Add some fun to your kids meals with this cute doggy hot dogs recipe! Perfect for party food, barbecues and fun meals at home!
Sponsored Post
Today I'm really excited to be able to share with you some extra special fun meal ideas for kids that I've created to celebrate the launch of new Heinz Tomato Ketchup No Added Sugar & Salt. I've put together three brand new meal designs, starting with this fun Doggy Hot Dog!
As I was already buying Heinz Tomato Ketchup with 50% less sugar and salt for my family, I was really impressed when I noticed that they have brought out a brand new Heinz Tomato Ketchup with absolutely no added sugar and salt and I tested it on my boys at the first opportunity.
I didn't mention that it was a new type of ketchup and they didn't notice any difference - just happily wolfed it down as they always do! I tasted it myself too and I'm happy to report that it still has the delicious classic Heinz taste. This is definitely going to be my new go-to family tomato ketchup from now on!
Having Heinz Tomato Ketchup No Added Sugar & Salt available is really great for family meal times. I've found that my youngest son (who is going through a bit of a fussy eating stage at the moment), is much more likely to eat his veggies if he has something to dip them in, and ketchup is top of his favourite dip list!
Knowing that there's no sugar and salt in the ketchup means I'm much happier to let him splodge some on his plate for 'dippy dip dipping' those healthy veggies - as parents we have to go with whatever works, right?!
When making hot dogs for my kids I like to substitute the traditional hot dog sausages with good quality fresh ‘proper’ British sausages instead. When choosing which to use, look for sausages with a high meat content and lower saturated fat and salt for the healthiest option. I think they taste much better too and you can even sneak in some extra veggies as I did in my hot dogs with rainbow veggies recipe.
I've given instructions below for one hot dog but of course you can make as many as you need for your family. You could even make up a whole pack of Doggy Hot Dogs on a platter for fun party food or a barbecue feast. Mums and Dads might like their own Doggy themed hot dogs too, or just leave them plain for the adults if they aren't feeling playful!
Doggy Hot Dog
Ingredients (serves 1):
- 1 good quality sausage
- 1 medium carrot
- ¼ cucumber
- ¼ red pepper
- 1 hot dog bun
- Heinz Tomato Ketchup No Added Sugar & Salt
- Heinz Mild Yellow Mustard (optional)
Method:
Cook the sausage according to pack instructions.
While the sausage is cooking, prepare the rest of the meal.
Peel the carrot, then cut off a chunk about 5cm long at the thicker end. Cut off two slices for the ears, then round off one end of each slice using a mini circle cutter or by cutting free-hand with a knife. Cut a long thin sliver for the tail.
From the thinnest end of the cucumber, cut two small circles for eyes. Slice off a small sheet of cucumber skin and from it cut an oval for the nose and two tiny circles to add to the eyes.
Cut a slice around 2cm wide from the red pepper and round off the end for the tongue.
Cut the remaining vegetable pieces into sticks to serve on the side of your hot dog, and place on the plate.
Split the bun in half horizontally. Once the sausage is fully cooked, place on the bottom piece of the bun and drizzle with Heinz Tomato Ketchup No Added Sugar & Salt and Heinz Mild Yellow Mustard if wanted.
Place the top on the bun and add the vegetable dog features, 'gluing' them in place with dabs of ketchup if needed. Draw on the mouth with ketchup and push the pepper tongue into the bun to finish.
Transfer to the plate and serve immediately with the crunchy vegetable sticks on the side.
Note: No hot dog is complete without yummy mustard in my opinion, so I added some Heinz Mild Yellow Mustard to ours. If your kids don't enjoy mustard, feel free to leave it out.
Don't forget to check out the other two fun meals that I made for this project; Cute Caterpillar Chicken Kebabs and Fishy Boats with Carrot Starfish!
And you might like these other fun Heinz inspired meal ideas:
If you enjoyed these fun meal ideas, be sure to check out the Fun Food Tutorials section here on the blog for loads more ideas and recipes for making food fun for kids! You'll also find plenty of family meal inspiration over in my Family Meal Ideas section too.
Heinz Tomato Ketchup No Added Sugar & Salt is available in supermarkets now, priced at £1.99 for a 400ml bottle. You can find out more about the full Heinz Tomato Ketchup range including the new variety over on the Heinz website.
Grace
Disclosure: This blog post was commissioned by Heinz. I was compensated for my time and the cost of ingredients, however all opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Doggy Hot Dog
Ingredients
- 1 good quality sausage
- 1 medium carrot
- ¼ cucumber
- ¼ red pepper
- 1 hot dog bun
- Heinz Tomato Ketchup No Added Sugar & Salt
- Heinz Mild Yellow Mustard optional
Instructions
- Cook the sausage according to pack instructions.
- While the sausage is cooking, prepare the rest of the meal.
- Peel the carrot, then cut off a chunk about 5cm long at the thicker end. Cut off two slices for the ears, then round off one end of each slice using a mini circle cutter or by cutting free-hand with a knife. Cut a long thin sliver for the tail.
- From the thinnest end of the cucumber, cut two small circles for eyes. Slice off a small sheet of cucumber skin and from it cut an oval for the nose and two tiny circles to add to the eyes.
- Cut a slice around 2cm wide from the red pepper and round off the end for the tongue.
- Cut the remaining vegetable pieces into sticks to serve on the side of your hot dog, and place on the plate.
- Split the bun in half horizontally. Once the sausage is fully cooked, place on the bottom piece of the bun and drizzle with Heinz Tomato Ketchup No Added Sugar & Salt and Heinz Mild Yellow Mustard if wanted.
- Place the top on the bun and add the vegetable dog features, 'gluing' them in place with dabs of ketchup if needed. Draw on the mouth with ketchup and push the pepper tongue into the bun to finish.
- Transfer to the plate and serve immediately with the crunchy vegetable sticks on the side.
Notes
Enjoy this fun meal idea? Why not save it to Pinterest so you can easily find it again!
Dems Banjo says
Thanks Grace!!
This looks really good. And i am positive that my children will love it. I will give it a try. Thanks for sharing.
Gerben says
I love the way you transform a simple food into an attractive dish for children. My brother doesn't eat that much normally, when I dressed the hot dog this way he was sold out. I also love how you use the vegetables in the dish. I do regret that it takes quite a long time to prepare it. It is certainly not a dish that will satisfy your hunger. That's why I prefer to use it as an evening meal. I want to thank you for the beautiful recipe and ask you to definitely continue.
Erin says
Really good sweetie.