So you wanna eat something kinda bad. Well you can make it less bad by making a veggie version. What looks like stomach ache-inducing madness, actually comes off rather light…err… feeling – perhaps not so much “lite” in the calorie department. But hey if you are eating cheese slathered carbs you can’t rrrrrreally be counting calories can you? 😉 Enjoy yourself.
Ingredients for Pizza Dogs:
- French Rolls or quality hot dog buns or other bun-type-carb-object that is fluffy inside and crisp-ish out.
- Veggie Dogs (I use the Jumbo Yves version)
- Marinara heated and reduced til thickened OR/ favourite pizza sauce (home made is always best if you can be bothered!) *** basic red sauce recipe below!
- Finely diced yellow bell pepper (can use any colour you prefer)
- Finely chopped crimini mushrooms
- Finely diced red onion
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Fresh or freeze dried basil
- Fresh cracked pepper
- Olive oil for pan “grilling” the hot dogs
Optional add ons: red pepper flakes, additional cheeses, olives…basically any pizza toppings that would taste okay with a hot dog!
Preheat oven to 350F or so. Heat up a frying pan with a little drizzle of oil.
Prep hot dogs by taking a small sharp knife and cutting cross hatch marks on them to create a waffle like effect on all sides.
Cook weiners in the hot oil on one side til getting browned crispy bits. Turn and cook on all sides til golden-brown marks all over (we are simulating grill flavour!). Note: veggie dogs tend to stick more than meaty ones so use a metal flipper to really get underneath them and avoid sticking. You can avoid this by gently shaking the pan with them in the oil as they cook.
Meanwhile prep you bell pepper, mushrooms, onions and cheese.
If using a marinara or pasta sauce you will want to heat it to reduce some of the liquid until it’s a thicker consistency. If using pizza sauce you can feel free to use it cold.
Line baking pan with parchment (the melted cheese is a pain to clean later and well if you use parchment it won’t stick and you can munch on all the crispy cheesey morsels – they are tasty!)
Slice buns/rolls down the top centre. If using pre cut buns then pace them along the seam so the opening is on the top. French rolls hold up better to all the toppings so I highly recommend using a sturdy roll rather than a traditional hot dog bun.
Put a jumbo dog in each bun. Top with peppers/mushrooms/onions. Top with pizza/red sauce. Top with cheese. Sprinkle with basil and pepper.
Bake in the oven til the cheese is fully melted and getting some golden brown spots. I can’t recall the exact time so check after 7-10 minutes and see where you are at!
NOTE: If you made too many they actually keep really well for the next day. Just wrap in foil and reheat in the oven til warm and melty again.
Red Sauce for Pizza:
Roma tomatoes, red or sweet onion, many cloves of garlic, good salt, fresh cracked pepper, olive oil, fresh or freeze dried basil, fresh or dried oregano.
Boil salted water. Drop tomatoes in for a couple minutes. Transfer to bowl of ice water. Drain in colander. Peel skins off. Cut out the circle-bit where the stem was… Does that have a name? Probably.
Dice.
Meanwhile you are sauteeing diced onions in olive oil in a pan til golden and soft. Then you are tossing in some finely chopped garlic. Then your tomatoes, salt, pepper, herbs… Cook til tomatoes full break down and become saucy. Reduce to thicken if too watery. You can add a small dollop of red pepper jelly to cut the acidity if you desire. Blend with a hand blender once cooled til a smooth consistency. I like a smooth sauce for pizza. And as far as seasoning amounts just taste and adjust. I like a herby pizza sauce. But some may like it more mellow and tomatoey. Up to you! Drizzle in some extra olive oil at the end. Especially if you have nice one!
Ingredients for Chili-Cheese Dogs with Guac:
- French Rolls or quality hot dog buns or other bun-type-carb-object that is fluffy inside and crisp-ish out.
- Veggie Dogs (I use the Jumbo Yves version)
- Vegetarian Chili (homemade is best of course but if feeling lazy use Amy’s Organic Vegetarian Chili) * I usually add in some hot sauce and red pepper jelly to amp it up a bit. And like with the pizza dog… I tend to heat the chili up for a while to reduce some of the liquid and thicken it up a bit. Makes for a less messy dog.
- Finely diced red onion
- Finely diced bell pepper of choice
- Finely diced fresh jalepeno OR/ pickled slices (optional)
- Oaxaca, Monterey Jack or White Cheddar shredded
- Good quality chili powder and/or taco spice mix
- Guacamole (homemade always!) OR/ slices of avocado
- Olive oil for pan “grilling” the hot dogs
Preheat oven to 350F or so. Heat up a frying pan with a little drizzle of oil.
Prep hot dogs by taking a small sharp knife an cutting cross hatch marks on them to create a waffle like effect.
Cook weiners in the hot oil on one side til getting browned crispy bits. Turn and cook on all sides til golden-brown marks all over (we are simulating grill flavour!)
Meanwhile prep the bell pepper, jalepenos, onions and cheese.
Heat chili to reduce some liquid. Line baking pan with parchment. Slice buns/rolls down the top centre.
Put a jumbo dog in each bun. Top with peppers/onions. Top with chili. Top with cheese. Sprinkle with chili powder/taco spice.
Bake in the oven til the cheese is fully melted and getting some golden brown spots.
Top with guacamole.
Serve with Avocado Lime Jalepeno Caesar Salad (stay tuned for that recipe!)
Baked off and melty and crunchy and mmmmmm
PIZZA DOG LUV! WOOF!
And the vegetarian chili-cheese version. Basically an excuse to eat more GUAC!
A Dish I Make. A Dish I Like. 