Homemade Chili Hotdog Sauce

 I found a penny, but I forgot where. 

Tommy chopped up 1.5 lbs. of 93/7 ground beef. I dipped the meat out with a slotted spoon instead of putting it into a colander and pouring boiling water over it. When I dipped it into the glass dish and looked at the bottom of the dish the next day, there was very little congealed grease. We ate part of this cooked ground beef and saved the rest for the chili hot dog sauce.  Good Deal!

I used about a pound of cooked meat, a package of Chili-O seasoning mix, and a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of petite diced tomatoes and cooked it, mainly heating it to meld flavors.  Recipe at end of post.

Tommy sampled a spoonful in a tiny bowl and declared it had too much chili spice. When I came back to get the bowl and spoon, he had only sampled a tiny bite. He never compliments food when I ask how it tastes because he has to take exactly three bites before he can decided if he likes something. He just makes excuses. 

When this was all cooked, heated, it was a bit runny, but nothing to complain about. We both had 1/4 cup of the chili sauce. We both thought 1/2 cup would be better. We had no bun this time. 

For this meal, Tommy ate the leftover cabbage and the peas. I had a salad and he may have one, too. So, we will start off with all new food on Monday. 

After we were through eating, I asked Tommy what needed to be changed about the chili hot dog sauce. He said it needed more sauce. ??? "Too runny, " I asked. No, just not enough sauce. "Too little besides the meat." He said there is meat, chili, and tomato, but not enough sauce. We had a huge argument about the meaning of sauce. I still don't know what he is talking about. I think it was a little runny and asked him if that is what he means. NO, more sauce!

This made about a quart of chili hotdog sauce and it was much cheaper per ounce than a can of the same sauce. It is enough like the bought can that I am happy with the finished product and the price. I have not dipped it up to freeze, so I cannot figure the price comparison yet.

I will freeze this in one cup portions. I am considering freezing the hotdogs in with the sauce and throwing in a slice of cheese with my portions. I used a wide-mouth pint Ball canning jar and the flat lid and ring. One cup or a bit more was put into the jar. Then, I poked the hotdogs down and almost ran the jar over, so dipped a bit out. I cut off a 1/2 slice off a chunk of Kraft cheese and stuck that in the jar. I put the lid on tight and labeled the lid  "hotdogs, chili, cheese, 9-12-21" and sat it in a door shelf in the freezer where it won't fall off. So, this is one dinner in a jar for us later. Tommy won't eat the cheese on his, so that amount of cheese will be enough for me.

I left the rest in the refrigerator for a meal this week. I did not do a price comparison for the chili sauce because I did not have the price of the cans I had on my shelf. I do believe the ingredients are healthier in mine. AND, much healthier.  Maybe you will not like chunks of tomato in your chili dog. Just use tomato sauce. You can add your own spices instead of using the French's Chili-O. Next time, I may do the same. 

Recipe:

1 lb of ground beef

1 package Chili-O chili mix

14.5 can Hunts Petite diced tomatoes

14.5 oz. can Hunt's No Salt Diced tomatoes

Brown the ground beef, add tomato products, and Chili-O.

It is done. I did not have buns, but I would have laid both hotdogs on one bun and topped with chili. 

I used the diced tomatoes because they were right in front of me in my kitchen. Maybe I should have used tomato sauce. Yes, I should have! Maybe I should have used only one can of sauce. This recipe called for a can of beans and one can of tomato sauce. I don't like beans in chili. 

So make this yours if you like. It has less extraneous additions than the can of hotdog chili sauce on the store shelves.

Do you like chili cheese dogs? Do you make your own sauce? 

This and That

Remember I overbought Miracle Whip. Then, I announced I had eaten all the old MW? Well, I just now found the "new" MW, which of course is out of date. In the meantime, I was given five 8 ounce jars of MW. You know it--They are out of date, too. So, now I have to finish the little out-of-date jars and the two huge jars, out-of-date almost a quart in each jar. sigh...will I ever have fresh Miracle Whip again. I was looking for some that was on sale this week. Thankfully, I did not find any! 

When I say I "found" the MW, it was not lost at all. However, I do keep jars of food in the dark. And, I keep all my food in the cool kitchen and back bedroom. So, it was out of sight, not really lost or found. 

I knew that one of the feeders was out of nectar. I finally got it in because the others were obviously full. When I got it in Tuesday night, the clear bottle had lots of mold, so I assume the bottom that is sealed has plenty. I soaked all the parts in Dawn and Clorox. Today, I opened a new, free toothbrush and used it to get rid of the mold I could see. Tommy took the new, filled feeder out and brought the other two inside. I need to clean and fill those tonight. We did have lots of hummers, but they have diminished in number today. Next year, I will be more picky with hummingbird feeders. I think the first one that I bought 40 years ago spoiled me as to what to look for. I thought all were good feeders. 

There is not a tall shepherd's hook to be found. I had a really short one that we were going to use. Tommy put it in the ground and I carried out the feeder. Well, I could not see the feeder sitting on the couch, so he thought sticking it in a large pot would raise it enough. It did not, he said. So, he put another pot of used dirt under the first one. Then, he put a third pot under the first two. That worked and looks nice. Now, they need flowers in the pots of dirt. 

I love August and September for the butterflies about. There are pretty yellow butterflies that mingle with the hummingbirds. These butterflies can fly as fast as the hummers. I wonder what they think of each other.  I am a watcher of Lepidoptera. 

Today, I wanted a Sonic footlong chili cheese dog. We ate at the park. For dinner, I am cooking sweet potatoes and cabbage. These are sweet potatoes I bought in September or October of 2020. That should work for dinner. Tommy had a BLT. 

In the refrigerator I have a package of 93/7 ground beef. I will this evening make it into chili sauce so I don't have to buy it in the grocery store. This should be so much cheaper and probably better. Since I do not eat chili in beans, this will be tasty. I will freeze it in meal portions, about 1/2 cup. I may freeze a bit of cheese with the sauce. Neither of us want much sauce on our hotdogs. It is not like we have chili with hotdogs in it. I just want the hotdog, sauce, and cheese, maybe a bun.

Before the evening is over, I am going to sort one box of patterns that are here. Tommy brought some of my things here years ago. These are patterns I have had since the 1960s. Well, maybe not in the one box I will sort this evening. But, they are here.

Do you have old patterns that you sewed over 60 years ago, or any old patterns?  Do you have flowers that attract butterflies?