I'm sorry...how many hot dogs?!?!?

I love the Discovery Channel. No really I do! This isn't an attempt to shamelessly plug the TV series that I'm in that happens to air on that network (check your local listings.) Seriously though, I've always liked Discovery, and I got totally addicted to it when I traveled a lot and would only have a handful of channels to choose from in my hotel room. I could only take so many episodes of "To Catch a Predator." You know when you've watched it too much when you forget that it's real life sadness and start to think it's a hidden camera joke show. Only these guys just punked themselves. I mean really, the guys that keep doing it and keep getting caught...Yikes!

Anyway, one of my fave shows on Discovery is "How it's Made." (Yes Mike Rowe...I dig your show too), but I've always loved shows like H.I.M...it reminds me of one of my fave segments on Sesame Street. You know, the one where they take us to the crayon factory. I thought it was so cool! The most recent H.I.M. that I watched was all about machines at fairs. Like a cotton candy machine, a popcorn cart and a hot dog grill thingy (I clearly learned a lot from the show.) All was well until the narrator said this, "The average American eats about 60 hot dogs a year..." WHAT?!? The "Average American?" That can't be true. So I went to Google. Food Network said it too...it's confirmed. That's too much. Before I posted this blog, I was worried that I might offend people out there who love their hot dogs and don't think there's anything wrong with eating 60 a year, 5 a month, 1.25 a week...then I thought, "IF YOU'RE READING THIS AND EAT THAT MANY HOT DOGS...STOP IT!" Unless you go to that many baseball games, in which case I am now extremely jealous of you.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm cool with the hot dog. Hello...I'm from Hawaii and I'm Filipino! I eat Spam and a whole buncha random stuffs...I can't totally down the H-Dog. I'm just surprised that we eat that freakin' many! It kinda made me not wanna have them anymore. Especially since I just finished reading a book that went really deep into how bad the meat industry is (according to them, it's not good.) Then I realized how much I loved Chili Dogs and couldn't imagine giving that up entirely even though I probably only eat that once a year...if that. But hey, if I'm a cravin' it...give it to me. So I attempted to make a Chili Dog with NO MEAT whatsoever. And I did!

Looks like the Chili Cheese Dog that we know and love doesn't it? Well, it ain't. Both Alicia Silverstone and my friend the vegetarian Karla Mosley could chow down on this bad boy. I went to Whole Foods and hooked myself up with all sorts of faked out "meat" products...and I must say, you could totally fool yourself with what they have out there now days. I even made spaghetti sauce with Vegetarian "Ground Meat." It's not just tofu and tempeh anymore-Although I do love that stuff too!

Now I wish I could tell you that it tasted just like the real thing, but unfortunately...I can't. Don't get me wrong. It was delicious, but we all know what a hot dog taste like and we know it's bad for us...but boy doesn't it taste extra special at a picnic, or at a ballgame, or at a BBQ? Especially with the 4th of July comin' up. With this meal, the Chili was REALLY GOOD, the cheese was GOOD, the dog was OKAY. It didn't taste the same...(duh Kimee.) One of the best parts about this meal is that you don't feel totes guilty and gross afterwards. I'm sure the taste is something you could get used to, but if you're like me and only eat a couple of dogs a year..whatevs. At least it's not 60.