April's Favorite Chili Dogs

My close friend April loves it when I make Chili Dogs. Today has a nip in the air that makes good weather for something easy and fun. I used to make them with very basic store bought ingredients with out much thought as to whether or not they could possibly be at least a little healthier. Now I prepare them with as many health conscious items as possible. A while ago I started buying All Natural Beef Hot Dogs. These roast really nicely in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. I like roasting vs. nuking or boiling hot dogs. 100% whole grain Hot Dog Rolls are available as well. Toasting them adds another layer of flavor. As for the Chili, I like to use Natural or Organic ground beef, about 2 pounds make a great pot of chili. I like to mix a 1 pound of lean ground to 1 pound of 80/20 for flavor. If "Chili Grind", a coarser, larger grind, is available like one of the pounds to be this grind. It really adds great texture. Fresh organic diced red onions are sauteed and added to the ground beef, add Natural Sea Salt and fresh Cracked Pepper as well to taste. Organic Tomato paste, about 1/2 cup is added and browned with onions and beef. I then add a couple cans of diced organic tomatoes with the juice.
Next is to season with chili powder. I add it in 2 tablespoon increments until it taste like I like it. Allow the pot to simmer. I like to go authentic by adding about 2-4 tablespoons of Masa Harina to the mix. Reducing the heat to a simmer give the dish a chance for all the flavors to develop. Just before serving stir in about 1/4 cup of honey or 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar.
Now I build my Chili Dog with first my toasted roll, then a roasted hot dog. Next I spoon about 1/2 cup of hot chili over everything and top with freshly grated, cheddar cheese. Oven baked sweet potato fries and a small salad round out the meal. These dogs need a knife and fork!