Besides ice cream, there are few foods that scream “summer” more than hot dogs, right? So on this summer weather weekend, we wanted to share this adorable hot dog bar from one of our favorite food bloggers, Jessica Merchant of How Sweet Eats. Mom to Max, 4 and Emilia, 18 months, she’s also the author of two gorgeous cookbooks, Seriously Delish (2014) and Pretty Dish (2018), and is hard at work on her next book, Everyday Dinners (out in 2021).
Jessica is known for her comfort food with a twist (what she calls “trashed up”), but this time, she’s sticking to the basics. “All the salads with fruit—I love a spring greens salad with berries and goat cheese!—and tons of vegetables on the grill. We get fantastic sweet corn and tomatoes here in PA come July. They are unbeatable! I think almost every dinner I make in mid-late summer consists of those.”
We’ll be making this hot dog bar that’s, fun, easy and guaranteed to please adults and kids. Jessica includes all the classic—like a Chicago Dog and Carmelized Onion and Cheese Dog—as well as unexpected ones. We’ve definitely never had a Hawaiian Dog or Mexican Street Food Dog, but we’re pretty sure they’re going to be fast favorites. Jessica says her kids love making their own creations as much as she did. “I find that when my kids can help or choose their own toppings, they enjoy their food more and are more inclined to try new foods. It sparks creativity!”
For the instructions for this hot dog bar, visit How Sweet Eats.
Originally published on The Local Mom’s Network
Joy Bauer’s Healthy Soft Pretzels
Anyone else feel like their kids are snacking *constantly* these days? We have a new recipe for you to try this week! These Soft & Doughy Protein Pretzels from Joy Bauer's new cookbook, Joy Bauer's Superfood!: 150 Recipes for Eternal Youth, take just 25-minutes to...
Raising a Self-Reliant Child
As parents, we all want our kids to go out into the world confident in their abilities and ready to tackle anything. But our instinct is to help as much as we can—even to the point of helicopter parenting and preventing them from learning resilience. So what...
Get to Know Stokke—And Why Your Baby Should, Too
Have you heard of Stokke, the Scandinavian brand that is designing better products that strengthen the bond between babies and parents? Not only are these beautiful pieces manufactured to be completely safe and ergonomic (for both children and parents!), but...




