Man am I glad WFMW is back! I’ve had this post ready for WEEKS!
Tired of grilling hotdogs? Want to get your kids excited about cooking? Hate stale hotdog buns? (If so, try Paris, where the street vendors impale baguettes for the best buns ever). Whatever your motive, Pigs in a Blanket were a big hit when I was little, and they’re a favorite with my kids now. They’re pretty cheap, too. They even have their own Wikipedia page.
And why not? One of the hardest things about living in Cairo was going without pork products. You never know how much you love a quality hotdog until you go without for a while. People have asked me how I put up with not drinking alcohol or coffee for my church, and all I can say is that as long as I’m allowed hotdogs and hot chocolate (and the occasional twice-daily Mountain Dew) I’m fine.
Susan was a great helper on the Banana Popsicles, but I can’t remember why she was so eager to help with the Pigs in a Blanket. Oh, right, might have been because she is a bottomless pit who makes teenage boys look like dieting supermodels.
Just the thought of eating gives her the warm fuzzies.
I’ve typed up a bare-bones recipe here. You can use any sturdy dinner roll recipe you like, but I’ve used the one my sister found. It’s easy and reliable, and Grandma asked for it after Thanksgiving dinner. You can subsitute some whole wheat flour if you like. The yeast-proofing stage isn’t strictly necessary, but I like to give it a headstart.
I had a friend in Cairo, Rebecca, who could never get yeast to work for her. She was an amazing artist and sewed and decorated and stuff. But she couldn’t work the yeast. I’d tell her to use “warm” water and that wasn’t very helpful to her. Too bad. It wasn’t very helpful to me when she described how to sew a kid’s Halloween costume, either. (Baking 911 has got some great yeast/bread tips).
My pizza cutter disappeared the one time that Dick unloaded the dishwasher. So now he gets to play with the kids while I work in my ‘office,’ and I get to use my fancy knife from Grampa to cut things like crescent rolls and quesadillas. It works surprisingly well.
Add some ketchup, or even better, some fry sauce, and you’re good to go. Oh, maybe a salad and some fruit, but your main dish is covered. It’s probably not hard to get your kids to eat hotdogs, but now you can get them cooking AND make the most delicious bun this side of the Seine.
Come back this weekend for the Back-to-School edition of Things That Must Go!
Tags: cooking with kids, hot dogs, pigs in a blanket, recipes
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Ooh! I bet my kids would love to help make these! And your Susan is such a cutie. What a good demonstrator.
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I’m thinking my 2 yr old might be able to handle this better than a traditional bun. He can’t seem to hold on to the dog, the bun, the condiments, open his mouth big enough — really, it’s challenging.
Beths last blog post..Summer 08
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Your friend Rebecca sounds like me! I’ve NEVER been able to make decent bread of any sort…even cornbread. Biscuits? No way! Anything with yeast is just a big fat waste of time, because it’ll just be thrown away. {sigh}
Cristans last blog post..Nice to meet you, Mr. Chesterton!
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That looks good! For family get togethers, one of our staple appetizers has always been the mini hot-dogs (or sausages) wrapped in crescent roll dough (cut into smaller triangles).
I think that Cairo would have been the death of me. No bacon? That’s just torture.
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I heart pigs in a blanket like you would not believe. And with fry sauce? Come to mama…
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When I first saw the picture, I just imagined using the pillsbury crescent rolls. But I should realize after reading your other recipe posts that you wouldn’t do store-bought…you are definitely too good a cook for that! I really need to do more from-scratch cooking. It looks and sounds soooo tasty.
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Love that second picture of her face. LOL! She is just beaming, with knowing that it’s all going to turn out perfectly.
Great picture.
Heather
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oh yummy! Love pigs in a blanket! I’ll have to try this from scratch, I too always cheat and use store bought dough.
Stephanies last blog post..Recipe Swap Box, Vintage Thingies Thursday and More Musikfest!
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You helper is so cute! Thanks for sharing your recipe. My kids would love these!
randis last blog post..the recipe box swap—garden fresh
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You are much too good for me. I use the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls that you crack out of the tube. They are good though! We eat chili with ours. Like we need chili with pigs in blankets!
MereCats last blog post..P-ahooooo-ush!
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What a great project to do together!
Muthering Heightss last blog post..Wordless Wednesday – A Comfy Foot Rest
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I must say, the Cap’n and I were a little skeptical when we first saw your WFMW topic, but, um, now we’re hungry.
Works for me, I guess we’ll be trying this, soon.
Mother Hens last blog post..Charlotte Mason – Masterly Inactivity
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I have started baking my own bread (buns, etc.) recently. I will have to see if my bread dough would work for pigs in a blanket (although we would never go through 16 of them!)
Honey Mommys last blog post..Make your own hair clips
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Those look so tasty and portable too! Gosh I wish I had some hot dogs in the fridge right now…
Amess last blog post..works for me wednesday: keeping kids safe online
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I will have to try this. The kids will love them!
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This is a fun idea to keep the kids involved that I will surely pass along to my friends who are searching for family friendly recipes!!
Jeni from Kansass last blog post..Works for Me: Clear Hairties
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Wow these look great. And what a precious model for the pictures. And I do get sick of stale hotdog buns.
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Mmmm…those look so good! It might be time for a midnight snack. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Kris @ Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolerss last blog post..Prayers, Please
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WOW – Homemade dough. I just assumed I’d see a can of crescent rolls. How awesome. It is times like this that I wish I had some children – I’d love to have Pigs in a Blanket but can’t justify making just 2!
I will be sending this tip to my sister, who would love to make these for her family.
Have a great day!
Kristin
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Looks yummy and I love the pictures, the looks on her face are precious.
Tamy ~ 3 Sides of Crazys last blog post..Scrumptious Sunday ~ National Pork Month ~ Traditional Carnitas – YUMMY!
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Gourmet pigs in a blanket! We always use canned crescent rolls but those look way more delish.
Beckys last blog post..Recipe Box Swap-Lunch
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I do this all the time for my daughter’s snack for school. But instead of using regular sized hotdogs, i use the Lil’ Links for a bite-size version. I never have the patience for making my own dough, though, so I just the ready-made crescent dough, and it works just as fine. In 15 minutes, i’m done!
tinas last blog post..Check this out!
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[...] Bringing Food Saved by kurotepuweb on Fri 05-12-2008 Values Saved by fabalv on Tue 18-11-2008 Pigs in a Blanket: Hotdogs, Yeast Dough, and Kids, Yu-um! Saved by tweakt on Sun 16-11-2008 Sexy Tailynn Naked Outdoors Saved by 11tut on Wed 12-11-2008 [...]
[...] requested a strawberry-flavored butterfly cake, pigs-in-a-blanket, peas and corn, and fruit salad. I had to remind her a couple times to include her cousin in the [...]
Those look yummy.
I’m guessing from the no coffee/alcohol comment, and the fry sauce, that you are LDS.
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I am about to make pigs in a blanket with breakfast sausage for the fam I cannot wait!!! I havn’t had pigs in a blanket since I was a kid and I found this recipe so I could find out what my oven should be on. But what I read something else that I did not know about and I am courious – WHAT IS FRY SAUCE!!!? It sounds yummy!!!
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ruthann Reply:
May 2nd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
YEAH! I am with Wendy……. What the heck is fry sauce????
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Jane Reply:
May 2nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Fry sauce is delicious — you can buy it commercially made (in Utah – or online: http://somedudesfrysauce.com/store/index.php), or you can mix up some mayo and ketchup, with a bit of mustard and maybe some garlic powder or onion salt. Sometimes I put in a bit of relish, but here’s a very simple recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fry-Sauce/Detail.aspx
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