I love a good old-fashioned hotdog now and then, but it being just the hubs and I presents the problem of repetitiously having to eat a package of 8 of those puppies. So to have a little fun and not be monotonous, I made 3 fun dinners out of them! And today’s recipe is this super fun and flavorful Pesto & Pepperoni Pizza Dogs on Garlic Bread!
Sound like fun to you, too?
I hope so, because these were really delicious and so easy to make! And all three of these recipes used what I already had on hand! And I’m betting that you can make any of these, too, without a single trip to the store!
I first made some dang tasty Corn Dog Fritters that I was afraid were going to be hard to beat!! But these were every bit as good, also using just a few items hanging out in the kitchen!
So let’s get started!! I know you’re hungry and wanting to make these, too!
You can use whatever rolls, baguettes, or buns you happen to have on hand, but I whipped up some of my “infamous” semi-homemade easy bread for these, and seasoned them on top with lots of garlic powder, seasoned salt, pepper, and a little onion powder.
I love making these, because I get 3 loaves out of one frozen bread dough loaf, and then I can slice each into whatever size I happen to need! From hoagie sized to slider rolls!
Hotdogs are fairly small, so I sliced each into 4 inch wide rolls for this. And that worked out perfectly!
Once I split them open, I spread the insides with Minerva Dairy’s Garlic & Herb Butter!!
And then just ran them under the broiler until very lightly toasted.
*You don’t want to take them any farther than that at this point, because they’re going to go back under the broiler again later.
I used regular ol’, all-American, nothin’ fancy, Oscar Mayer Wieners for these, and they were perfect!
I tossed them into a small saucepan of water, brought them to a boil, boiled them for about 1 minute, put the lid on and removed them from the heat.
This way, they are perfectly fine to just sit there while you get everything else ready to go and they stay nice and hot.
I spread a little basil pesto on the inside bottoms, and spooned lots of delicious pizza sauce on the inside tops!
You could also easily just use some marinara or any of your favorite pasta sauce that you happen to already have at home.
Then plop a cooked hotdog onto each…..
….and smother those puppies with lots of shredded cheese!
I used regular cut shredded mozzarella and provolone (Sargento’s), finely grated mozzarella, and a little fresh-grated parmesan!
Then top them with slices of pepperoni and run them back under the broiler (not too close to the heat), and let the cheese melt and the pepperoni crisp up!
If making these for a crowd, you can steam a bunch of hotdogs by standing them all up in a crock pot with a little water on the bottom and heat to High with the lid on.
Once you have lightly broiled and toasted the insides of the bread rolls, you can either load the assembled sandwiches onto baking sheets, or into metal*, 13×9 cake pans! (*Metal is trust-worthy to place under high heat.)
That way, you can make one or two whole pans of them, and they’re all done at the same time!
And just in time for Half-Time for your football-loving friends!
And if you happen to have any sauce leftover, you can serve it alongside for dipping your sandwich in, or like we did, and dip some italian-seasoned roasted potato wedges in!
These were so very tasty! And very filling, too!! So keep in mind, that, unless you’re feeding a linebacker, plan on just one per person!
(*This photo is Pinterest friendly if you’d like to Pin it to save this recipe!)
My hubby is a hearty eater, and even he could only manage one with a handful of potato wedges on the side!
So if you’re looking for some fun football party food that’s delicious and affordable, or just an easy weeknight meal for the family, this is just the ticket!
We went simple, with just pepperoni which was plenty for us, but you can add any pizza toppings that you like! Peppers, onions, jalapeños, and black olives would also be fun!
So I hope this helps you out and takes the boring out of a simple package of hotdogs, and that everyone enjoys these Pesto & Pepperoni Pizza Dogs on Garlic Bread as much as we did! Have a wonderful week!
If making these for a crowd, place hotdogs standing up in a slow cooker. Add a little water to the bottom, turn on to High, and steam with lid on.
Pesto & Pepperoni Pizza Dogs on Garlic Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
