Extra Meaty Chili Dogs

I am a huge fan of meat, in most shapes and forms. One way to put a lot of meat in one meal is the Chili Dog. Not just any Chili Dog, but my Extra Meaty Chili Dogs.

• Hot Dogs
• Canned (or home made) Chili with or without beans
• Ground Beef
• Grated Cheddar Cheese (Tillamook is excellent)
• Red Onion
• Hot Dog Bun

The ground beef I used was leftover from tacos the night before, so it was precooked. If you are cooking the ground beef (as you probably are), start by cooking the ground beef. Season to taste. Look forward to my taco recipe for a great spice to use.

Boil the number of hot dogs desired. While the hot dogs are boiling, grate the cheese and chop the onions.

The chili cooks the fastest, so put it on the stove just before the hot dogs come to a boil.

Add the ground beef to the chili. I put roughly two cups of ground beef into two cans of Hot Hormel Chili with no beans.

Once the hot dogs are boiled and the chili heated, put the hot dog on the bun. Cover liberally with chili, and add the cheese and onions. Top with yellow mustard (I use lots of it) and if you like things spicy, add some Cholula (see my post on Cholula here).

Well, that's all there is to it. See above picture for the finished product. Enjoy.

Biscuit Pizza

When I was a kid my mom always found creative ways to make a cheap meal. There were 7 mouths to feed (including my parents), and a little money had to go a long way. One of the things she would do is have us make our own biscuit pizzas for fun. We would get to pick whatever toppings were available, from breakfast sausage, to pepperoni, to olives and mushrooms, and whatever else we had on hand. I told my wife about this idea, and she kicked it up a few notches. The recipe follows:

• Pillsbury Biscuits
• Trader Joe's Marinara Sauce
• Mozzarella Cheese
• (optional)Spicy Italian Sausage
• (optional)Pepperoni
• (optional)Fresh Basil
• (optional)Any other favorite topping

The quantities needed depends on the amount you are serving. These pizzas are as big as biscuits, so a little goes a long way.

Cook the sausage, sautee any onions or other vegetables as needed.

Take the biscuits out of the can, and spread thin like a pizza crust. Add the marinara sauce. Add toppings and cheese liberally.

Bake in oven or toaster oven until biscuits are golden/cheese is melted.

Add grated Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper to taste and you are good to go.

This meal is really cheap and tastes great. Enjoy.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

My wife and I were in Trader Joe's the other day and they had samples of their chocolate chip pancakes. This inspired my wife to make us a batch at home this morning. We usually make our pancakes with the Bisquick Shake and Pour mix, or in today's case the Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix, but I am working on coming up with our own recipe from scratch. Between the two of us with our cooking backgrounds, I am sure we can come up with something. Until then, here it is. Pretty basic, but the pancakes taste great.

We followed the recipe on the box for today's pancakes, and then added our chocolate chips. You can read the box for bigger serving sizes, but here is the recipe for 7-8 pancakes (4 inches round), or 5 pancakes a that are a little bigger.

• 1 cup pancake mix
• 3/4 cup water.
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Decide beforehand which surface you will cook on. We used a pan on a stove burner. The directions call for an electric griddle. Choose the method for you, grease appropriately, and you should be good to go.

Blend mix, chocolate chips, and cold water together with a wire whip. A fork works fine too. Batter should be slightly lumpy. (Do not overmix).

Pour desired amount of batter onto lightly greased pan or griddle. If you are using an electric griddle, be sure to preheat it to 375 degrees F.

Cook pancakes 1to 1-1/4 minutes per side, or until golden brown, turning only once.

That's all there is to it. A trick of the trade is to watch for the bubbles on the dough. When the pancake is ready to be flipped the first time there should be a lot of bubbles. This only works for the first flip obviously, so you have to use your judgment for the other side.

See above picture for how it should come out. This was my plate this morning before I quickly ate it up and grabbed another. These are that good. Enjoy.