Southern Cents
Hot Diggity Dog

What was your favorite song when you were little? Was it "I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner?" On July 3, 2000, a mattress salesman from Japan weighing a mere 100 pounds set the world's record at hot dog eating. How many did this little guy eat? He managed to down more than 25 hot dogs in twelve minutes and at this point I would like to see this guy because any 100 pound weakling that can eat that amount of food in 12 minutes either has a tapeworm or huge feet. They say that the average American consumes about 60 hot dogs every year, does that go for Japanese salesman as well, and if that is the case he is nearly halfway to his quota.

What has hot dog gorging have to do with saving money? It never fails, on the days when you are delightfully skipping to the mailbox in hopes of receiving that refund or birthday card that you were expecting, the lids swings open and a black cloud oozes out of the edges forewarning you that evil lurks within. Yes, it is the unexpected bill, the notice from the tax man, gas card bill that made you catch your breath and now you are wondering where you are going to squeeze out that last dime. You can cut out more coupons, but the blisters are already spread between each five fingers from last week, and of course, it did take most of the weekend to separate that 2 ply toilet paper into one ply and rewind it so that the family couldn't tell. What is a person to do? Time for creative strategy, time for a hot diggity dog week.

Hot dogs are more than a sandwich waiting to clog your veins. There are fat free, low fat and brands that are blends, pork and of course, beef. Hot dogs can be a cuisine for the elite. Don't believe me, what would you say if I told you that Elizabeth II once served hot dogs at a royal banquet held for the American Bar Association and in the 1930's President Roosevelt cooked up some wieners for King George VI of England? Yes it is true! NASA serves hot dogs to their esteemed astronauts, and even Weight Watchers has hot dogs listed in their diet programs. If your family is like my family, they will not stand for sandwiches every evening. Time for "dog cuisine." Start your menu will old time favorites such as "Beanie Weenies," Tuesday you could serve fried hot dogs (with fat free cooking spray), fried potatoes with onions; Wednesday wouldn't be complete without "Puppy Soup", Thursday you can shout "ole" with "Tamale Dogs," warm up Friday with "Dogs in a Blanket," Saturday cart the kids to grandma's because it is a night for romance with "Tortellini Dog Salad",and Sunday being a day of rest, whip up a "Quickie Pizza" made with... you guessed it.. hot dogs. These recipes can be found on the Tropical Beach web site http://tropicalbeach.com

I double dog dare you to make a hot dog week this week. Let me know how it turns out!

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