Month: February 2008 Page 1 of 2

Tonight, I had Charlie* to myself while Mommy is at work.  I made her dinner around 6PM or so, and then let her go play while I was making myself something to eat.  She’s almost 18 months now, and she plays really well by herself.  It’s neat to see her start to play with little dolls and her doll house.  I even saw her take a "sip" from her little tea set tonight.

Anyway, as I was saying, after feeding her, I made myself some dinner: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with Fried Hot Dogs.  Basically, you make the mac and cheese just like the box says, and in another skillet, you fry up some diced hot dog pieces.  When the mac is done, mix in the hot dogs.

Well, Charlie found her way into the kitchen while I was cooking and she seemed to want some more food.  She’s been eating a lot lately so she is probably growing.  So before I mixed the hot dogs in, I scooped out a little mac and put it in a separate bowl.  I let her keep running around, but she would keep coming back every few seconds for another bite.  Evidently macaroni and cheese is one of her favorites.

She’s also learning to talk right now and is just starting to pick up new words.  We’ve been stuck on "Mama", "Daddy", "uh oh", "good girl" and "what’s that" for what seems like forever, but the last week or so she’s been learning new words.  So I thought I would try to teach her to say macaroni.

Four syllables is too much for an 18 month old.

So I decided to go with just "mac".  Each time she would come for another bite (I almost typed byte right there… what a geek), I would say, "Charlie, say ‘mac’."

Each time, she said, "Cookie".  Guess what she’s been having as a snack the last couple days.

So anyway, I thought I would share my special recipe for any other dads that need to make a quick easy dinner for their kids.

Ingredients

Directions

Boil enough water to cover the noodles.  After water comes to a boil, add noodles and turn the heat down so that it doesn’t boil over.  Dads like to cook on high, but trust me and my experience, scrubbing burned water off of the stove takes a lot longer than the extra minute or so you get for cooking on high.  While the water and noodles are boiling, cut two hot dogs into small pieces, roughly 1/4" cube.  After the noodles have boiled for a while (about 7 or 8 minutes), strain them and return them to the pot.  Add butter (for best results, cut the butter into smaller chunks first), the milk and the powdered cheese stuff.  Stir well.  Scoop a small amount out for your toddler.  Then stir in the cooked hot dogs.  Be sure to drop a couple on the floor for the dogs (optional, only recommended if you have dogs).  Makes a daddy-sized serving and a Charlie-sized serving.

That’s it.  I’ve made this meal a number of times since I moved out almost 15 years ago, so, yes, I typed it from memory.

I can cook other stuff, though, too.  Things that don’t come from a box even.  Things that aren’t written on a recipe card.  Things that other people have told me were tasty enough to eat again.  The problem with that is two-fold:

1. I’m alone tonight and don’t want to make that much food.
2. I really don’t want to clean up after making one of those meals.

Maybe if I get inspired I’ll share another recipe sometime.

So anyway, try Scott’s Famous Mac and Cheese and Fried Hot Dogs sometime and share it with your kid.  They’ll love it and you’ll only have two pans to clean.

* Yes, she has her own website.  It’s full of photos for friends and family.  You have to register to see the photos, but feel free if you wish.  Kelly just wanted to be able to make it harder for the weirdos to see the pics.