Cut Your Grocery Bill Using Hot Dogs

The rising cost of food items has caused me to take a look at how I can cut my grocery bill but still feed my family things they like. Hot Dogs are often a loss leader sale item to get you in the grocery store. A pack of hot dogs can be bought for $1 to $2. so buying this loss leader sale item instead of a higher cost item can help you cut your grocery bill. By taking advantage of these sales you can offset the rising cost of feeding your family. Two packs of hot dogs can make a meal for the family at a much lower costs that other types of meat. Since just eating the dog on the bun can get boring after a while, I have tried various recipes using hot dogs and adapted them to my family's likes. Cutting your food costs doesn't have to be done by giving up meals that taste good. The following five recipes use Hot Dogs and other low cost items to help you cut your grocery bill.

Grocery Bill Cutting Recipe #1 - Hot Dog Noodles

1 lb Hot Dog, chopped into bite size pieces
4 cans of tomato sauce (8 oz) or one large spaghetti sauce
1 lb bow tie noodles
8 oz Mexican type shredded cheese
Onion power or flakes

Preheat oven to 375°F
Chop up hot dog, add to sauce, and sprinkle with onion powder.
Cook noodles according to package directions.

Put noodles in baking dish. Pour sauce over noodles and stir.
Sprinkle cheese on top. Place in oven and heat until cheese is melted. This usually takes about 10 minutes.

Lower your Grocery Cost Recipe #2- Sloppy Dogs
2 packs Hot Dogs
1 can Manwich or other Sloppy Joe type mix
1 pack Hamburger Buns

Chop one pack of the hot dogs finely, almost the texture of what ground beef would be when cooked. Chop the other pack into larger pieces. Use this hot dog mixture in place of ground beef and make according to the Manwich can. Heat until hot, and serve on buns. Top with condiments, cheese, or onions.

Cost Cutting Recipe #3 - Corn Dog Wheel
3 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup water or milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup cream style corn
1 pkg. hot dogs
1 can Green chiles

Lightly grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add water or milk, eggs, oil and mix until blended by hand. Add corn, onions, pepper, and green chiles. Mix together. Pour the mixture in the skillet. Lay the hot dogs into the mix forming wheel spokes. Bake for 25 minutes; test with toothpick for doneness. Serve with condiments or with canned chili sauce.

Lower your Food Cost Recipe #4- Corn Dog Muffins

2 boxes corn muffin mix
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
1 pack hot dogs, chopped in bite size pieces
2 tsp brown sugar or honey

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Add brown sugar to the cornbread mix. If using honey, add to wet ingredients. Mix wet ingredients (eggs, milk, honey) together. Add cheese to wet ingredients and stir together. Pour wet ingredients into cornbread mix and stir. You can either add chopped hot dogs at this point, or you can place them into the batter once it is in the muffin tin.

Lightly grease an 18 slot muffin tin. Pour batter into cups, filling about 2/3 full. Add hot dog slices if not previously mixed in. Bake 14 to 16 min until golden brown.

Another Grocery Bill Cutting Recipe #5 - Chili Dog Casserole

1 pack hot dogs
Any combination of left over buns or bread
1 can chili
1 medium onion, chopped
Shredded Cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Break up the buns into bite size pieces to cover the bottom of a 9X13 pan. If you do not have enough buns, add some regular bread broken into pieces also. Chop up hot dogs and add to the bread in the dish. Pour canned chili over the bread. Top with onion and then add shredded cheddar. Bake for 30 minutes and serve with favorite condiments.

On your next grocery trip, check out the hot dog section and look for a good sale. Grab a few packs for the freezer so that Hot Dogs can help you cut your grocery bill!