Easy Chili Dog Mac N' Cheese

If you haven't noticed..... I'm a hardcore dog lover. Not just the furry four legged kind, but hot dogs, brats, Polish sausages, Chicago dogs, Buffalo style (wink, wink here's a link to an easy Buffalo Dog recipe by lil ole me)Buffalo HOT dogs I know they are not the healthiest food in the world, but you know what? We all got to go sometime and someway. Given the various ways one might leave this Earth, death by chili dog doesn't seem like a bad way to go at all! If I do happen to expire eating a chili dog, just find comfort knowing that I went out happy and content!

Way back when I was in high school (seems like eons ago).... I actually worked at a DQ on the Toll Road. This love/hate relationship of mine with the chili cheese dog and Chicago Dog took place there for about 4 years. I ate so0o0 many hot dogs and ice cream products while working there that I didn't want another shake or sausage for at least a year or more after quitting lol! Its been many, MANY of moons since I was dishing up DQ dogs and Oreo blizzards, and I've since, rekindled my mass love for them :) Like they say.... too much of a good thing isn't good. Furthermore, I also lived off of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers every summer as a tot. I'm not exaggerating people. For like three months straight in the summer time, I breathed hot dogs and hamburgers, watermelon, and Popsicles lol. As well as some body's blackberries/mulberries that I'd munch on my adventures to and from the local beach (Those berries were the bomb by the way! They would stain my hands and bare lil nappy feet lol.~ Sorry, for munching on your berries whoever you were he he)

Moving along now to chili dogs and mac n' cheese, who doesn't love that? I know my taste testers gave this 4 thumbs up and confirmed this dishes' deliciousness repeatedly, one even said he'd eat the leftovers cold, so ya know that's winning lol ;) Even better yet, it's way friggin easy (shh) and budget friendly too! But we'll just keep that lil secret between us, kapeesh!? This is sure to be an easy, but yummy family favorite.

Whatcha' Need

• 1 pack of hot dogs
• 1 lb of ground turkey (or beef if you prefer, but they'll never know it's not beef hehehe)
• 1 can chili beans in hot sauce
• 1 can Sloppy Joe Sauce
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels (opt)
• 1 small bell pepper (I used yellow diced, or if you want some heat go jalapeno)
• 2 boxes deluxe mac n' cheese (prepared according to box directions)
• 2 tsp dried minced onion (or fresh if you prefer)
• 2 TBS butter (&or oil / bacon grease; I used a tsp of bacon grease as well) 
• 1+ tsp each chili powder & oregano
• 1/2 +/- tsp ground cumin, garlic powder, lemon pepper, and Cajun Seasoning 
• 1/4 tsp salt

Start by slicing the hot dogs into little medallions, about a half inch or so ought do. Place them into a large sauce pan with a little bacon grease or butter and brown them up. I sprinkled the w/ a dash of the dry seasoning mentioned above as well. Should only take about 7-10 minutes on medium heat for them to brown.

Once the dogs have a nice brown texture on them add the ground turkey, minced onion, diced pepper, and the recommended dry seasonings along w/ the butter. Break down the meat and stir frequently for about 15-20 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.

~Start water for the mac n' cheese~ but use a large sauce pot because you'll combine all the goodies at the end (and cook according to box directions)

Next, stir into the meat mixture, the sloppy joe sauce, corn, chili beans, and a dash more of the suggested dry seasonings.

Reduce heat just a tad and cover the mixture with lid, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Cook for about 15-20 more minutes or until corn & beans are tender and heated all the way thru.

Ohh yeah :)

When the mac n' cheese, and chili dog mixture is all done, turn off the heat and combine them into one lovely, harmonious masterpiece. Sprinkle with crushed corn chips, a dab of sourcream, or a sprinkle of green onions for even more awesomeness! NOW~ Brace yourself for comfort food utopia and chow down!

Hope you dig this funky fun dish, Big Hugs, and Thanks for popping in! 

 
 

Creamy Swedish Spinach Spaghetti & Meatballs

HAY,  :) Remember that lovely, but kinda heartbreaking movie "Patch Adams," starring the one and only, late great Robin Williams? (Rest his beautiful soul). If you said no, go watch it people, it's a true classic. For real, I am that lil ol' lady whose dying wish is a swimming pool full of noodles! Not even joking. How fun would that be swimming in a pool full of spaghetti noodles?! Makes me smile just thinking about it, I'm a total dork, but I own awkwardness like a boss lol. I truly, do love noodles so much tho.... I even had a tiny dog back in the day named noodles that I adored for a brief moment (yeah, foodie love from a young age). He was this sad little soul of a dog that had been abandoned in an apartment complex that my Mum had managed at the time. He was never quite right from that horrible event, obviously (many curse/dirty words to those who did that to him, ugh), but he did touch my heart and I loved him enough to name him after one of my ALL TIME favorite foods. He found a furever home elsewhere (to my young dismay lol) w/ a sweet elderly woman who could give him the love, attention, and time he really deserved. Moving on, before I go into a much larger rant about my adoration of noodles the food/dog, the way wrongness of abandoning animals like Noodles, or anything else semi-irrelevant to this recipe, let's talk heritage.

From the movie Patch Adams found via web ~

The world could use more Docs like this <3

I'm a proud ethnic mutt of sorts! :) No shame about it either. I have roots that branch out in many different ethnic directions, and they all influence the being that I am in a gazillion different ways. German, Hispanic, Indian, Scandinavian, Swiss, Irish, YUP I'm a proud lil' mixed up mutt lol. This recipe is influenced by my recently deceased Grandfather, Nels, who was a big strong German/Swede who always had a fresh crew cut, loved canned fish and crackers (that gene I didn't get, eeks lol), was a great engineer and a free mason. He was also a collector of fine time pieces from wall to wrist. (His father was a clock maker (clock smith?), so it's fairly fitting that as his Alzheimer's progressed he would wear multiple wrist watches though he could longer read the time on them, nor had much concept of time itself. Just goes to show are roots will always influence us and we will always be tied to them no matter what ways we branch out in life). Honestly, I wish I would have paid more attention to all his seemingly silly stories when he was able to tell them in his full glory and not dismissed them like most jerky kids. We live and we learn though right, at least that's the plan....

Moving on to the way popular classic Swedish Meatballs; It is one of my Mother's favorite comfort food dishes, as well as my deceased Grandfather. I'm not a personal fan of mushrooms (which is in the traditional Swedish dish), blue cheese, or pretty much any food that seems like its gone sour. I've seen mushrooms grow on some pretty icky stuff in the wild and I've accidentally grown blue cheese on a stray dairy product in the back of my fridge lol, so yeah, I'm good without either of those prized culinary staples.(crazy right, a Swede who doesn't like mushrooms, blue cheese or canned fish, maybe I was really adopted like my brothers claimed ;) This AHHmazing dish is a fun and scrumptious twist on two traditional cuisines very dear to my stomach and heart, spaghetti and meat sauce meets mushroom less Swedish Meatballs and creamed spinach. It's a whole lot of creamy dairy goodness, lots of meat, onion and spinach yumminess all atop of a bed of beautiful noodles! Frankly, it's DA BOMB folks! Two dudes that claim to not even like spinach couldn't get enough of this delish dish ;)

Whatcha' Need:

• 1~box spaghetti noodles (prepared according to package)
• 1 14 oz bag of frozen, thawed meatballs
• 4 Bratwurst sausages
• 1 block Low Fat Cream Cheese 
• 1 packet dry onion soup mix (like Lipton's)
• 2 cups milk (I use 1%)
• 2 cups tap water (plus sufficient amount for boiling the noodles)
• 2/3 cup low fat sour cream
• 1.5 cups frozen Chopped Spinach
• 3 TBS Parmesan cheese
• 1+/- tsp paprika, 1.5 tsp dried Italian Blend Seasoning, 1+/- tsp lemon pepper, salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dry minced onion flakes (always season to your own personal preferences) 

 Start by removing the meat from the sausage casings. Simply cut the very tip off and squish out the innards and discard the casings. (You could also use a pound of ground pork if you'd like, but sausages have various seasonings and such already in them and it will effect the flavor profile, plus it is way simple to remove the skins even though it's a tad bit gross lol)

 

 Place the sausage meat in a large sauce pan w/ about half of the above dry seasonings and heat on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring and breaking apart the large chucks of meat frequently.

Next toss in the thawed meatballs and cook another 20 minutes allowing the meatballs to mingle and brown up with the brat meat. Carefully~ Drain off excess grease~

Now, we turn down the heat just a tad, and add in the milk, 2 cups water, remaining dry spices, onion soup mix, sour cream, and frozen spinach. Heat about 20-30 minutes, stirring regularly.

Start preparing the water for the noodles while all that awesome sauce comes together. Cook noodles according to package instructions.

Turn off the heat for the sauce and stir in the low fat cream cheese and Parmesan while the mixture is still nice and hot. OHh YEAH, cheesy meaty gooey goodness :)

Dish it up just like you would a normal ole spaghetti ;) but brace yourself for extraordinary awesome sauce. I sprinkled mine with even more cheesy dairy goodness, (because to a Swede there is no such thing as too much cheese) shredded mozzarella, and I served it with homemade garlic toast! If you like cheese, dairy, noodles and meat than you'll flip over this twisted devine spaghetti dish.

Hope you dig it, thanks for stopping by, and big HUGS!

Zesty Ginger Ale Chicken N' Veggies

SPRING has finally shown her glorious face here in the MW!! Thank heavens, because I was starting to get one serious case of fever folks! That polar vortex rubbish was no joke; it had me feeling all kinds of unmotivated and sluggish. Isn't it funny how just a little sunshine can really brighten our days? I'm feeling all kinds of energized now like my lil' solar battery of a spirit has been fully charged or I just chugged a pot of coffee, jug of soda, and a couple red bulls type of amped up! Fresh air, sunshine, and temps that don't freeze your face give me happy vibes galore. On another positive note, I just welcomed a new fur buddy to my pack, named Quagmire. He's a total ball of too much youngster energy (& a little creep lol)! If puppies can't lift your spirits and put a lil smile on your face and some pep in your step, I don't know that anything can!? FOR REAL, if you don't like puppies just hit the back button now, cuz we can't be pals, seriously though. N.E. WHO < Moving onto this Divine Ginger Ale Chicken, it's so freaking scrumptious peoples! I've seen numerous recipes for Dr.Pepper & Coke Pulled Pork, 7-Up Chicken, and I personally, adore BBQ Root Beer pulled pork, but what about some GINGER ALE MEATS YO?! It seemed like that left out, misfit soda in all these meaty creations on the inter web, so I decided to show it a little love and embrace its' unique gloriousness. PLUS, Ginger Ale just so happened to be on sale for 99 cents a 2 Liter (and whole chickens were on sale as well, so it was like the cosmos wanted me to make this glorious thrifty, chicken concoction for y'all lol)! Move over Dr.Pepper, Coke, and 7-UP, because it's Ginger Ales' time to shine ;)

Whatcha ' Need:

• 5-7 lb Whole Chicken (mine was slightly over 7lbs, and it will serve many of delish purposes to follow)
• 2 cups Ginger Ale (more/less depending on size of bird^)
• 5- 7 med/lg Russet or Idaho potatoes 
• 1 large onion (diced)
• 1/2 bag frozen green beans (or 1 can drained)
• 4 TBS Cold Butter or Margarine (cut into 4 slabs) 
• 1+ tsp each of lemon pepper, paprika, cumin, & Italian Blend seasoning
• 1/2tsp +/- garlic powder, oregano, salt, (& Cajun seasoning opt) 

First, gather all the dry spices, and place the recommended or desired amount in a small mixing bowl, and measure out the ginger ale and set it aside. Then lightly grease a large roasting pan w/ non stick cooking spray.

Next, rinse the inside & outside of the chicken in your sink, remove giblets/neck, and pat it dry w/ a paper towel. Place the bird breast side up in the middle of the greased pan.

Now, take the dry spices and rub them all over the outside of the bird, sprinkle inside, carefully, pull up on the chicken breast skin and rub spices underneath the skin as well. (wash those dirty bird hands after touching the raw chicken and b4 touching anything else to prevent spreading the funkies all over the place lol)

Sorry about the awkward view, but this way you can more easily see how I put the spices/butter under the skin as well ;)

Next, cut half a stick of butter into 4~ TBS sized slabs and place them underneath the chicken skin a top the breast region.

Adding butter under the skin makes for a super moist chicken if it's not over cooked ;)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)

Now clean, remove funky spots, and cut the potatoes into nice hearty sized chunks like (6-8 chunks per potato or so). Spread them around the chicken in the pan along with the diced onion. Sprinkle the potatoes w/ a dash of the seasonings used to coat the bird (like 1/4 tsp or so just for extra flavour)

Pour the ginger ale over and inside the bird's cavity and on top of the potato/onion mixture in the pan.

Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and bake for about 1.5 hours depending on the size of the bird.

My chicken was slightly over 7lbs so I baked it for 1 hour and 45 minutes with the foil on. (about 20 minutes per pound is usually a good rule of thumb when making any large chunk of meat in the oven)

I removed the chicken from the oven, uncovered it, and basted it with the yummy pan juices. Then, put in the frozen (or drained can) green beans and placed the chicken back in the oven with the foil off for another 35-45 minutes or so (again depending on the size of your bird).

Many chickens have pop up timers, but they can not always be a great indicator of actual doneness so always test w/ a meat thermometer (and by wiggling the leg on the chicken) The thigh is the thickest part of the chicken, so if the leg seems super jiggly like it could fall right off with a slight tug and the juices are clear then the bird is most likely done, but again, always check with a meat thermometer if unsure, by inserting it in the thigh region of the chicken (not breast).

    

When that beautiful bird is all done let it nap/rest for about 10 minutes before carving into it so the juices will redistribute and you don't end up with a super dry chicken situation (icks lol). Now prepare to rock your world and wow the fam with this easy but SUPER YUMMY, zesty chicken dinner winner!

I hope you dig this dish! Thanks for popping in, and big HUGS!