File Under Great Grilling Recipes: Hot Dogs For Everyone

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Sometimes ideas for great grilling recipes come from things you just take for granted.

Kyle’s favorite food is a good old-fashioned hot dog. As he got older, after I brought home every different kind of hot dog you can imagine – pork, turkey, chicken, beef, veggie, and even uncured applewood smoked beef – he declared that “beef” is his favorite, and when he comes grocery shopping with me (which is a rare occurrence but it happens) he always asks me to buy Ball Park brand hot dogs.

So we were both excited when I signed up to grill some of the new Park’s Finest™ Frankfurters from Ball Park®! But I can’t just eat a plain old hot dog anymore. I did when the kids were so little and time-consuming that I just ate what they ate. But now I do indeed make food more pleasing for myself, so I was happy to discover a hot dog that both the kids and the adults found tasty and satisfying, because I need easy dishes for my busy family. You can purchase them in Southern California at Vons.

Park’s Finest™ Frankfurters come in four flavors but we opted for the plainest one because of our picky eaters. That was okay because the “savory seasonings” were mild enough for the kids but interesting enough for us. The kids ate them plain on a wheat bun, but I gave myself a creative challenge. To serve the hot dogs with more than just the same old ketchup and mustard, I whipped up something I like to call kale relish. We have six enormous kale plants growing in our garden – I need to use it whenever possible. It was an experiment with favorable results: there was nothing left over after my husband and I attacked it!

Kale Relish

2 giant leaves of curly kale

1 small tomato

1/4 red onion

1/4 small carton of sliced white mushrooms

1/2 green or red bell pepper

Dice everything finely. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan, then add all vegetables, sprinkle with salt, and sauté until soft. The tomato’s juices really bind all the vegetables together. Spoon over hot dog (or mix into omelet or with ground turkey for a veggie/meat burger).

Here are some grilling tips from Ball Park to make sure your hot dogs taste even better!

• Spray it before you lay it: Before laying hot dogs on the grill, be sure to spray the grill with vegetable oil or cooking spray to ensure the food doesn’t stick to the grates as it’s cooked.

• Don’t lose the juice: Use tongs rather than a fork to gently turn franks and handle as little as possible. Do not cut or pierce the hot dogs while they are grilling or those delicious juices may be lost.

• Get the “smoky” flavor – If you prefer your hot dogs to have a smoky taste, keep the grill completely covered while cooking.

A package of 8 Park’s Finest™ Frankfurters cost me $5.00 that day, but if you’re looking for ingredients for easy summer dishes, you can use this coupon for $0.55 off any ONE (1) Park’s Finest Product (runs 5/26/14 – 6/1/14).