Opening Day Fast Chili Cheese Dogs and Beer Cocktails

It's Opening Day!

Is there anything better than getting your family and friends around a big screen TV and mass-yelling at the screen?!  

Of course, no Opening Day is complete without great food to munch on (we need energy to keep yelling!)

But it's also necessary that the foods are quick to make so you don't miss key moments in the game.

We've rounded up the perfect menu for Opening Day 2017; Chili Cheese Dogs and Beer Cocktails! 

Fast Chili Cheese Dogs (serves 4)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 medium onion

1 pound of ground beef

1 teaspoon of chili powder

1 tablespoon of yellow mustard

1 cup of tomato ketchup

4 beef hot dogs

4 hot dog rolls

1/2 cup of grated Cheddar cheese

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a skillet and heat on a stovetop on medium heat.
 
While the oil is heating, roughly chop a medium sized onion.


Add the onion to the oil and cook through for about 5 minutes, until the onions are glassy in appearance.
 
Now add the ground beef and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring to break up the beef.
 
Stir in the chili powder, mustard and ketchup and turn the heat down so the chili simmers. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
 
In the meantime, cook your hot dogs. Place a grill pan on the stovetop on medium to high heat. Or you can use your outdoor barbecue grill (either brush the grates with oil to keep the dogs from sticking to them, or use grill mats).
 
Bring a pot of water to boil and add your hot dogs in for 5 minutes to parboil them.
 
Drain your hot dogs, and place onto your grill pan, or your outdoor grill (whichever you are using) – cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, until you get grill marks on your dogs.
 
Your chili should be done by now. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.
 
Use the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to brush the inside of your hot dog rolls, and the place them face down onto your grill to toast.

Build your chili dogs! Place a hot dog in each roll. Then ladle on some chili and top with grated Cheddar cheese. Let the TV shouting commence!

Beer Cocktails (serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 ounces of rye whiskey

2 ounces of cherry liqueur

Juice of 4 medium lemons

4 ounces of elderflower liqueur

Ice

1 lemon

4 bottles (12 ounces each) of steam beer

Make sure your beer is chilled
 
Place your pint glasses into the freezer to chill.
 
Squeeze the lemons to make fresh juice.
 
In a jug, add the rye whiskey, cherry liqueur, elderflower liqueur and the freshly squeezed lemon juice, and mix with a spoon.
 
Fill the cocktail shaker with some of the contents of the jug (dependent on size of cocktail shaker – you may need to do this step in batches), and add ice, up to halfway.
 
Shake the cocktail shaker well. The outside of the shaker should frost over.
 
Take the pint glasses out of the freezer, and strain the liquid into them.
 
Cut one lemon into slices and create twists.
 
Add a lemon twist to each pint glass.
 
Top each pint glass with your beer.

Happy Opening Day!