On the last Thursday in July, hot dog lovers across the United States start topping their hot dogs with delicious chili to celebrate National Chili Dog Day.
Wrapping up National Hot Dog Month, the chili dog brings the heat. Add onions, cheese, or chili sauce for more variety. With a hot dog, the condiments are endless.
Also known as a coney dog or chili con carne, the first person to make a chili dog probably tried it around the turn of the 20th century. Even then it was likely a meat and tomato sauce, not the full-on firehouse chili we know today. Get Jen’s Easy Chili recipe.
Even now, the chili dog gains gourmet status depending on where you go. Add the best ingredients, all-beef franks, and pretzel bun, too. My favorite is traditional chili piled on with fresh purple onion, and extra sharp cheddar cheese.
Experiment with the sausage seasonings or the type of chili. For example, switch to a flavorful brat seasoned with chipotle and top it with buffalo chili. Let your imagination go wild. Of course, a traditional chili dog is always an option, too.
Chili dogs are a meal all on their own. Grab one at the ballpark or set up a chili dog bar. Invite friends and family to create colossal and delicious chili dogs with all their favorite toppings. Host a chili cookoff and supply the franks, buns, and special toppings for the judges to add to their chili dog. Crown the winner with bragging rights!
Post on social media using #NationalChiliDogDay and encourage others to join the celebration.
National Hot Dog Day in July, celebrates a summertime staple on a bun. Enjoy one piping hot and add some relish and mustard to go! One thing we want to know – is it a sandwich or not?
Celebrated every year during National Hot Dog Month, this day pays homage to the frankfurter, the footlong or wienie, wiener, wienerwurst or even red hot. They taste just as great no matter what we call it.
Over 25 million hot dogs are sold at baseball stadiums each year.
We make them a variety of ways. They’re portable and easy to make. While many of us prefer them grilled or toasted over a fire, we also boil, pan-fry, and rotisserie-cook them. The list of toppings are numerous – from the basic ketchup, mustard or relish to onions, mayonnaise, cheese bacon, chili and sauerkraut – the list keeps growing. Adults and children alike love them, too.
Then there’s me. My family likes them but I simply cannot. My mother says I’ve rejected them since day 1. Normally toddlers get these cut up as a easy food, apparently I have been refusing them since then. I’ve tried lots of brands and styles of cooking, and a variety of toppings, but the outcome is always the same. So if you love these wonders of food enjoy one for me would you? Can I have a Brat instead?
On May 31, 2012,a world record was set for the most expensive hot dog. The “California Capitol City Dawg” sold for $145.49 at Capitol Dawg in Sacramento, California. The “California Capitol City Dawg” features:
A grilled 18″ all-beef, in natural casing frank from Chicago
served on a fresh-baked herb and oil focaccia roll spread with white truffle butter, then grilled
topped with whole grain mustard from France, garlic and herb mayonnaise
sauteed chopped shallots, organic mixed baby greens, maple syrup
marinated/fruitwood smoked uncured bacon from New Hampshire
basil olive oil/pear-cranberry-coconut balsamic vinaigrette and ground peppercorn
Proceeds from the sale of each 3 lb. super dog were donated to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
7-Eleven sells the most grilled hot dogs in North America – 100 million annually.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL HOT DOG DAY
The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council created National Hot Dog Day. The day was established in 1991 to coincide with a hot dog lunch on Capitol Hill every year on a Wednesday in July.
Share your favorite toppings. Do you like yours blackened or just done? Tell us where the best hot dogs near you are. Give the restaurant or vendor a shout out. What makes them special? Is it their toppings? Do they use a better frank? We want to know.
Have a hot dog and post on social media using #NationalHotDogDay to encourage others to join in.
National Beans ‘N’ Franks Day on July 13th encourages us to make our favorite recipes during National Hot Dog Month. Since we are also indulging in a Baked Bean Month, this is a great way to combine them. This simple recipe cooks up a delicious dish in no time and goes well with summertime barbecues, too!
Also known as “beanie weenies,” both dishes are similar to pork ‘n’ beans, but substitute hot dogs or frankfurters for the pork.
Baked beans became popular during the Civil War in the United States. They would later become one of the first canned convenience foods on the market in the 1890s. As a result, baked beans became a staple of the chuckwagon. However, it is unknown when adding franks to the beans became a culinary technique.
The franks, or frankfurters, can be beef, pork, or a combination of both. The ground meat is blended with spices and seasonings before being cured. These sausage style wieners or hot dogs come with or without casings. Before adding them to the beans, the franks are sliced into bite-sized pieces.
While beans and franks is one name, Van Camp’s owns the trademark to the Beanie Weenies name. Another brand name is Franks & Beans.
Home cooks make beans and franks, too. Recipes can include beans, hot dogs, brown sugar, onion, mustard, barbecue sauce, and spices. The United States isn’t the only place recipes are found, either. Around the world, beans and franks enjoy wide popularity.
Beans and franks go well with coleslaw, grilled corn on the cob, and vegetable kabobs. Add some iced tea and pie to complete the meal. Make it a picnic for a day out.
Have a picnic or cookout. Make your favorite beans ‘n’ franks recipe to share. Don’t have one? Here is a recipe for you to try. Or just open up a can and heat it up. Post on social media using #BeansNFranksDay.
Pop some popcorn, grab a blanket and your favorite buddy, put away the cell phones and tablets, and then queue up a string of movies for a fun night of entertainment. National Movie Night on the second Friday in June encourages us to start (or restart) a tradition of movie nights with friends and family.
Movies have been bringing people together for over 100 years. The stars, the stories entertain us, connect us and help us create memories. As technology evolves, so does how we enjoy our movie nights. From the theater to reel-to-reel home movies, the VCR, DVD, and streaming, we’ve been enjoying movies on big and small screens. Drive-in movies invited us to enjoy films from the comfort of our cars. Today, our video library is as large as we want it to be thanks to streaming services. We can even enjoy movies in our own backyards projected onto screens under the stars.
Can you smell the popcorn popping? Start your tradition with friends and family on National Movie Night with new and classic movies at the theatre or in your homes.
Jennifer and Jayda Borget, a mother-daughter duo fluent in movie quotes and authors of the Family Movie Night Journal, founded National Movie Night to create an opportunity to bring new and old movie night traditions to life. Be prepared to laugh, cry or cringe, but most importantly, to make memories! Need a list of suggestions for National Movie Night? This list at movienightjournal.com will get you started.
What movie will you watch and who will you invite for National Movie Night? There are so many ways to start a movie tradition:
Make a movie night bucket list.
Share your favorite movie quotes.
Create a group with people who love movies. Plan to celebrate with a night out at the movie theatre.
Host a movie night in with the family. Pick a film the whole family will enjoy.
Invite friends and family for a movie night BBQ. Hang a sheet or screen to project the movie onto. Wait for it to get dark and then let the entertainment begin.
Load up the car and head to the nearest drive-in movie theatre.
Create a buffet of your favorite movie snacks and beverages for everyone to enjoy.
Ask everyone to write a review and deliver it in their best critic voice.
Invite everyone to dress in their red-carpet best for movie premieres and go to the movies in style.
Don’t forget to share your movie night traditions. Use #NationalMovieNight to share your celebration on social media and follow @movienightjournal. Sit back, hit play, and enjoy the show!
February is the year’s quiet paradox—a shortest month that somehow contains multitudes. Sandwiched between the forward momentum of January and the budding promise of March, it carves its own unique space: a 28-day (or sometimes 29-day) interlude of introspection, romance, and unpredictable charm. It’s a month that feels both fleeting and deeply significant, a hushed corridor where winter’s grip is tested by the first, fragile whispers of spring. We are fascinated by February precisely because it defies simple definition, packing a profound punch into its compact frame.
The heartbeat of February is measured in its special days, which range from the deeply sentimental to the whimsically specific. It opens with the lighthearted introspection of Groundhog Day, a folkloric checkpoint in our seasonal journey. The mood then shifts dramatically toward the warmth of Valentine’s Day on the 14th, a global celebration of love in all its forms. Be sure to check out our Valentine’s Gifts, Playlist and Movie recommendations. We also include some Date night ideas you can use for your Valentine’s night. But the month also holds space for more solemn reflection during Black History Month, a dedicated time to honor the struggles, triumphs, and central contributions of Black communities. These observances, side-by-side, create a rich emotional tapestry unique to these four weeks.
On the sports front, February delivers a thrilling one-two punch. In the United States, the month is dominated by the spectacle of the Super Bowl, an event that transcends football to become a cultural holiday of its own, complete with iconic commercials and halftime shows. Shortly after, the world turns its eyes to the grace and grit of the Winter Olympics (when they fall in this month), where athletes conquer ice and snow in a stunning display of human perseverance. The energy of these events provides a vibrant, communal contrast to the month’s often chilly and solitary weather.
And that weather is a character all its own. In the Northern Hemisphere, February is the stubborn, often brutal, climax of winter—a time of “February Freeze” where snow piles high and skies stay steel-gray. Yet, within this, are precious “February Thaws,” teasing glimpses of what’s to come. The light noticeably changes, with days growing longer, offering a silent promise that the deep freeze won’t last forever. This push-and-pull between winter’s last stand and spring’s early stirrings makes every February day a small, quiet drama.
February is divided between two astrological signs. Those born from February 1st to 18th are Aquarius, the visionary Water Bearer, known for being progressive, intellectual, and humanitarian. Those born from February 19th to the 29th are Pisces, the empathetic Fish, characterized by their creativity, intuition, and compassionate nature. This month boasts an array of famous birthdays, including inventors and presidents like Thomas Edison (Feb 11) and Abraham Lincoln (Feb 12), civil rights icons like Rosa Parks (Feb 4), and renowned artists like Bob Marley (Feb 6) and Nina Simone (Feb 21). It also includes modern figures like actor Jennifer Aniston (Feb 11) and activist Greta Thunberg (Feb 3).
Finally, February claims its own with distinctive birthday symbols. Its flowers are the violet, signifying loyalty and faithfulness, and the primrose, a hopeful symbol of young love. Its birthstone is the striking amethyst, a gem associated with peace, courage, and clarity of mind. These symbols perfectly capture the essence of the month and those born within it: a blend of deep resilience (the enduring violet), heartfelt connection (the delicate primrose), and serene strength (the luminous amethyst). In the end, February fascinates because it is a microcosm of life itself—brief, beautiful, bittersweet, and brimming with unexpected contrasts waiting to be embraced.
