So, if we’re being truthful, these are nothing like your typical carnival dog. Because Mommy Guilt. Truly.
My kids freaking love corndogs – honestly, I could probably dip a hat in cornmuffin batter, and they’d devour it. These muffins deliver the taste, but I get to control the quality (and variety!) of the ingredients. I used to make them in tiny mini-muffin bite sizes when my kids were little. Now, they’ll bite my hand right off if I approach them with such a small morsel … so muffin tins and popover pans it is!
Don’t forget, you need a different size of paper liners for a regular muffin tin than you do for a popover since the popover liners carry twice the volume.
I love the bright little pops of color and nutrition that broccoli gives, but feel free to add other veggies, or to add a center column of cheese instead of the hot dog itself. Plus, this is an easy one to turn into a gluten-free option.
Move over, carnival dog. My freezer wants to be fed.
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Label heavy-duty freezer bags, and fill with muffins (no need to flash freeze here!). Place muffins upright side by side, removing all air, on a jelly roll pan (while already in the bag) so that the bag of muffins holds its shape until it’s completely frozen, and then you can place it horizontally or vertically in your freezer, whatever works best. Or instead of freezer bags, use a vacuum sealer. Because a vacuum sealer is proof that there’s hope for humanity, y’all. Just make sure to stop the vacuum sealer before it crushes the fragile muffins.
To serve, place in chilled lunchbox – muffin will be thawed by lunch time. Otherwise, you may heat the muffin (we do 1 ½ minutes for one muffin, and add an extra minute per muffin from there on), or in the oven (we do 325 degrees for 20 minutes while kids are getting ready in the morning, though we prefer microwave).
You’ll need paper muffin liners (don’t get the foil wrappers for these! Foil muffin liners + Microwave = bad words in comments on my blog):
Here are links for Popover “Tulip Cup” liners, Regular Liners, or mini baking cups
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- RECIPE 1: Ridiculously-Easy Cinnamon Apple Chips
- RECIPE 2: Ridiculously-Easy-And-Totally-Worth-It Tomato Sauce
- RECIPE 3: Pesto Chicken Wraps (or Pesto-Mozzarella Wraps)
- RECIPE 4: Breakfast Burritos
- RECIPE 5: Broccoli Cheese Corndog Muffins
Okay… amazing! Just made these for my picky sons. My middle son exclaimed… “Mommy, where is it?… It’s in my tummy because I love it!”
Oh my lord, this is the best! I’m SO SO GLAD this went over so well! Thanks for your note, and please keep us in the loop about any future successes! WOOHOO!
-Emi.
I just wanted to say that my toddler DEMOLISHED these at preschool. A few days later I gave him some prefrozen mini frittatas instead (that he had devoured the week before) and the response was: “But Mommy I don’t like frittata, I like CORNDOG MUFFINS!!!”. Thanks so much for your awesome website, it’s so inspiring! This was finally what pushed me to convince my husband to buy a 7 cu ft chest freezer for lunches and breastmilk storage and I totally love it. 🙂
Woohoo on your little one setting so excited by these, and double WOOHOO!!! on welcoming a new member to the family – ahem – on purchasing a new freezer! Brings a tear to my eye and warms my heart ;).
Enjoy, and remember to send pics of your creations if you have’em! (Or of your lovely freezer – YAY!).
Emi.