everyday life I just didn’t want to make new dinner recipes. Instead I made sweet treats, breads, and food that, while they are OK in moderation, probably wouldn’t do so great as dinner.

It is time to start incorporating some healthy options for snacks, lunches and dinners. That is why I made these corn dog muffins. My kids LOVE corn dogs but I don’t love the deep fried, processed versions that I buy at the store. I have seen this idea floating around blog land for a while and decided to give it a try. My kids loved them and think it is even funnier to say they want to put ketchup on their muffins; they laugh and laugh about it like it is the funniest thing in the world to them. Which makes me start to laugh too because they are just so darn cute!

Ok…so the muffins…they are a cinch to make, tasty and like most of my favorite recipes can be changed up to suit your tastes. Plus, and don't tell my kiddos this, they are much healthier.  The basic idea is to whip up a batch of cornbread, throw in some hot dogs, bake and eat. But you can get fancy if you like, we add cheese, jalapenos and once in a while if I have a wild hair I might use turkey dogs instead of beef dogs, they would even be good topped with chili…OH MY! ENJOY!

I'm also linking up, go check out the other great recipes people are sharing!



Corndog Muffins

Recipe: A Cook’s Quest inspired by Blogland

Cornbread batter (my recipe is below)
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp sugar

High quality hot dogs/turkey dogs/chorizos/sausages cut to fit your tins

Extra filling items to make your muffins even tastier-jalapenos, grated cheese, green onions, and peppers are some that we like.

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.  Line muffin tins with liners.

Mix one batch of your favorite cornbread. Fill muffin tins about ½ full with cornbread mix. Add cut hot dogs, cover with more batter. Bake 16-18 minutes. Eat





Muddy Buddies

In my quest for great cookies to try out this holiday season, I stumbled onto these tasteful bites that contain two of our favorite things in this house--peanut butter and chocolate.  While they aren't exactly a cookie, I can definitely see the brilliant snacking potential they offer, not to mention the who wouldn't want them as part a holiday hostess gift?  Simple,  easy, cost effective and most importantly, delicious, these buddies won't last long once prepared.  Cook's if you have plans that include wrapping and removing the buddies from your house you may want to do it when those people who love to sample all the goodies in your house are gone, sleeping or distracted in some way.  Otherwise, they probably won't make it out the door...mine didn't!  Enjoy!

Muddy Buddies

Recipe source: Modified slightly from Plain Chicken

9 cups (almost a whole box) Corn Chex®, Rice Chex®, Wheat Chex®  cereal (or combination)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 butterscotch with amazing results!)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

Combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and peanut butter in a sauce pan.  Allow to melt stiring occassionally on medium heat until smooth and combined.  Pour over the ceareal and stir until evenly coated.  At this point you can either place the cereal into a large zipper bag or into another large bowl.  I went with the bowl option.
Add powdered sugar to your bag/bowl.  Seal bag; shake until well coated or toss cereal in the large bowl with the powdered sugar.  Using a slotted spoon, lift cereal out of the powdered sugar and shake off excess.  Spread on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Place in clear bags and wrap with a ribbon for a fun addition to any holiday gift.

Total Cost $2.16
Cereal $.79
Chocolate Chips $.25 (I love it when chocolate chips are on sale!)
Butterscotch Chips $.25
Butter $.37
Vanilla Free
Powdered Sugar $.50

Salt and Vinegar Potatoes

I have already professed my love of vinegar a few times on my blog, so it will be no surprise to most of you that I tried these potatoes. Everyone in my house, even my little guy, loves salt and vinegar potato chips—you know the kind, thick and kettle fried, heavy with salt and infused with vinegar flavor. When you eat too many of them your mouth begins to hurt a little bit but you can stop because they just taste so good. These potatoes aren’t crispy; they are soft and delicious bites of tartness. Perfect served hot right out of the oven or cold from the refrigerator, they are addicting and a perfect way to make an easy snack.

Salt & Vinegar Potatoes
Recipe Source: Martha Stewart

Potatoes
Vinegar
Kosher Salt (I used regular table salt)
Oil

Slice potatoes ¼ to 1/8 inch thick. Place in a saucepan and cover with white vinegar. COVER and turn your exhaust fan on—very important unless you want your whole house filling with the smell of vinegar. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat, and let potatoes steep in the vinegar 30 minutes.

Drain potatoes very well of vinegar. Toss with oil, and salt. Place in a single layer on a broil safe pan. Broil until light golden brown. Turn the slices over and cook the other side until brown. Remove from oven and salt again if desired.

**Cooks note—I imagine if you sliced these thin enough you could achieve a baked potato chip type of texture. I think I will also try slicing them very very thin, boiling, then frying them to try to get that crispy feeling of a chip**

Roasted Red Pepper Bean Dip

One of the ladies at work was nice enough to bring hummus and pita chips to work on Friday. I love hummus and found myself wanting more once the weekend started. Traditionally made with chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice and sometimes flavored with ingredients like spicy jalapenos, roasted garlic and red peppers hummus is a creamy, delicious concoction that tastes wonderful on just about anything from carrot sticks to tortilla wraps. Well, I didn’t have any chickpeas or tahini on hand so I decided to try making my own dip that had the feeling of hummus and could satisfy my craving. The result was this tasty combination that my kids devoured and I found myself sneaking into multiple times when no one was watching. Don't be afraid to play with the flavors.  You can easily use something other than peppers to add flavor, add whatever you love.  This would be a great dish to take to a party or a potluck and is very easy on the checkbook!

Roasted Red Pepper Bean Dip
Recipe Source: A Cook's Quest

1 c red pepper, roasted and chopped or you can use jarred
1 can Great Northern beans, drained
4 oz cream cheese (I used non fat)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
Juice from ½ lemon, or enough to get the desired consistency
Salt and pepper to taste

If you are roasting your own pepper, brush the outside of the pepper (I only needed one because mine were very big, but you may need two) with a small amount of oil. Place on a grill or under your broiler, turning so that all sides get charred and the pepper is soft. Remove from heat and place in a brown paper bag or wrap in foil. This will allow the steam to help loosen the pepper’s skin.

Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, slid the skin off and remove the seeds and stem. Chopped and place in your food processor or blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until the consistency you like (I like mine pretty smooth).

Cover and refrigerate at least an hour to allow flavors to blend. Serve with veggies, bread, or pita chips (see below to make your own).

Makes about 1 ½ cups of dip

Pita Chips

Cut pita bread into triangles of desired size. Toss with a small amount of oil (the amount will depend on how much bread you have) and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the oven at 425 F until light brown and crispy.

Total Cost $2.77
Red Pepper .50
Beans .37
Cream Chesse .50
Garlic .05
Rosemary .25
Lemon juice .10
Pita Bread $1.00

What to do with all this cereal?

Thanks to all the great deals I get using coupons my pantry is always well stocked. We are about out of room on the cereal shelves and I wanted to do something other than Rice Krispie Treats for a snack. I found this recipe idea on one of my favorite blogs, A Thrifty Mom. This recipe is a great way to make a treat my kids (and husband)love for very little out of pocket. They have become the new "favorite" of everyone and I will have to make another batch before I know it!

Granola Bars
Recipe Source: A Thrifty Mom

The beauty of this recipe is that it is so versatile. Add things that you love and you will have a wonderful snack.

8 Cups of Cereal (I used 1 Box of Post Honey Bunches of Oats)
Add your favorite ingredients. I used,
1/2 cup Craisins (I chopped mine into small pieces so they would go farther)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (next time I think I will use the mini ones)
1 cup of toasted coconut

Mix together in a large bowl and set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine:
1 stick of butter
3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c light corn syrup

On medium high heat stir until well blended. Boil mixture for only two minutes, remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla.

Pour over the top of your cereal mixture and stir well.

Pour into a 9x13 buttered pan. FIRMLY press into the bottom. If you do not press it down enough, they will not stick together.

Let cool 1 hour. Then cut bars, it makes 18 large bars.

Bag them, they will stay fresh about a week or you can freeze them.

Other add in ideas:
Dried apples, apricots, pineapple, cherries, mango
Chopped nuts
Raisins
Peanut Butter (I'm going to add this to the sugar mixture)
Any kind of chocolate-mixed in or drizzled on top
Coconut
Trail Mix
Small/chopped candy
Sun Flower seeds