Garlic Style Pigs in a Blanket

Alright I need to know something...who the heck decided that a hot dog, wrapped in dough, was called a pig in a blanket? I mean I get it...most hot dogs or made out of random pig meat and when you wrap it in dough it is like a blanket, but come on now.....no one could think of anything else? I mean obviously I couldn't either, since I still titled this recipe "Pigs in a Blanket". I just think they need a name that doesn't scream "I am 5 and need my meat cut up for me". I want it to have a name that doesn't tell everyone "I love childrens food", which I do. My sisinlaw likes to point that out to me. Macaroni and cheese, pizza, hot dogs, applesauce...you name it...if a toddler loves it, so do I. My nephew Zach (he's 1 1/2) and I know where it is at :)

In the past though, pigs in a blanket was one toddler food I didn't love.  I would have used store bought dough (before I honed my bread making skills) and made these...well I never...ever...thought these tasted good with that store bought dough. The dough was never cooked enough and it just wasn't good (It could also be the fact I was a horrible cook once upon a time, so maybe it wasn't all the store bought doughs fault). Well last week I decided to give the pigs in a blanket another shot...the difference would be I would use my Whole Wheat Bread stick Dough. It is one of my favorite recipes and is made once a week in my household. It is used for pizza dough, bread sticks, and now pigs in a blanket. They were AMAZING! I added some melted butter, parsley, and garlic salt to the tops. Everyone loved them. These are definitely a dinner that are not just for the toddlers in the family :) These were simple to make and the red heads were even able to help me. We paired it with some yummy broccoli salad.

You will find these in this weeks meal plan.

Pigs in a Blanket with Broccoli Salad

1 package hot dogs (I buy these in bulk at Costco)

prepared whole wheat bread stick dough

Bread Stick Dough

2 ¼ tsp yeast

1tsp sugar

¾ cup warm water

1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour*

½ tsp salt

2 tbl butter

2 tsp garlic (I used already minced garlic in a jar)

1 tsp Parmesan cheese

*You can use whole wheat or a mixture of half whole wheat/half white flour.

Combine yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl. Mix until combined and yeast starts to bubble around the edge of the mixture. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Yeast mixture will be bubbly after the 5 minutes. Next add flour and salt. Mix until a ball of dough forms. Knead for about 5 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes. Follow directions below to make pigs in a blanket.

-Roll out dough into an 8 x 8 rectangle. Take a pizza cutter or knife and cut strips of dough. Wrap dough around hot dogs. Press to seal the ends (where the dough finishes wrapping around. You will still have the hot dogs poking out at the ends).

Brush garlic butter on top of each “pig in a blanket”

Ina small bowl mix melted butter, parsley, and garlic salt. Brush onto bread sticks. Cook for 8-10 minutes at 500'.

Broccoli Salad

2 bunches of fresh broccoli cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 red onion, cut into thin bite sized slices

6-10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

3/4 cup raisins or craisins

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Combine broccoli with the red onion, bacon, and raisins in a large bowl. To prepare the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together until smooth. Stir into the salad. Let salad chill for about 3 hours. It may not seem like enough dressing but after it chills the dressing marinates and is plenty. This also allows the flavors to meld.

Print Recipe HERE

Print This Weeks Menu Plan HERE

XO Danielle