Corn Dog Casserole

Easy dinners are essential for making school days uncomplicated. This Corn Dog Casserole is just the meal to ease back-to-school stress for you and your family. We have taken out the top eight allergens, but the recipe can be modified to use your favorite ingredients if you don’t have to worry about allergens. See our “Recipe Notes” for suggestions. We have included a quick and easy chili recipe, but to make things as simple as possible, feel free to purchase your favorite prepared chili. Have you ever wondered why cornbread has been considered the cornerstone of Southern cuisine when all parts of the country have long made the bread? Could it be because it was the primary bread eaten in the South from the Colonial days well into the 20th century? In fact, when the Southern Foodways Alliance needed a title for their series of books collecting the best Southern food writings, they choose Cornbread Nation. Mark Twain, a leading writer of late 19th century America with his works The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, wrote in his autobiography, “The North thinks it knows how to make cornbread, but this is a gross superstition.” You don’t have to worry about finding a good Southern recipe for cornbread, because Bob’s Red Mill has mastered cornbread and created mixes. We are using their gluten free mix in this recipe. Mark Twain would definitely approve, so let’s get cooking! Now that we have everything ready, we’re going to cook the hot dogs. While they cool, we make our flaxseed eggs, or if an egg allergy is not an issue, we can use 2 whole eggs. We combine the eggs, milk, melted butter or margarine and add them to Bob’s cornbread mix. When combined, we fold in green chilies and cheese. This goes into a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish and is topped with the hot dogs and cooked for approximately 25 minutes. While it’s cooking, you can heat up your favorite canned chili or you can make the chili recipe provided below. When the cornbread is out of the oven and slightly cooled, cut in squares and enjoy with hot chili.

Corn Dog Casserole

Makes 10-12 servings Free of gluten and all top allergens Cornbread:

• 2 Tbsp Flaxseed Meal (see Recipe Notes)
• 6 Tbsp lukewarm Water
• 1 (20 oz) package Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix
• 1 ½ cups Hemp Milk (see Recipe Notes)
• ½ cup dairy free, soy free margarine, such as Earth Balance, melted and cooled to room temperature (see Recipe Notes)
• 1 (4 oz) can diced Green Chilies, drained
• 1 cup Cheddar-Style Shreds, such as Daiya (see Recipe Notes)
• 6 Hot Dogs, cut in half crosswise

Chili

• 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Onion, diced
• ½ cup Celery, diced
• Pinch of Salt
• 1 tsp Garlic, minced
• 1 ¼ tsp Paprika
• ½ tsp Oregano
• 2 tsp ground Cumin
• ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
• ¼ tsp Onion Powder
• ¼ tsp Cayenne
• Pinch Chipotle Powder
• 1 (28 oz) can diced Tomatoes with juices
• 1 (15 oz) cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15.5 oz) can Pinto Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15.5 oz) can Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen Corn, thawed
• 1 cup allergy-friendly Vegetable Broth

For the cornbread, preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Set aside. Preheat skillet over medium-high heat. Cook hot dogs until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Set aside. In a small bowl whisk together flaxseed meal and water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Place cornbread mix in large bowl. Return to flaxseed mixture and whisk again. The consistency will be gelatinous. In a small bowl, combine flaxseed mixture, milk and dairy-free margarine. Pour over cornbread and mix until blended, then mix vigorously for 30 seconds more. Fold in green chilies and cheddar-style shreds. Spread batter evenly into prepared casserole dish. Arrange the hot dogs halves on batter in two rows of six. Slightly press into the batter, but not completely covering hot dogs. Bake until cornbread is golden brown, about 25 minutes. For the chili, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions, celery and pinch of salt, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and spices and cook 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, beans, corn and vegetable broth. Increase the heat to medium-high. Simmer for 30 minutes. Notes:

• If an egg allergy is not an issue, use 2 eggs lightly whisked in place of the flaxseed meal and lukewarm water.
• If a milk allergy is not an issue, use milk of choice in place of hemp milk, butter of choice in place of dairy free, soy free margarine, and your favorite shredded cheddar cheese in place of cheddar-style shreds.

Joel and Mary Schaefer are the husband-and-wife team behind yourallergychefs.com, and share a passion for teaching allergy-friendly and gluten free cuisine to food service professionals and consumers alike. Joel, a certified chef de cuisine, is the former Special Dietary Manager at Walt Disney World who developed the food allergy program used across the Disney properties and cruise line. Mary is a certified executive pastry chef, and an expert in gluten free baking. Joel lives with gluten and milk intolerance. Mary has recently been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and sensitivities to gluten, milk, soy, egg, and almonds. Look for their blog, www.yourallergychefs.com, coming this August.