Octo-Dogs and Shells

This recipe is from the book Cooking for Kids Collections by Publications International, Ltd.  My kids like to look through this recipe book.  It has lots of fun pictures in it.  They have asked me to make this recipe before (it has a really cool picture of an "octopus hot dog"), but we've never tried it, until now.  It's just me and the kids for dinner tonight.  So, Octo-Dogs and Shells it is!

Ingredients

4 hot dogs

1 1/2 cups uncooked small shell pasta

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

1 cup prepared Alfredo sauce

Prepared yellow mustard in a squeeze bottle

Cheese-flavored fish-shaped crackers

Directions

Lay 1 hot dog on side with end facing you.  Starting 1 inch from one end of hot dog, slice hot dog vertically in half.  Roll hot dog 1/4 turn and slice in half vertically again, making 4 segments connected at the top.  Slice each segment in half vertically, creating a total of 8 "legs."  Repeat with remaining hot dogs.

Place hot dogs in medium saucepan; cover with water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Remove from heat; set aside.

Prepare pasta according to package directions, stirring in vegetables during last 3 minutes of cooking time.  Drain; return to pan.  Stir in Alfredo sauce.  Heat over low heat until heated through.  Divide pasta mixture between 4 plates.

Drain "octo-dogs." Arrange one octo-dog on top of pasta mixture on each plate. Draw faces on "heads" of octo-dogs with mustard. Sprinkle crackers over pasta mixture. Makes 4 servings.

Here's the cookbook and all the ingredients gathered together.

I cut the hot dogs into "octopuses." Then, I put them in a saucepan, covered them with water and brought them to a boil on the stove.

I cooked the small shells according to the package directions and added the mixed vegetables for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. They are drained and ready to return to the pot.

I added the Alfredo sauce to the shells and vegetables and let the mixture warm through. Now, it's all ready to put together...

The Results...
Here's the Octo-Dog! This dish gets high marks for creativity and fun, but not for taste. I knew this wouldn't be a contender for any gourmet awards, but I was hoping maybe it would taste better than I expected. Unfortunately, it didn't. My 5 yr. old only took two bites even though she thought it was really cute. My 10 yr. old ate his, but didn't really like how it tasted, either. My 2 yr. old just ate her octo-dog's head and she was done. So, cute idea, but we didn't think it was very tasty.