Homemade Baked Corn Dogs

This week so far... mehhhh. I did find a new song that I enjoy. It is called Gangnam Style by Psy and it has a cool dance to go with it. It is a great upbeat song! 

Currently our oven's bake setting does not work. It will broil and the stove top burners will work, but the bake function will not. It randomly decided to die and the temperature plummeted to 100 F when I was baking my bread. >.< Not cool, oven! I tried to finish the bread in the toaster oven and had bread with a mushy center and a very brown top. I picked out all the mushy parts and ate them since I don't mind doughy goodness. My other loaf of soda bread was much better than loaf number two (when the oven died).

I went shopping at Target today and found activity books for my cousins to be distracted with on Thanksgiving (which will at least keep them out of the kitchen). I spent more than I was hoping to, but that is Target for ya. Haha. 

The recipe I chose to blog about today is something that is easy and quick. Many families keep hot dogs and many of the other ingredients on hand. Only a bit of pre-planning would be required to have everything needed on hand. Definitely an easy meal and perfect for this busy time of year. 

Baked Corn Dogs (from Rachael Ray)

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes of corn muffin mix, 8.5 oz each
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup), melted
• chili powder, to taste
• 2 tsp. cumin, or to taste
• cayenne pepper sauce, to taste
• 2 scallions, finely chopped (I used a little bit of dried onion)
• 8 jumbo pork or beef franks

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 F or 220 C.
2. In a shallow bowl, combine the muffin mix and flour. Add in the eggs, milk, and melted butter. Mix in the chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper sauce, and scallions. (your batter will be quite thick and sticky)
3. Prep your cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease it.
4. Set up an assembly line to make the dipping process easier. Put the dish of hot dogs first, then the corn muffin mix, and finish with your cookie sheet. 
5. Dip the hot dogs into the batter and make sure they are fully covered before transferring to your cookie sheet. Use your fingers to cover any spots that you missed. (1/2 inch or less of coating will be best)
6. Repeat step 5 until all of the hot dogs are coated and on the cookie sheet. Wash your hands.
7. Put the corn dogs into the oven for 12 - 15 minutes or until evenly browned.
8. Let your corn dogs cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!

Rachael Ray suggests serving these with her Sweet Relish Slaw Salad and potato chips. We served the corn dogs with fresh veggies and fruit. Serve this dish with whatever best fits your family.

Love it? Hate it? Want to make it? Let me know what you think with a comment below!

As always...

Bon appétit!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Life's been interesting lately.

 My tutoring job didn't work out, which was sad. I have been looking into baking and cooking programs that wouldn't completely break the bank, but have found that many are quite costly. I did find one school that is in the UK and is only one year long. I suppose I shall put it on the "dream" list. I've also been trying to think about if I would like to get my Master's degree or not. If I did go for it, I would need a TA or a job that could help with the cost. I've also been exploring opportunities for careers since I am still somewhat clueless.

On a less serious note, it is strange to not be back at school and dealing with band practices. I have instead had time to start planning for Thanksgiving dinner, wandering the farmer's market, and planning out family meals. I know that I need to tweak my resume and get out in the workforce, but the thought of a dull job just cracks any sense of motivation. I hope I am able to find a job that doesn't bore me to tears! I also tried organic vanilla milk this week. It was pretty good, but I wish the vanilla flavoring wasn't there, haha.

I have also started trying to eat super healthy (and we also had leftover whole wheat flour from another recipe), so I decided to make these cookies. I was skeptical, but after tasting them, I can see why the recipe was rated so high! These cookies are different from the regular cookies, but they don't taste tremendously different. My sister even said that they were good cookies. The only downside was that I used milk chocolate chips, so my brother will not touch them. Oh well. You can't win all battles, right?

In case you are curious and want to know the recipe, I have included it below. I am not saying that these cookies are exactly healthy, but they are slightly healthier than the normal chocolate chip cookie, for sure! I have slightly altered the recipe, but not significantly.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies (from All Recipes)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sifted whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour (plain flour for my foreign friends)
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups semisweet chips (I just used the whole 8 oz. bag)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F or 190 C.
2. Grease your cookie sheets or prep them with parchment paper.
3. In a bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars until well incorporated and smooth. Stir in the vanilla and the eggs.
4. In another bowl, combine the flours, and baking soda. Stir to combine.
5. Gradually add the dry mix to the wet mix, stirring well after each addition. 
6. After all the dry mix has combined with the wet mix, fold in the chocolate chips and the walnuts.
7. Drop by the spoonful onto your prepared cookie sheets.
8. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes.
9. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them. Let the cookie cool completely before placing into an air tight container for storage. 
10. Enjoy your cookies!

What do you think? Do these cookies sound good?

Love it? Hate it? Want to make it? Let me know what you think with a comment below!

As always...

Bon appétit!