Take Me Out to the Ball Game- Bacon Wrapped Dogs

It's July 29th, and for us, baseball is finally over for the year. Two boys. Four teams. One Hundred and ten games (yes, I counted). Lots of : rain, wind, blankets, hand warmers, hot chocolate, umbrellas for rain/snow, Gatorade, licorice, candy, water bottles, Advil, ice, cameras, camcorder, thunder, lightning, folding chairs, sun, umbrellas for sun, sunscreen, hot dogs, fast food, sandwiches, Otter Pops, snow cones, coolers, more ice, seeds, seeds and more seeds.

This is baseball in March...watch the snow disappear...

love the dedicated fans in April...

This is baseball in June.

Last night was Stephen's last summer ball game. Ever. The summer before his Senior year. I love summer ball. Yes, it's hot. Often around 95 degrees when the game starts at 6 PM. As evening unfolds cool air comes, and soon, we are lounging in our chairs with the other parents. Cheering on the team with our bare feet resting in the long cool grass. Everyone is a little more relaxed during summer ball. The high school season is a little too intense for me at times (to put it mildly).

Jake plays on competition and rec 12 year old teams. They had a great time winning their league this year (both teams). His comp team placed third at a tournament in Omaha, NE.

yeah, we're 12.

Enjoying a CWS game.

Enjoying hot dogs at the game.

The boys played ball during the day. At night, we went to the College World Series games. So much fun. Good kids, great parents. Hard workers. Love for the game. Dedicated coaches. Chemistry. This little team (they would hate that description!) isn't perfect. Errors are made, strike outs, injuries etc. But the kids love to play together. The coaches and parents believe in the kids and the kids believe in each other.
So it's over, for a few months...No more dinners at 9 PM- after filling up on junk. No more big umbrellas. Or toting chairs up to the field. No more 2-3 hour blocks of chatting with friends, family and fans who came to watch, just because they love your kid, or the game, or both. Or sitting on the hot bleachers. Or yelling at the ump. Yeah, you know who you are...Grant, Michelle, Mindy. No more. Till next season.
In honor of the '09 season. Fire up the grill and enjoy some bacon wrapped stuffed dogs. Almost as good as being at the ballpark. Almost.


Take me out to the Ball Game Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs
Adapted from - Elise at Simply Recipes

print recipe

2 teaspoon ketchup
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 large hot dogs
4 ounce cheddar cheese, cut into long sticks
4 Tbsp chopped onion
1 1/2 cups refrigerated sauerkraut, drained, roughly chopped
8 slices bacon
vegetable oil
8 long hot dog buns

Preheat grill - medium high heat.
Mix together the ketchup and mustard in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the sauerkraut with the chopped onion, set aside. Slice open the hot dogs, down the center, lengthwise, forming a deep pocket in each, but not cutting all the way through. Coat the inside of each hot dog with the mustard ketchup mixture.
Place a strip of cheese deep within the pocket of each hot dog. Top with sauerkraut and onions.
Wrap a strip of bacon around each stuffed hot dog, securing with toothpicks at each end. Make sure you wrap tight enough so that the stuffing stays in, but not so tight so that when the hot dog expands will cooking the bacon would tear.
Coat grill surface with vegetable oil so that the hot dogs don't stick.Place the stuffed hot dogs on the grill, stuffing side down. Grill for 2 minutes, until the bacon on that side is cooked, turn the hot dogs a quarter turn and grill for a couple more minutes. Continue to grill for a few minutes each on all sides until the bacon is cooked. Cover the grill in between turnings to help with the cooking.
During the last minute of cooking, open up the hot dog buns and place them open-side down on the grill to lightly toast.
Remove the hot dogs and buns from the grill. Remove the toothpicks from the hot dogs, place them in the buns and serve.

Tips:
-Make sure you buy a good quality hot dog. Hebrew National (my fave) or Nathan's are the best.

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