Dollop
Hot dog mac and cheese
Boxed mac and cheese gets browned hot dog coins, sweet peas and an extra handful of cheddar, the cheapest dinner there is and secretly one of the best.
- 25 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.34 a serving
- 690 calories
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 4 hot dogs
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- 2 packages boxed mac and cheese, 7.25 oz each
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup shredded cheddar
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt, for the pasta water
Each serving has about 690 calories, 25 g protein, 77 g carbs and 32 g fat, and costs about $1.34 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Fill a large pot with water, add the salt, cover, and bring it .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
the hot dogs into ¼-inch coins.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
1 teaspoon of the butter in a over medium-high and the hot dog coins 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges curl and crisp.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min
Set the cheese packets aside and cook the macaroni in the boiling water as the box says, adding the peas for the last 2 minutes.
High heatTimer: 8 min
the macaroni and peas and tip them back into the pot.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Over low heat, stir in the rest of the butter, the milk and the cheese packets until smooth and creamy.
Low heat
Stir in the hot dogs and cheddar until the cheese , and serve right away.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Low heat
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
