Chili Dog Casserole

I know this sounds strange -- and yummy at the same time, LOL

You need to know the family history to "get it".

We are part German, part English, part Irish and part Tennessee Hillbilly.

Seriously.

Did you ever see that black and white movie of Gary Cooper's called Sergeant York?

Yes, my family comes from the Dyer/Yorks -- same family.

Some of the "family recipes" are too far out there for even me to try...

But this is a pot luck favorite.

SUPER Easy and SUPER Easy to make healthier.

We choose the middle of the road option, LOL

You need:

 1 package hot dog buns (8 ct)

1 package hot dogs

2 cups chili (or 1 can)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

"fixins"

That's it!
You could do gluten free or whole grain wheat buns,
turkey or tofu dogs, vegetarian chili, vegan or light cheese, you get the drift.
We do white buns, cut them up and place in the 9x13 pan, like you see here:

Then you dice up the hot dogs and sprinkle them over the cut up buns.
We use plain old Oscar Mayer Weeniers, like you see here:

Now comes the chili.
You COULD use a can, but I like home made better.

You need about 2 cups of it to spread over the hot dog layer...

if you are making it just for this recipe,

freeze the rest to save for later!

I used 2 cups of my ground turkey chili - which my husband will like,
until he reads the fact that it doesn't have ground beef.

(sigh)

I know it's looking scary -- but stick with it - trust me!

You are in the home stretch and it's worth it!

Now, take your 2 cups of shredded cheddar and sprinkle it over the chili

You are now ready to pop it into the oven!

I do the standard 350* for 30 minutes to heat it all through and make the cheese look yummy:

You are now ready to rip into it like a monkey on a cupcake!

I personally don't add any "fixins", my hubby likes a little diced raw onion on the top.

Our daughter smothers it with ketchup- but she smothers everything with ketchup, LOL!

Some people add mustard or even a little sauerkraut.

(I mentioned we had a little German mixed in there...)

This is a slightly salty dish - so it's nice to have a side that compliments it like

coleslaw, fruit salad, etc. Think summery and picnic like.

Tonight I added even MORE carbs to this meal with potato salad.

(I live in Wisconsin because it's legal to have five starches on the same plate).

If you try this, I'd love to know what you thought!