Imagine eating a chili dog with slaw, onions and yellow mustard. Now imagine taking off the bun and eating it in a bowl with a fork and you’ve got the idea behind this recipe. Another way to look at it, we’ve taken off the sour cream, avocado and cheese from chili and added hot dog toppings.

Ingredients

Chili Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground meat* (I used ground chicken, but anything would work)
• 1 package hot dogs, chopped (I used sugar-free beef franks from U.S. Wellness Meats)
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes, juice drained, chopped small
• 1 c tomato sauce
• 2 chipolte peppers in adobe sauce, chopped finely
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t cumin powder

Slaw Ingredients

• 1 red cabbage, sliced thinly (The cabbage should quite small–weighing about 1 lb., you won’t need more than that)
• 1/2 c mayo
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 3 T pickled jalapenos, finely chopped**
• 5 T pickled jalapeno juice**
• 1 T yellow mustard

Method

In a medium sauce pan, cook the ground meat all the way through and then add the cut up hot dogs. Throw the rest of the ingredients in the pot and let it simmer while you make the slaw.

For the slaw, get out a large bowl and add all the ingredients, except the cabbage, and whisk to combine. Add the cabbage to the slaw base and mix to combine.

To serve, place the chili on the bottom of the bowl, then add some slaw and top with whatever hot dog fixings you like. Yellow mustard is an absolute must!

*If you’re pinching pennies, you can definitely leave out the ground meat and just use hot dogs. Chop the hot dogs rather small so they go further.

**Don’t be afraid of the pickled jalapenos or the juice. It’s not nearly as spicy as fresh jalapeno…but as always, add a little at a time and taste as you go–because you can’t take it away after you’ve added it.

I bought a raw corned beef brisket from U.S. Wellness Meats. Free overnight shipping? Unheard of! In a pinch, you could just go to your deli counter at the grocery store and pick up a pound or so of pastrami, get it sliced thick and heat it up in the oven. We made a quick sauerkraut, it’s less acidic than traditional sauerkraut and tastes more like braised cabbage…well, because it is.

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Reuben in a Bowl

Ingredients for Quick ‘Kraut

• 1 small head green cabbage
• 1 1/2 c beef stock
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 t salt

Ingredients for Thousand Island Dressing

• 8 sweet pickle chips, chopped (dill would work too, just use whatever you’ve got)
• 1 t tomato paste
• 1 T capers, chopped
• 3 heaping T mayo
• S & P

Method

Rinse the brisket off and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a roasting pan and roast in a 300°F oven for about 4 hours. Once it’s cooled, slice thinly.

For the kraut, slice the cabbage as thinly as possible. You could use a mandoline or the slice attachment on your food processor. Throw the cabbage, beef stock, vinegar and salt into a saute pan. Let the cabbage wilt and the stock reduce, about 20 minutes.

For the sauce, mix all the ingredients together. Use some of the pickle and caper juice to thin the sauce out a bit.

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A nice alternative to the ubiquitous Greek salad.

Ingredients

• 1 red cabbage
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/4 c pepitas (a.k.a. hulled, green pumpkin seeds)
• 5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 T Dijon mustard
• 2 t oregano
• 2 lemons, juiced  & zested
• 4 T vinegar
• 5 glugs olive oil
• S & P

Method

1. Slice the cabbage in half and remove the white, inedible core.

Lay the cabbage, cut side down, and slice as thinly as you can without cutting yourself. Do the same for the onion.

2. Put the sliced cabbage, onion, pepitas and crumbled feta cheese in a large bowl.

3. Just like you’re making a salad dressing–combine the rest of the ingredients in a container with a lid and shake the hell out of it.

4. Pour the dressing onto the cabbage.

5. Serve immediately or stick it in the fridge and let it marinate.