Thursday, January 19, 2012

Store Bought vs. Home Made





Mini Corn Dogs







One of the biggest ways that we waste money is purchasing what is commonly referred to as convenience. In other words, we pay a higher price to have some company fix something for us that we bring home and pop in the oven to cook while we sit on our duffs. (I warned you about my opinions on here). Throughout this year I hope to show you very simple things to fix that you currently purchase at the store for much more than you should. I myself am a victim of this and this recipe is a perfect example.







The spouesoid loves mini-corn dogs. You know the kind that you can purchase for about 8 to a basket for about $5.00 or more from the local wing place (names withheld to protect my head) or the frozen kind you can purchase at the store. Now I recently purchased a box of these to try to see they would pass his taste buds (picky eater that he is) and he loved them. I was looking at the ingredients (stupid me) and again I came across words that I had no clue what these things are, but they are suppose to preserve the product!







Anyway, I paid $6.99 for a box of 60 of the little suckers which isn't a bad price I don't guess. I mean it comes out to $.11/ea. So not so bad right. But here's the thing. I was certain I could make them myself, just as good for cheaper and without any of the ingredients or additives that I can't pronounce let alone explain. Sure enough, I could make 60 of these little guys for $2.50 which equals out to $.04/ea.







Here's the recipe:






2 packages hot dogs (10 ct. ea) - cut each hot dog into thirds



1 egg, beaten



1/4 c. milk + 2 Tablespoons



1/4 c. cornmeal



1/2 cup flour



1/4 tsp.



1/2 tsp. baking powder



1 tbsp. sugar







Mix everything except the hot dogs together in a bowl.







I used a toothpick to put in the center of the hot dog and roll it in the batter. Now keep in mind that the batter is very thick so if you would like it thinner, add a little more milk but do it by one tablespoon at a time until it is the consistency you want. I will add a little more milk next time to think it out a little bit more as mine all seemed to have tails on them. LOL









Fry the little guys until golden brown.









And these guys can be frozen. After making a batch and eating what we want, I divided the remainder into packages to be frozen in the Seal-A-Meal packages.







Easy as can be and didn't much more time than the cooking instructions from the store bought packages. Consider these as a cheaper item to serve at your upcoming Superbowl parties.







Now, I'm not going to win any prizes for looks but they tasted great which is all that matters and I saved over $4 making them myself instead of purchasing them from the store. I can easily make these as a snack food to have during the upcoming Superbowl game.








2 comments:

  1. Susie Hieronymus O'Leary1/19/12, 4:02 PM

    I'm going to make my own premade "mixes" for recipes like this, mix several batches of the dry ingredients, seal in ziploc bags, write liquid ingredients, cook temps, other instructions on the bag. I hate the mess I make when measuring dry ingredients, plus "where is my baking powder?...", or "I thought I had more cornmeal?!" Dump, mix, cook! Thought it would be good for pancakes, cornbread, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great idea. I could do this and then seal the packets for a very long shelf life!!!!

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