My Hot Diggity Dog Mac & Cheese

By Tammy T
@ttodd4jesus

Made this today as a side dish with barbecued beef ribs, baked beans and a fruit salad. But I also make it as a main dish as it is delicious on its own. I have always liked hot dogs in my mac and cheese. The nutmeg does not over power but gives it a delicious added flavor. I use fresh nutmeg but have used the store ground spice as well. I love this recipe and hope you do too. (Can cut this recipe in half)

Pictures are mine

Rating:

★★★★★ 2 votes

Comments:

53 Comments

Serves:

6-8

Prep:

25 Min

Cook:

30 Min

Method:

Bake

Blue Ribbon Recipe

Notes from the Test Kitchen:
Creamy mac-n-cheese combined with hot dogs, my oh my. This will be a hit with kiddos - big and small! With a hint of nutmeg, the mac-n-cheese alone was delish. Adding the hot dogs makes this a fun dinner!

We baked it up in a 9x13 baking dish.

Ingredients

1 pkg: 16 oz macoroni or shell pasta
6 Tbsp: butter, unsalted + the melted butter below
2 Tbsp: butter, unsalted, melted
4 c: milk, i use 2%
1/2 tsp: fresh nutmeg, grated or can use stores ground nutmeg
16 oz: sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
6: all beef hotdogs, sliced into coins - can use dogs of your choice
1 c: bread crumbs, dry & plain
1/4 c: flour

How to Make My Hot Diggity Dog Mac & Cheese

Step-by-Step

1Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the pasta as directed on the package except drain it at least a minute before aldente. (It will cook further in the oven).
Put the cooked macaroni into a good sized baking dish and set aside.
2Melt the 6 tablespoons over med-low heat in a sauce pan. Add the flour and stir continually to make the roux. Continue to cook the roux until it starts to brown. A light brown.

Add the milk a little at a time while stirring. After all the milk has been added, then add the nutmeg and continue to cook a couple minutes more until well incorporated and sauce looks thicker.
3Once the sauce is thickened, take the pan off the burner and add it and the cheese to the baking dish with the pasta and mix well.

Add in the sliced hotdogs and mix.
4The topping:

Melt the remaining two Tablespoons of butter and add it to the 1 cup of plain breadcrumbs and mix until the crumbs are covered with the butter.
5Sprinkle the buttered breadcrumbs over the top of the macaroni and bake in the oven, uncovered for 30-35 mins. Should be a little brown and bubbly.
Enjoy!