Because I am in charge of the meal planning at our house, most of what we eat is inevitably what I naturally gravitate towards – soups, stews, dishes chock full of vegetables – not exactly Mack’s cup of tea. He’s great about it though, and has a pretty open mind when it comes to food. Still, when I do come across a recipe that I think he would enjoy, I make sure to bookmark it for future reference. We recently made two such dishes.
Sausage & Beans
Mack’s Grandma used to make pork and beans when he lived with her. While Gordon Ramsay’s recipe for sausage and beans in his book Fast Food wasn’t exactly the same dish, I figured it would be worth a try.
It was super-simple – a combination of tins of mixed beans, tomatoes, and sausages, sauteed up with some garlic and herbs and simmered to a stew-like consistency (we didn’t have Toulouse sausages, but the Irvings sausages worked just fine). Served with some bread, it was a simple but hearty dish.
Sausage & Beans
Pancake & Sausage Corndogs
I’m not the biggest fan of corndogs, mostly because I don’t enjoy the dense shell that separates me from the hot dog itself. But Mack loves them, so I was particularly excited to see Julie Van Rosendaal’s recipe for pancake & sausage corndogs.
The light pancake batter contained just a hint of corn meal, and I was able to use the wagyu beef breakfast sausages I just purchased from Rainbow Covenant Ranch at the Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market.
We made mini-versions of the corn dogs (mostly because they wouldn’t fit in our oil-filled pot), and they worked beautifully.
Into the fryer
Mini sausage corn dogs!
We served the corndogs with a bit of maple syrup (delicious!), alongside some scrambled Sunworks Farm scrambled eggs and toast from Bon Ton Bakery.
Mack is happy with his dinner
Funnily enough, I ended up enjoying the pancake and sausage dogs more than Mack did – unfortunately, he still prefers the corn dogs from Capital Ex. It’s definitely not something we could have all the time, but they made a fun weeknight dinner.
Only Here for the Food 
Sharon, if you want a less fattening verson of corn dogs, Rachel Ray’s 365 30-minute meals offers a baked version of the deep-fried corn dog. I tried it a few years ago and the only problem I had was making the batter stay on the hot dog while it was baking in the oven. The recipe asked for corn meal muffin batter and it was simply dipping the hot dog on a skewer into the batter. It actually turned out great, but you’d have to get creative to make the batter stay on the dog. Just a suggestion 🙂
FYI – Big City Cupcakes in downtown is now open.
FoodieMcPoon – thanks for the suggestion! I’ll have to keep that one in mind the next time Mack needs some meat to balance out vegetarian meals :).
Shermie – thanks!