Carnival of the Recipes XIV - Chili Dog Casserole

I resurrected the following recipe from an email I had sent to this guy as my response to one of his many artery clogging recipes. He insisted on going the corn-dog route, though, instead of using nekkid dogs. Must be a Florida thing. We only eat corny dogs when we can get 'em right out of the boiling lard fry-o-laters at the Texas State Fair .

Anyway, read on. Get yerself a dishtowel to sop up all the drool (or bile...) you'll ooze up while reading this one!


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The following was a brainstorm based on one of God's perfect foods, the chili dog. With a properly constructed chili dog, you get all 4 food groups, and the tastes all mingle and complement each other perfectly. The Cheese, the chili, the onion, the bun, the mystery-meat-in-a-tube.... MMmmm.. the drool flow commences... Actually, it's loosely based on another of my favorite recipes, King Ranch Chicken.

Chili Dog Casserole (Feeds 8 regular people, 4 hungry people, or two Texas boys)

Ingredients:

2 - 1 lb package hot dogs (I use either Nathan's kosher, or a local coarse-ground variety at least 3/4" in diameter. Avoid the skinny franks or any form of poultry-wiener)

2 - lbs. chili (prefer homemade, but if ya gotta go canned, use Wolf or Stagg. Hormel or that godforsaken stuff they call Cincinatti Skyline chili is only good for feeding swine that you're not too fond of. The frozen "brick" chili is often pretty good, and I'd look for that before resorting to canned chili.)

2 - cans chili dog sauce (thinner consistency than canned chili, in 10 oz. cans)

2 - med. onions. No sweet 1015's or Vidalias, go for a big honkin' white onion with a lot of heat.

2 - 8 oz. bags shredded mild cheddar or monterey jack cheese

1 - 16 ct. bag burrito-sized flour tortillas. (corn tortillas are not a substitute! If you cannot get flour tortillas, use pita bread split in half)

Slice hot dogs into 'coins', dice onions, heat up chili so it's warm and thinned out, but not bubbling-hot.
Open both cans of sauce and warm in separate saucepan or microwave so it's soupy.

In a deep 9x13 casserole, pour in half of the chili dog sauce and spread to cover bottom of dish. Begin layering the casserole dish in the following order on top of the chili dog sauce - Tortillas, chili, onions,
cheese, tortillas, and so on. Spread the chili thin (a ladle works well here) and scatter the hot dogs, onions and cheese as evenly as you can. Make sure your top layer is cheese.

Be sure to cover entire casserole in each layer. Tear tortillas to fit corners and gaps as needed.

Pour on remaining chili sauce over top, making sure to fill in any dry areas.

Cover with foil and bake. (I have a ratty old pre-WWII gas oven, and it's not exactly accurate in temperature or consistent heating, so when I say bake at 350 deg. for 45 minutes, you might have to tinker with those numbers)

Take off foil for last 5 minutes.

Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream on top if you're so inclined.
Have your home defibrillator set on 'Standby'

Enjoy!