#AD This hot dog sausage meal ideas feature is collaborative.
Are you looking for 15-minute child friendly meal ideas?
Now, more than ever parents are seeking minimal ingredient, easy to make meals that their children are guaranteed to eat that are inexpensive. With the chaos of home-schooling we just need to get kids’ dinner on the table as quickly as possible with as minimum of fuss as possible! Children can be picky eaters, our two-year-old is currently throwing more than she eats which, can make meal planning an impossible task. That is why we have created a list of our favourite simple, but tasty dinnertime ideas that include the-never-refused-by-small-people hot dog sausage.
Dinnertime favourites since 1949 Ye Olde Oak are available at most local supermarkets including Tesco. They are kid friendly, quick to cook (60 seconds in the microwave and 5 minutes on the hob!) and have a range of flavours from smoky American to spicy Peri Peri. As they are canned it means the packaging is 100% recyclable, they don’t take up freezer space and have a long shelf life.
We guarantee your kids will be licking their plates! P.s out ingredients lists don’t specify amounts as you may wish to cook for two or four and they are flexible based on what you feel your children will or will not eat. Suggestions are also offered if you are finding some items hard to find in store!
Spaghetti hot dog sausage bites.
Ingredients. Hot dog sausages, spaghetti, peppers, mushrooms, onion, garlic, passata or tomato paste, cheese.
Pasta is a daily staple in our home but hard to find in the supermarkets at the moment. We have found spaghetti much more available so have got creative with our cooking. Make mealtime fun with threaded spaghetti hot dogs. It’s a great way to get the kids involved with making dinner. Slice and sauté peppers, mushrooms, onions and garlic (whatever you know your child will eat). Chop them small, hidden vegetables get refused less in our house! Add passata or add a spoonful of tomato paste to a cup of hot water and let it simmer for five minutes. Add black pepper and if you are feeling chef-esk add basil and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Cut the sausages into chunks (about 0.5 cm) – If you like you can brown them in a pan for a few minutes. Thread the hard, uncooked spaghetti through the hot dog pieces like a necklace. About four pieces through one sausage piece works for us. Add the spaghetti to boiling salted water, cook for 10 minutes then drain and add to the tomato and veg sauce. You can stir in the cheese whilst its hot or let little ones sprinkle it on once plated up.
Hot Dog frittata.
Ingredients. Hot dog sausages, onion, eggs, milk, cheese, potato, frozen peas and spring onion.
Everyone makes frittata’s differently, mine is a kind of mutant Spanish omelette. Switch the oven on to 180C. Slice and boil up some potatoes for 10 minutes until tender, drain and cool. I like to fry them up for 3-5 minutes in a pan. I chop up three regular sized potatoes. Set aside. P.s the potatoes are just because I like the extra carb in the meal to fill up little tummies. Sauté the onion (here you can also add pepper and mushroom to pack in the veggies if you fancy) and set aside with the potatoes. Cut up the spring onions and put them in a bowl. Add the peas and cut up sausages (you can brown them before if wanted). Grate 100-150g of cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk in 4 eggs with 100ml milk and half the grated cheese. Why not try feta if your children are a bit older? Tip in the potatoes and veg and stir to combine. Heat the oil in the pan and pour in the frittata mixture. Scatter the remaining cheese over the top and cook over a medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes. About 5 minutes before it’s done, add to the oven or put under the grill for 5 minutes, until golden on top – set and cooked through.
Snake wrapped sausages.
A two-ingredient snack! Hot dog sausages, frozen puff pastry, ketchup and mustard as needed.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place hot dogs in a saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Drain. Roll out dough to half a cm thick and cut into cm long pieces. You can go smaller, but it gets fiddlier. Wrap pastry around the sausages, 2-4 pieces, place on baking sheet and bake until dough is golden and flakey (about 10 minutes). You can, before putting in the oven, put the sausages on a kebab skewer for ease of dipping dependent on the age of your children. This makes the perfect snack on its own or partner with simply steamed broccoli, carrot batons or frozen peas. This recipe can also be made with homemade pizza dough and can be eaten as-is or dipped in a variety of delicious sauces.
Hot dog toad in the hole.
Ingredients. Hot dog sausages, plain flour, eggs, and milk. Potatoes for mash, onions and stock or granules for gravy.
A British classic, this is the perfect Sunday meal with peas and gravy. Set the oven to a high temperature approximately 220°c. Brush a casserole dish with vegetable oil. Prepare the batter. Put 125g plain flour into a bowl and add 2 eggs. Whisk until smooth. Add 125ml of milk a little at a time and season. Use an electric whisk if you have one. Add a bit of sage if you fancy. Leave the mixture to stand for a further 2 minutes in the fridge. Cut the sausages in half and cook for 5-7 minutes in the oven to brown. Remove dish from oven and quickly add mixture from fridge. If the oil is not sizzling you can put it on the hob for a couple of minutes. Cook for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top – don’t be tempted to open the oven before the end of cooking time! Serve with onion gravy, mash and frozen peas. For gravy we cheat and fry up onions in a pan, add half a pint of gravy granules in boiled water, a sprinkle of pepper, a squeeze of brown sauce, a couple of teaspoons of Worcester sauce or one of mustard and cook over the heat for 3 minutes. If you want to make gravy from scratch, then please do! I made this with UHT milk yesterday as couldn’t find any fresh milk!
There is of course the classic hot dog in a bun with slices of cucumber and carrot on the side! Or how about spruce it up as a chilli cheese dog?
Helpful hint: If you have a farm shop nearby we find that is the best place to find eggs at the moment! If you are looking for an easy ‘afters’ recipe then why not try these yummy fridge and freezer cookies?
What are your go to kid approved timesaver meals?
