Kidlet Dinner Food: Chili Cheese Corn Dog Muffins

The Kidlets like Kidlet-Sized food.  It’s just a fact of our life.  Sliders, meatloaf cupcakes and Stuffed Teddy Bear Biscuits are favorites around here.  If I make it small or put it in a cupcake liner, they are ALL OVER IT.

And … they love hot dogs.  Any. Kind. Of. Hot. Dog.

So, last month, I combined their love of small, cupcake-like food with hot dogs.  And, for the sake of the Husband, I added chili.

‘Cause in his mind, chili makes everything better. . . and in the case of these Chili-Cheese Corn Dog Muffins, he was right.

“Oh. Em. Gee.“,  (as the kids are saying these days) these things were good.  Crazy good.  The Little Lady agreed with us, scarfing down THREE of these muffins, whilst singing their praises.

No, literally singing their praises.  Like five-year-old little girls will do, my lil’ songstress made up a song about “these are my favorite… my Mommy is so great …. cause she made me hot dog cupcakes … I love my Mommy…”

(I’m going to remind her of this moment when she’s 15)

One of the best parts of this Chili Cheese Corn Dog Muffins recipe is that there are only 7 ingredients (plus water) and it only takes 30 minutes (start to finish) to make!!!  Yep — an easy meal for fun family dinners … even on a school night!

Chili Cheese Corn Dog Muffins

makes 12 regular sized “muffins”

Ingredients

1. 1 package of your favorite corn muffin/corn bread mix (A la “Jiffy”)
2. 1/3 cup Milk
3. 1 egg
4. 1 package of Hebrew National Hot Dogs
5. 1 pound ground meat (beef, turkey, etc)*
6. 1 Chili Seasoning Packet
7. 1 cup Cheddar Cheese
8. ½ cup Water

Directions

1. Place the ground meat in a large frying pan; cook until the meat is browned.
2. While it cooks, combine the corn muffin/bread mix, and milk into a large bowl, stirring till well combined.
3. Next, open the Hot Dog package and cut the hot dogs into thirds.
4. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and spray each with non-stick cooking spray.
5. After the meat has finished cooking, drain or skim any grease off the meat and then return the mixture to the pan.
6. Add the Taco seasoning packet plus ½ cup of water and simmer over low heat till the liquid has slightly reduced.

To Assemble Each Chili Cheese Corn Dog Muffin for Baking

1. Into each prepared muffin liner/cup, fill half of the muffin cup with the corn muffin batter.
2. Next, place 1 cut hot dog (1/3 of a dog) vertically into the batter so that it is “standing.”
3. Fill the top of the muffin cup with 1-2 tablespoons of the chili.
4. Top with 1-2 tablespoons of shredded Cheddar Cheese.
5. Place the muffin pan into a preheated oven (according to corn muffin package instructions) and cook for 10-12 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Notes

*If you have leftover chili already made, this recipe is a great way to repurpose it for a second meal. Simply use it to top the corndog muffins instead of using the ground meat and chili seasoning packet.

Copyright © https://followinginmyshoes.com
Recipe by Rachel Lacy

 

disclosure: This recipe was originally created as part of the H-E-B Meal Maker challenge; I received promotional items and compensation for my participation in the challenge and to assist in the creation of my recipes.  Any opinions expressed are my own.