Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Healthier Chili Cheese Dog

Well hello everyone!  I made this meal tonight and I thoroughly enjoyed making it!  The hubs and I have been wanting to have chili dogs for a really long time, but the calories for them are horrific.  So we searched for a healthier alternative and found a recipe even our boys enjoyed!
Originally I got the recipe from Sparkspeople and changed a few things here and there!
So, first thing's first: I seeded and diced 1 jalapeno pepper, diced 2 cups of tomatoes, and added the two to a mixing bowl with 1 cup of frozen corn.
Also, because the chili cheese dogs were so low in calories, I decided to bake some homemade chips to have on the side with some salsa.  I took a moment to cut some flour tortillas into 8 pieces, sprayed them with cooking spray and allowed them to cook in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.
While the chips were cooking, I also rinsed and drained 1 can of black beans and added 1 cup of the can to the corn/tomato mixture, as well as 2 teaspoons cumin and 1 teaspoon of chili powder.
Then I added 1 lime (juiced), as well as 4 tablespoons of chopped cilantro and mixed it  well!  The recipe originally called for the mixture to be put on top cold, but I didn't think the kids would fall for that one, so I started to warm it a bit on the stove.
While that was warming and the chips had finished, I set the oven up to 400 degrees, laid some turkey dogs out a baking sheet, and let it cook for 15 minutes.  I also put the whole wheat hot dog buns on a baking sheet and let those cook for about 5-7 minutes to warm and crisp them.
Once those were cooked, I topped each hot dog bun and turkey dog with 1/4 cup of the black bean salsa mixture and 1 tablespoon of some reduced fat 4 cheese Mexican blend, gave everyone some chips with salsa and voila!  Dinner was served!!
The chili cheese dogs were only 194.7 calories/chili cheese dog (I know!  This recipe made 8 chili dogs also!) and the whole meal, including the chips and salsa, was only $1.11/serving!  No, I'm totally serious!  The hot dogs were so light and fresh tasting, yet still managed to taste like a chili dog, even our boys loved it!
Here's the recipe!

Black Bean Salsa:
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups tomatoes, diced
1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 lime, juiced
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

8 turkey hot dogs
8 whole wheat hot dog buns
1/2 cup shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend

Happy cooking everyone!!!

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