Big Game Celebrations with French's® @ Kroger (Jalapeño Pretzel Dogs Recipe)

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of McCormick & Company. The opinions and text are mine. #RealFlavorsHaveCrunch #Frenchs

Looking to make Game Day even more special? Offer guests these French’s® Jalapeño Pretzel Dogs, and everyone will be asking for the recipe! Your home may just become the new entertaining spot for football games this season.

I had a blast creating this recipe, which I found on the French’s website, here. Better yet, there is a recipe video that made this recipe extremely easy to follow. I love when things work out like that, especially when I am prepping to host people for football games or any other occasion.

Below, I served the French’s Ketchup and Classic Yellow Mustard in mini red cups, which I thought was so appropriate for a football party.

I was also able to shop at my local Kroger for everything, which made for a one-stop shopping trip – also a win! Starting on January 21, 2018 there will be coupon inserts in your local newspaper for the French’s products.

I love the taste that the French's Crispy Fried Jalapeños, French's Classic Yellow Mustard, and the French's Ketchup added to this recipe. This was my third time using these crispy fried jalapeños, and WOW, they were so perfect for this (and great for so many other meals too).

They added a crunchy, spicy kick because they’re made with real jalapeños! Be sure to let guests know that they are a tad bit on the spicy side, and possibly even use the French’s Crispy Fried Onions if you are not partial to spicy foods.

Jalapeño Pretzel Dogs

INGREDIENTS (Makes 12 Servings):

USER RATING:

❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉

Prep Time: 15 Minutes  Cook Time: 10 Minutes

1 Can Refrigerated Pizza Dough (11 oz.)

12 Hot Dogs (I used the ones with cheddar inside)

3 Tbsp. baking soda
water
5 oz. French's Crispy Fried Jalapeños , crushed (I used almost one whole container)
 

DIRECTIONS:

1.) PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

2.) BRING a large pot of water to a boil. Add hot dogs and boil for 3 minutes. Once hot dogs are cooked, allow to cool enough to handle.

3.) WHILE cooking hot dogs, roll out pizza dough and cut into 12 - 1/2 inch strips lengthwise. (There may be dough leftover; twist into bread sticks and bake – I coated these breadsticks with butter when they came out of the oven and they were great). Spread the crushed jalapeños in a pie dish.

4.) LADLE one cup of the boiling water from the hot dogs into a bowl big enough to fit hot dogs. Add baking soda and stir until dissolved.

5.) WRAP each hot dog with one strip of dough, twisting it around and back. Leave a 1/2 inch space at each end. When hot dogs are wrapped, carefully dip each into water mixture being sure to cover. I rolled the hot dogs around in the baking soda water and it worked great.

6.) GENTLY roll each hot dog in crushed jalapeños and place on baking sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Bake until browned on top. Serve with French’s Ketchup and Classic Yellow Mustard.

I loved how these Jalapeño Pretzel Dogs turned out and I hope you do as well! I consider them the more interesting version of pigs in a blanket, and they made for a wonderful solution for a unique and tasty game day recipe. With French’s Ketchup offering qualities like non-GMO, no high-fructose corn syrup, no gluten and no artificial flavors and preservatives, you can actually feel good about your condiments and what you are offering guests.

PLUS leftovers are always delicious! French’s Classic Yellow Mustard is considered America’s best loved mustard, and is made with #1 grade mustard seeds – perfect to pair with these Jalapeño Pretzel Dogs and so many other delicious game day treats.

So many people have asked me for this recipe, and I was more than happy to share it with them.

Enjoy this recipe for game day, after school, other occasions, and more!

PIN IT FOR LATER...

Vegan Dairy-Free Yogurt Parfait Cups Recipe - Healthier Snack + Dessert Alternative

This delicious alternative to ice cream or other sweets wound up tasting delicious! Get the recipe for these Dairy-Free Frozen Yogurt Parfaits, created in partnership with Ripple Yogurt and Kroger. 

Could you ever imagine eating dairy-free yogurt? That may seem sort of the norm these days, but can you imagine eating yogurt created from peas? I had a great time experimenting with a fun recipe idea that's been on my mind for some time now - frozen yogurt parfait cups with graham cracker + oat crusts! 

INGREDIENTS:

1-3 flavors of Ripple yogurt (I used strawberry, vanilla, and blueberry)

10 Graham Crackers (choose honey free for true vegan), crushed into an even consistency

5 Tbsp melted Vegan Butter, such as Earth Balance Organic 

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

Blackberries, kiwi, and any other fruit for toppings

Other items: silicone muffin cups, muffin tin, spoon for mixing

These Dairy-Free Frozen Yogurt Parfaits are inspired by Ripple yogurts, available at Kroger!

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.) For the crust: melt butter in a medium bowl, and add crushed graham crackers, oats, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. 

2.) Fill prepared silicone or paper cupcake liners with crust mixture 1/3-1/2 and bake for 5-7 minutes at 350* F.

3.) One cooled, fill cupcake liners the rest of the way with yogurt. Freeze for 30 minutes, and then top with chopped fruits. Freeze at least 1 more hour, until cups are completely frozen. Remove them from the cupcake tin, and remove the wrappers, and reveal your beautiful layers of dairy-free, vegan ingredients!What a tasty snack!

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In 2015, Ripple founder set out to separate the fats from peas and create a milk-lie substitute that is great for people who want an alternative to dairy (source: Food&Wine). "Dubbed Ripptein, the additive strips away plant flavors and leaves behind only protein, according to Fast Company. (That's one reason Ripple's pea milk doesn't taste like liquefied legumes.).

Now, I will admit, this yogurt does have less of a smooth texture than I was used to, but once I froze this yogurt into these delicious fro yo cups, everything was divine! Feel free to try this recipe out with any mixture of yogurt, fruit, and other ingredients that you would like!

"From a biochemical standpoint, milk is protein, and fat, and sugar," Neil Renninger, Ripple cofounder and co-CEO, told Fast Company. "There are plenty of plant sugars you can use, and plenty of plant fats. There are also plenty of plant proteins you can use, but the problem is that they all taste like the plant they derive from. We had to figure out how to make a plant protein that didn't taste like a plant protein."

The company's new pea half-and-half, which Fast Company says dissolves into coffee "like the real thing, without the calories," launches in July, while customers may have to wait until the end of this year—or possibly early next year—for its yogurt.

Renninger admitted neither the half-and-half nor the yogurt were easy to create. For example, "with half-and-half, the challenge was getting something that worked well in coffee, but also would work well in a culinary situation," he said. "It's a bit of a balance providing that creaminess and a clean taste. Protein is an important part of the creaminess in half-and-half, but if you don't have clean protein, you can't get that creaminess without adding off flavors."

St. Patrick's Day Snack Mix Recipe

Looking for something sweet, salty, and crunchy to make for St. Patrick's Day?

Here's a tasty idea, that incorporates yummy green shamrock marshmallows, pretzels, cereal, all covered in white chocolate and green sprinkles!

Ooh, yum, this is good! Read on to learn how fun and easy it was to make, and let me know, in the comments below, if you wind up creating something like this of your own. Enjoy :)

1 Bag of White Chocolate Chips

1 Part Lucky Shamrock Cereal 

1 Part Square Pretzels

1 Part Rice or Corn Check Cereal

Lime Green + Regular Green Sprinkles

This was SO easy to create, and it tastes SO good! What a fun and festive treat to make for St. Patty's Day or really any day :) I was originally looking for traditional "Lucky" Cereal, but was really excited to find the one with green shamrocks in it instead. Here's how you make it!

1.) In a medium bowl, add equal parts of shamrock cereal, check cereal, and pretzels. Mix to combine, then pour onto a baking sheet.

2.) Melt white chocolate chips in a microwave for around 45 seconds on high, stir, then melt again after stirring for another 15 or so seconds. That last little burst of heat really did the trick, and these morsels melted smoothly and were so easy to work with.

3.) Pour the white chocolate evenly over the cereal mixture, and stir with two large spoons - one spoon just made a mess :) 

4.) Cover with sprinkles, and since it cooled pretty quickly, I was able to disperse into small bowls right after mixing and adding my sprinkles! This would be so cute for a party or to have around the house this St. Patty's Day! 

PIN IT FOR LATER...

Real Strawberry Muffins With Pink Icing

I wanted to make something with strawberries for Valentine's Day and here they are! The muffins don't need the icing, but it sure made them cute. I used mini muffin tins, and they were perfectly bite sized. These muffins were very moist, so make sure you cook them thoroughly. 

STRAWBERRY MUFFINS FROM SCRATCH

2 C. all purpose flour

1/3 C. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 C. milk

1/4 C. vanilla yogurt

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 1/2 C. fresh strawberries, hulled and finely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix all ingredients except for strawberries. 

Here is my muffin batter before I added the strawberries and sugar. 

Below, I pureed the strawberries and added them to my batter. I also added 2 drops of food coloring to enhance the pink color for the photos :)

Bake the mini muffins for 15-18. Now, make your icing. 

I made a simple icing in my food processor. Add all ingredients, and process until combined. Scrape sides to incorporate any extra ingredients. Pour into smaller bowl to spoon onto muffins. 

ICING INGREDIENTS -  Original Recipe

1 Tbsp Butter - 1 C. Powdered Sugar - 1-2 Tbsp milk - 1/4 tsp vanilla - 2 tsp. fruit - Food Coloring

Have fun with this recipe, and enjoy!!

Bacon-Wrapped Pineapple Rings

I have a real treat for you! The perfect mid-afternoon snack to eat on a snowy Sunday... Bacon-Wrapped Pineapple Rings! They taste super good and are actually fun to create. It took a little bit of time, but they were easy none the less. 

WHAT YOU NEED:

* 4 - 5 Pineapple Rings (We bought a fresh pineapple that was packaged near the fruit coolers, and cut them into super thick slices). A Can of pineapple also works. 

* 10 slices (1 Package) of Thinly Sliced Bacon (I like Applegate Organic)

* Toothpicks or short skewer sticks.

* Metal Baking Rack - place into baking dish

*Shallow 9x13 Baking Dish

INSTRUCTIONS:

* Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Open the package of bacon, and prepare/cut/or drain your pineapples. Set out a decent amount of toothpicks into a shallow dish so they are easy to use.

*To construct: Set one pineapple ring onto a cutting board or clean surface. Take the first slice of bacon, begin to wrap it around the pineapple, and continue with 1-2 more pieces of bacon per ring. Secure with toothpicks. Now, place each Bacon Pineapple Ring onto the Baking Rack.

* Bake for 15-20 minutes, on the top rack of the oven. You may need up to ten minutes more, depending on your oven. Make sure you do not burn them, and enjoy!