Bacon Cheeseburger Dogs

Yes, you read that right. Keep reading and get cooking!!!

 There are links on the web for these cute tasty dogs. (not the one under the grill--which reminds me of a Laurel and Hardy skit!). They can be found on Allrecipes.com under All American Burger Dogs or here.  The last link is rather fun- It also has super easy peasy instructions. I usually have Jon help with each step and the photography. Since he wasn't around, Steve did it! He did a VERY good job. 

I would recommend assembling the ingredients and making the dogs ahead of time. 

INGREDIENTS: ground meat, seasonings, cheese to cut up into sticks, bacon, and hot dog buns. OTHER ITEMS: cling wrap, meat thermometer, grill. 

As you can see, they are simple. Whatever you want to add to your meat is up to you. Spices, bread crumbs, whatever! 

The first step is to make a squarish patty as long as a hot dog bun. I put them on cling wrap for ease of clean up and because they are faster to wrap. Put the cheese strip on one edge and roll it up inside the patty. 

 
 Most of the dog recipes mention the use of bacon, but don't add it. I did. Get thin stuff you can curl around your dog. MMMMM.

 When your dogs are wrapped in a bacon blanket, I then secure them in plastic. This helps secure them before grilling. Also, if you refrigerate them, they will keep their shapes nice like every well behaved pup on parade!

 UNWRAP them before cooking (yeah, no brainer, but sometimes people don't think!)

 Cook thoroughly-This is where I highly suggest using a meat thermometer. (135-150 degrees) Remember there is cheese inside and only put the thermometer in the meat portion of your dog.

 The cheese may escape from 'holes' in your dog. This is ok. Except, you are losing all that yumminess

 Place them on your prepared hot dog bun and ENJOY!

 Ours were a tad dryer than I'd like. Which is why I think we should have used a meat thermometer. Crunchy, gooey in spots, and filling!

I was very impressed with these guys and anticipate Jon and Steve will make them without me, just for fun!

Father's Day-Critter Section!

We spent the afternoon of Father's Day at the Gattenby's. On the way, before the bridge over the river, Kenai, I saw my first caribou. The best part was this one (who is molting) who looked up at the person walking past our car as I took a picture!!! And yes, it seems SILLY that I grew up here, lived next to the river for a time, and am only seeing these things for the first time now.

 Their house has a lot of critters!! Many kinds of birds and two black dogs.

 The largest goose is called 'The Old Man' (I believe) and is rather tame.

 When we got back to mom's house, we watched a parent chickadee feed her baby. The baby can fly, but it appears it still needs help eating!

 I took this photo on Saturday. It is a sad picture. The baby golden eye duckling on the pallet has been alone for several days. It got separated from its parent and she won't accept him back. He doesn't have anything wrong with him--he DOES peep rather loudly on occasion--but it appears the little one is surviving. I wish someone else would adopt him, though. I was thankful the mallards ignored him instead of fighting with and/or killing him. I've been calling him 'Pippin'.