This casserole is one of my favorites to take to potlucks, especially if I know there is going to be a decent amount of children there. I lived through my son going to different gatherings and never finding anything he likes to eat. I want to help prevent other parents from the same struggle. This is the perfect answer. No child ever turns down macaroni and cheese with hot dogs! Check out what they are saying about this recipe over at Melissa’s Southern Style Chicken:
“The cheese sauce is smokey and gooey and there’s….bacon! My kids do back flip for this dish as it combines 2 of their most favorite things to eat.”
When you have a table of hungry kids to feed, you can’t go wrong with this dish!
Ingredients
1 (16) oz jumbo or classic elbow macaroni
7 Tbsp butter, divided
1 small sweet onion, diced
½ cup Gold Medal all-purpose flour
2 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp black pepper
4 cup whole milk
4 cups shredded Kraft sharp cheddar cheese, divided
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, reserve 2 Tbsp drippings
8 bun length quality Oscar Mayer all-beef hot dogs. sliced
2 green onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 8 x 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
Cook the macaroni in salted water per the package directions until al dente.
While the macaroni cooks, in a separate pan over medium-high heat cook together 6 Tbsp of butter, 2 Tbsp reserved bacon drippings and onion.
Cook for 3 minutes until the onion has softened. Lower the heat to medium and add the flour, garlic salt, mustard and black pepper. Stir until the flour has absorbed the butter. Cook stirring constantly for 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil then immediately lower the temperature to low heat. Allow to bubble gently for 5 minutes.
Remove the sauce from the heat and add 3 cups of cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon. Reserve 2 Tbsp crumbled bacon for garnishing. Stir until the cheese has melted.
Drain the macaroni well, then mix together with the sauce and sliced hot dogs. Mix well and pour into the baking dish.
Top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese. Dot with 1 Tbsp butter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and bubbly.
Garnish with bacon crumbles and sliced green onion. Serve immediately.
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Quick Tip: Mix up the cheese for a new flavor.
Thanks again to Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen for this kid-friendly recipe.