When people find out that I’m a food photographer and blogger, they assume that I’m eating beautiful home-cooked meals every single night. Let me assure you, that is far from the case.

In fact, the other day, I made and photographed popsicles, dip and a cocktail – nothing that could be considered a proper dinner. So, when the evening rolled around, I had nothing to serve and I was tired of cooking – the double whammy.

That’s why my husband and I are lucky to live in a town with a lot of great, casual restaurants. “Burger Tuesday” has become part of our routine, and “Taco Thursday” makes an appearance some weeks, too.

Not only do these restaurant outings give me a chance to take a break from cooking and doing the dishes, they actually inspire me as well. Creative restaurant dishes stimulate me to come up with my own unique versions for my blog, resulting in more cooking/photographing/dishes and possibly, more dinners out.

Be that as it may, our usual joint for “Taco Thursday” also has the American-Mexican delight that is the Sonoran Hot Dog. It’s like a mash-up of a really great hot dog and a really great taco. It sounds crazy, but it just totally works.

For my version, I started with beef hot dogs wrapped in bacon – how can that be bad? Then, I plopped them into some buns smeared with refried beans, and topped them with crumbly queso fresco, tomato, red onion, cilantro, avocado, a creamy lime sour cream and hot sauce.

Spice up your 4th of July weekend with these Sonoran Hot Dogs! Serve them with beer or a pitcher of cold margaritas, and enjoy!

Yield: 4 servings

Bacon-Wrapped Sonoran Hot Dogs

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 slices hardwood smoked bacon
• 4 bun-length beef hot dogs
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup refried beans, warmed
• 4 hot dog buns
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 1 Roma tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
• Hot sauce, for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat outdoor grill or grill pan to medium heat. Wrap 1 slice bacon around each hot dog. Grill hot dogs 10 to 12 minutes or until bacon is crisp, turning occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together lime juice and sour cream.
3. Spread beans on inside of hot dog buns. Place hot dogs in buns and top with avocado, tomato, queso fresco, cilantro, onion, hot sauce and lime sour cream.