Chilidog Bake

Do you ever just get a craving for something awful for you? I did yesterday, and it was chili-dogs. But I didn't have any buns on hand, so I decided to get a little bit creative.

I've seen multiple dessert recipes that call for putting yummy filling between two layers of crescent rolls (Like this Cherry Cream Cheese Bake from CentsLessDeals), and that's what I decided to do for this. It's insanely easy, and really not healthy, but sometimes those types of dinners are exactly what you need. It's not good for my physical health, but totally uplifting to my mental health.

Anyhoo. This recipe is so easy. You need:

1 tube crescent rolls
4 bun length hot dogs (or 5 regular hot dogs)
1 15 oz can chili (no beans)
1/2c shredded cheddar cheese (or more if you'd like)
1/4c diced onion (or however much your taste buds prefer)
Olive oil, butter, or egg wash (to brush the top)

and... probably a roll of antacid tablets for later :P

Heat oven to 375*F

Put half the tube of rolls in the bottom of an 8x8 dish (4 triangles) so they cover the bottom, and bake them at 375* for 8 minutes, or so. They don't need to be completely done, but this way you don't end up with the bottom layer still doughy when the rest of it is done.

While that's going, chop your hot dogs into 1/2" pieces, and you can probably dice your onion here, too. When the bottom layer comes out of the oven, spread the hot dogs over the top:

Then top it with the can of chili:

Then top it with cheese and onions:

Then put the other half of the crescent rolls over the top and pinch the seams together, and brush with olive oil, melted butter, or egg mixed with a little water (I used olive oil):

Then bake at 375*F for about 20-25 mins (my oven always takes a little longer, so check at 20 mins), until heated through and the crescent roll dough is golden.

Then, dig in and enjoy! :)

It's not healthy, so have a salad with it, and some fruit for dessert, it'll alleviate (some of) the guilt!

I'm sure you could healthy this up a bit in various ways, using turkey dogs, reduced fat crescent rolls, making your own chili (or using vegetarian/reduced sodium chili), skipping the cheese, etc.

You could probably also use a can of biscuits, too. Not that that would make it any healthier, but it would be a slightly different taste, and thicker breading.

If you want to a larger dish (more than 4 servings), just double the ingredients and bake in a 9x13 dish.

Enjoy!
~Mandy