What Do You Want to Eat?

Today is the most amazing Foodie Day on the planet. It’s National Eat What You Want Day. It’s a day to set aside diets and restrictions, within reason, and just indulge without guilt. I would not recommend a diabetic (like me) eating a Costco Seven Layer Chocolate Cake, that would be suicide by sugar – not good.

However; a little of this, a little of that – skip the salad and go for a Big Mac. Be it rich, fried, spicy or bland, eat what you want. Give in to those cravings. Pamper yourself. Many nutritionists even agree that taking a short break from your diet regiment is actually good for you. Guiltless pleasure does the soul good.

What you eat today doesn’t need to make sense to anyone but you. You could check off a Foodie Curiosity from your bucket list like Escargot or Caviar or even Chocolate Covered Crickets (uh, no thanks). Or just follow a craving.

Fry Bread Chili Cheese Dogs – yeah, that’s what I call eating what I want. No, I didn’t have a craving for this strangely delicious combination. I happen to have some Fry Bread leftover from a batch of Navajo Tacos along with some chili. My first thought was why not fry the fry bread, then top it with some chili and call it a day. But what I was really craving was a chili dog. That’s when the light came on. Yeah, why not have both?

Fry Bread Chili Cheese Dogs
Fry Bread Buns
1/2 cup Milk, warmed
1-1/4 cups Flour
1/2 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Vegetable Shortening
Oil for frying

Warm milk, set aside.

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening; then add milk. Knead for 5 minutes on floured board. Shape dough into a long cylinder; brush with oil, cover with plastic and let rest for 20 minutes.

While the dough rests, warm the chili and prepare the dogs.

Chili Cheese Dog
1 can Chili
1/4 Red Onion
4 Quarter Pound Beef Hot Dogs
Bacon Drippings or Oil
Water as needed
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

In a saucepan over low heat, warm the chili.

Peel and finely dice red onion, set aside.

In a cast iron skillet, melt bacon drippings or coat the pan lightly with oil. Heat over medium heat. Place hot dogs on in the skillet. Add a little water for some sizzle-steam. Cover and grill dogs until cooked through, rolling as needed to blister skins evenly.

Keep everything warm until ready to assemble.

When ready, fry up the bread. Cut dough into 4 equal parts. Work with 1 part at a time, keep remaining dough covered.

Roll a piece of dough into a ball. Flatten the dough by hand, with a rolling-pin or tortilla press to create about a 4 to 6-inch tortilla. Don’t worry if your fry bread isn’t perfectly round. Mine rarely are – some are oblong, some a bit more square. It really doesn’t matter.

Fry bread in hot oil until golden brown, swirling as it cooks to prevent burning. Use the end of a wooden spoon to swirl bread as it cooks, flip and continue to brown until done. Place on a paper towel, blot off excess grease. While still hot, drape fry bread over a juice glass or rolling pin for a curled shape. Set aside and repeat until all the bread has been fried.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

To assemble, spread some warm chili on the fry bread shell. Place hot dog over chili. Sprinkle with onions and cheese.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Dig in!