PLAYING WITH OUR FOOD: Fun Kid Hot Dog Recipes

Hey KS fans,

Somebody recently told me about a fun thing that they do for their kids dinner using hot dogs.

I was so intrigued by this crazy fun food idea – that I had to try it myself to see if it would work. Well it did- and it was really funny to see my husbands reaction when he started to eat his dinner of  Crazy Hot Dog Spaghetti Octupuses.

After getting over the initial shock of me serving him hot dogs with spaghetti (there was no cumin or healthy food in sight) he happily started to dig in. But after a few seconds of frustratingly trying to separate the hot dogs from the spaghetti – did he finally realize that they were attached – his face was priceless – I so wish I had the foresight to have had my camera ready to take a picture!

My daughter loved it – and was in heaven playing with her little hot dog octopuses and chomping off their legs – a good dinner had by all I would say. Next time I will serve it with a side of broccoli so at least their is some nutritional value.

But after this experience with hot-dogs – I started to have fun and have found a few recipes that are really cute and totally let you play with your food! So much fun to make and to eat! A great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen this summer!

Have fun playing with your food! I am!!

Sarah

Octopus Hot Dogs

All you need is a package of  your favorite hot dogs and 1 package of Spaghetti

1. Get a pot of water on the stove to boil

2.Cut your hot dogs into large bite size peices.

3. Stick your raw spaghetti noodles into the center of the raw hot dog -  ( you can vary the places of where you insert the spaghetti)

4. place your hot dog spaghetti pieces into the boiling water – and cook until the hot dogs are ready to eat. ( I recommend cooking them 5 minutes longer than usual – to ensure that the spaghetti in the center of the hot dog is not raw)

5. Remove and drain from water – and serve in a large bowl. Watch your kids faces light up with glee!

Hot Dogs on A Joy Ride

This recipe cracks me up – it is so easy to assemble – you can really figure it out by the picture itself.

Ingredients:

Hot Dogs

Puff Pastry Large Squares

Baby Gerkins

Pickle Chips

Sliced Black Olives

Pre-heat oven to 425

1. Boil your hot dogs until fully cooked. Let cool.

2. Wrap each individual hot dog n 1 square of puff pastry. Make sure to leave some hot dog sticking out from both ends.

3. Cut 2 small slits in the center of the pastry – about 2 inches apart

4. Make an egg wash and brush onto tops of the puff pastry. Place wrapped hot dogs onto baking tray and cook for about 20 minutes until pastry has turned a golden brown.

5. While pastry is cooking. Take your baby gerkins and carve out little faces using the tip of a paring knife.

6. When dogs are ready – assemble with gerkins as the people, the chip as the steering wheel and the olives as the tires.

Serve  – Fun Times!

Frankin Mummies

Another simple and fun idea for the hot dog using puff pastry.

Pre-heat oven 425

1. boil hot dogs till cooked – reserve and let cool

2. cut 1 1/2 inch thick strips of puff pastry dough.

3. Starting from one end of the dog, slowly wrap the strip of pastry around the frank. Leave a space for the face and continue to wrap till the end.

4. Use an egg wash and brush the tops of the pastry – Bake in oven for 20 minutes until golden brown

5. create eyes using mustard and serve!