You’ll never want a chili cheese dog in a bun ever again after you’ve had a sweet potoato “bun” . The combo of sweet, salty and spicy is my absolute fav-o-rite. We had enough leftover to heat-and-eat for lunch and let me tell ya, it was even better than the night before. If you’re in a hurry, forgo the sweet potato “bun” and you’ve got yourself a quick frank & beans style dinner. BUT!!!! The sweet potatoes do double duty in this recipe. I scoop out the insides, like you would a twice baked potato, and use them for a sweet potato protein shake. Recipe to come! The chili part of the recipe is designed to be quick and dirty, packing a ton of flavor without a long simmer time or big chunks of tomatoes…I hate that. And by the way, before you even try, let me warn you, these are knife-n-fork kind of dogs, wouldn’t recommend using your hands–unless you wrap yourself in paper towels.
Ingredients
- 3 sweet potatoes, sliced in 1/2 length wise
- fat, you choose
- 6 hot dogs (We used Sugar Free Dogs from US Wellness Meats, you could also use sausage)
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 15 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes, liquid drained, chopped finely
- 2 Chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T chili powder
- 1/2 t cocoa powder (optional)
- S&P
- 3 oz. raw sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Method
Get your oven to 450°F. Coat your sweet potato halves in a couple tablespoons of your fat choice. Stick on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until the skins have slightly charred and the insides are soft, about 30 minutes.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, start the chili.
Add a few tablespoons of fat to a saute pan. Let it get nice and hot, and then add the onions and garlic, saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped chipotle peppers, tomatoes, chili powder, cocoa powder and S&P. Using your hands, crumble the beef into the pan, making sure to break up any big crumbles with a spatula or whatever. Let the beef cook through and simmer the chili until everything else is done.
Once the potatoes are done, remove them from the baking sheet and place the hot dogs on the same baking sheet. Throw them into the oven and let them blister and get hot, about 7 minutes.
While that’s happening, grate your cheese and scoop out the insides of your sweet potatoes. Save the inside mush for an awesome post workout protein shake.
To assemble, place the sweet potato skin on a plate. Place a hot dog on top, spoon on a bit of chili and top with some grated cheese.
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