cheesy corn dog muffins: how to win over the hearts of your siblings

A delicious cheesy corn dog muffin!

Last night Mom, Dad and Gama went to a 5 course meal cooking demonstration as an early present for Gama's birthday! That meant I was in charge of cooking dinner for two picky teenagers, Gene and Chessie. 

My parents are what you'd call a power couple. They're both super busy with work, so we ate dinner out a lot this summer. Well the kids and I were absolutely sick of it, so mom woke up extra early before church on Sunday, fired up the crock pot and made her famous beef stew. I told my family that since I was home all week, I'd make sure they had home cooked meals every day and they LAUGHED! No one had faith in my cooking. How rude!

Well last night Gene and Chessie were stuck with me! So they had to experience my cooking. I decided to get creative and make something they would love. And I wowed the judges!

The inside of this tasty treat!

Cheesy Corn Dog Muffins 

(makes 12 muffins)

This recipe is very liberal. You don't have to add cheese, or you can use different kinds of cheese, cut the hot dogs however you want, and so on. It's up to you! Here's how I did it. My goal was to make the muffins extra cheesy, because who doesn't love cheese?!

Ingredients:

One block of sharp cheddar cheese

One bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or shred your own)

2 boxes prepared Jiffy corn muffin mix (as in, with the eggs and milk added, etc)

Cupcake paper (Last time I made these I didn't use the paper and they totally fell apart, so I highly recommend using paper!)

One package of Nathan's hot dogs (we used the bigger than bun kind)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Chop half the cheese block into small cubes.

3. Prepare corn muffin mix in a mixing bowl.

4. Add cubed cheese and a handful of shredded cheese to mix. Stir.

5. Check cheese-to-batter ratio. Add more cheese if needed.

6. Chop hot dogs into fourths.

7. Fill muffin tray with cupcake paper.

8. Use a spoon to fill each cupcake paper about half way with batter.

9. Add three pieces of hot dog to each cup.

10. Fill in the rest of the cups with batter, covering the hot dogs.

11. Bake for 15 to 20 mins. Let cool and enjoy!

This recipe is easy and doesn't take much time to prepare. It's a good one for kids to try, too! Even our dogs wanted to get in on the action.

Scruffy (left) and Peachy (right) anxiously watch as they wait for me to drop a piece of cheese. 

I served the muffins with baked beans and mac and cheese. The kids loved them and I got rave reviews like, "I think you're a better cook than mom!"

Of course I can cook, guys! I had to feed myself somehow while I was away at school!

It was nice to surprise my family, and I even packed leftovers for the kids' lunches for the next day! I'll admit, I'm a pretty awesome sister. :)