Merry Christmas - From the Old Millington Guys

The Old Millington Guys extend Merry Christmas and Happy New Year wishes to all.

Nick's Crowd Pleaser: Last year Nick and I had an appetizer contest. My recipe called for hot dogs, Nick substituted those tiny cocktail wieners - some people call them little smokies. The cocktail wiener adaption won the taste contest (I say barely, Nick claims by a wide margin). Here are the details for a tasty snack or appetizer - crock pot version. And please note that Nick and the rest of the family recommend the use of cocktail wieners rather than the hot dogs:

1 pound hot dogs, cut in thirds (or cocktail wieners - "little smokies")
1 pound bacon, cut in thirds (approx.)
1 cup packed dark brown sugar (approx.)
toothpicks (for serving)

Wrap bacon pieces around the hot dog pieces and secure with toothpicks. Place one layer of wrapped hot dogs in bottom of Crock Pot and sprinkle generously with brown sugar. Repeat until all the hot dogs have been used, ending with more brown sugar. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, or cook on HIGH 3 to 4 hours. Ditch the grease. Makes 30 appetizers.


An alternative cooking method is to bake these in the oven at 350 for about a half hour or more (until brown sugar is bubbling and the bacon is cooked) in a raised sided pan to catch the drippings. I also recommend adding more brown sugar towards the end of the cooking process. Separate the grease from the glazed brown sugar sauce, and throw the little critters in a crock pot at low setting and add the sauce. I always add more brown sugar to the crock pot. I was pleasantly surprised how good these sons of a gun tasted.