Wednesday Eats and Treats: Octopus (Just for Fun!)

Did you know that an ounce of octopus only has 47 calories? So, when Essie came to me with a request to cook octo-dogs for her birthday lunch, I was thrilled. She even had a recipe complete with photos.

Octo-Dogs and Shells

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
4 hot dogs
1 1/2 cup uncooked small shell pasta
1 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables
I cup prepared Alfredo sauce
Yellow mustard in squeeze bottle
Cheese flavored fish-shaped crackers (like Pepperidge Farm goldfish)



Directions
1. Lay 1 hot dog on a cutting surface. Starting 1 inch from one end of the hot dog, slice hot dog vertically in half. Roll hot dog 1/4 turn. Starting 1 inch from the same end, 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.

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

3. Prepare pasta according to package directions, stirring in vegetables during the 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.

4. Drain octo-dogs. Arrange one octo-dog on top of pasta mixture on each plate. Using mustard, draw eyes on "heads" of octo-dogs. Sprinkle crackers over pasta.

5. We served this with rainbow jello parfaits topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. As you can see from the photo below, it was a very festive meal.

We found the recipe in Cooking for Kids: Winning Recipes. I bought my copy at Sam's, but you can buy it for $4 at Amazon.