Smoked Carrot Hot Dogs with Creamy Macaroni Salad

My son requested I make him some veggie hot dogs the other night, so the first thing I did was panic.

See, my son has severe and life-threatening food allergies, so to buy a pack of veggie dogs is not an option for me. Even just a nefarious spice in the seasoning can send him into anaphylactic shock.

So I did what any mother would do, I wracked my brain to come up with a creative way to safely and convincingly recreate a hot dog in a healthy and oh so tasty way.

I thought, "What vegetable is vaguely the same shape as a hot dog?" You got it - a big, fat carrot. So the trick was to come up with a marinade that infused the smokey flavor of a frankfurter into the innocent carrot. Boy was this a challenge. But eventually I found success. Now I can't stop eating these dogs. Oh, and my son loves them too.

To make it even more fun, I made some of my "fakiin bacon" to put on top along with a creamy macaroni salad. My love, you are in for a real feast with this one.

You'll find the recipe below.

Fakiin Bacon & Smoked Carrot Hot Dogs and Creamy Macaroni Salad

By Debbie Adler

Serves 4

Must Have

4 medium carrots, scrubbed but not peeled

4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Marinade for Fakiin Bacon and Carrot Dogs

¼ cup coconut aminos (or gluten-free tamari)

¼ cup water

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Dressing for Macaroni Salad

¾ cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked in water for 30 minutes and then drained

3 tablespoons coconut aminos

3 tablespoons mirin (Japanese rice wine)

1 tablespoon coconut nectar (or maple syrup)

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon hot sauce

¼ cup water

Macaroni Salad

1 pound gluten free elbow macaroni

½ cup kosher dill relish (not sweet relish)

¼ cup shredded red cabbage

2 stalks celery, diced

3 tablespoons finely chopped chives

4 gluten-free hot dog buns

Must Do

1)   Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a 15 x 13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.

2)   To make the marinade; Add the coconut aminos, water, apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic powder and smoked paprika to a Pyrex dish and mix together. Add the carrots and mushrooms, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

3)   To make the dressing; Add the sunflower seeds, coconut aminos, mirin, coconut nectar, garlic, hot sauce and water to a high-speed blender. Puree until the dressing is smooth.

4)   To make the macaroni salad; Cook the macaroni according to package instructions. Drain the macaroni and add to a large bowl.

5)   Add the dill relish, red cabbage, celery and chives to the large bowl with the macaroni and stir to incorporate. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight. Top with desired amount of dressing and toss to combine.

6)   Drain the marinade from the Pyrex dish and spread the carrots and shiitake mushrooms in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the mushrooms are crisp and the carrots a light golden brown, about 25 minutes.

7)   To assemble the hot dogs; Open up the buns and add a carrot to each. Top with the macaroni salad and serve.

Serving size: 1 carrot dog with the works CALORIES 425; TOTAL FAT 10.7g; PROTEIN 3.1g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0g; SODIUM 400 mg; FIBER 8.5g; SUGARS 9.0g; TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE 71.4g