Wienie-Lottas

Better Homes and Gardens Casserole Cook Book (1969)

This may be one of the easiest recipes I've yet gotten away with. It's perfect if, like me, you're having a busy spring and can't dedicate a lot of time to making hot, delicious meals for your family. Or, you know, iof you're just lazy. Also like me.

In my defense, the recipe for "Wienie-Lottas" (get it?  It kind of sounds like 'enchilada', only you don't have to fool with any of that left-leaning foreign spelling!) looked a lot more complicated on paper, mostly owing to the fact that in 1969, apparently, one couldn't dash down to the local five and dime and pick up a bottle of enchilada sauce, but had to make it oneself.  

I wasn't about to work that hard, but if you're so inclined, have at it. Here's the recipe:

8 to 10 frozen tortillas
2 10 1/2 ounce cans chili without beans
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
6 to 8 drops bottled hot pepper sauce
1 pound (8 to 10) frankfurters
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup seeded and chopped canned green chili peppers
4 ounces sharp natural Cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Cook tortillas in water according to package directions. Combine next three ingredients. Place a frank on each tortilla; top each with 2 tablespoons chili mixture (reserve remaining). Roll tortillas around franks. Arrange, seam side down, in 12x71/2x2-inch baking dish. Combine remaining chili mixture and tomato sauce and pour over tortillas. Sprinkle with chili peppers. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Top with cheese. Serves 4 or 5.

Now, here's my version, with modifications:

1 package frozen tortillas, which you got for free from Maria at Maria's Taqueria because her order was mixed up and she had an extra pallette of tortillas
1 package hot dogs
1 jar enchilada sauce
1 package shredded Cheddar Cheese

Thaw tortillas in microwave. Roll 1 hot dog in each tortilla. Dump enchilada sauce over the top. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Top dish with as much cheese as you want (and admit it, you probably want the whole package) and bake for another 5 minutes. Top decoratively with cilantro.

So, there you have it. It's hot dogs in tortillas with enchilada sauce and melted cheese. So, perfection, essentially.  Here's what Dr. Husband thought:

Our Rating: Two Screaming Husbands!
(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)

Frankfurter Salad Loaf

Frankfurter Salad Loaf
Better Homes and Gardens "Salad Book" ca. 1969,  p. 123

The "in" snack for teen get-togethers! proclaims Better Homes and Gardens Salad Book, above the recipe for this concoction.  And indeed, if my experience is any gauge, this is only an "in" snack in the sense that teens will eat anything you set before them, and eat all of it, and not complain.

But perhaps Frankfurter Salad Loaf has something of a timeless appeal, judging by Dr. Husband's warm reception.

I must admit that I didn't have very high hopes when reading the ingredients on paper, but once I started assembling the dish and realized I was dealing with the two greatest foods in the history of mankind - hot dogs and French onion dip - my hopes raised considerably.

Here you go, the recipe in all its glory:
1 unsliced loaf French bread, 18 to 20 inches long
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 cup dairy sour cream
2 tablespoons dry onion soup mix
2 tablespoons mustard-style hot dog relish
4 or 5 frankfurters, thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped celery 

Cut lengthwise slice from top of bread; set top aside. Scoop out loaf to within 3/4 inch of bottom and sides. Spread inside of loaf and cut side of top with butter. Wrap loaf in foil, leaving cavity uncovered. Combine sour cream, onion soup mix, and relish; stir in frankfurter slices and celery. Spoon frankfurter mixture into hollow of loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. During last 5 minutes of baking, place reserved top of loaf in oven to toast. To serve, place top on loaf; cut loaf into 1 1/2-inch slices. Serves 12.

I will admit to not using the called-for half-pound of butter; instead I brushed the bread cavity with olive oil. (I'm certain it made a huge difference in my health after topping it with the hot dog-sour cream glop.)  I sliced the hot dogs into rounds, and as you'll see in the video, I maybe should have sliced lengthwise for ease of eating.  Cooking is so hard when there aren't accompanying pictures!

After a brief commercial message, you'll see that Dr. Husband was pleasantly surprised with the results:

Our Rating: One Screaming Husband!

(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)