High Maintenance Mom

Today's Daily Candy Kids was about the Octodog, a converter that turns a normal hot dog into an octopus shaped hot dog. The Octodog website has nice images and I was able to read most of the site before needing to try it myself. I do understand that there is a device you can buy, but even if I ordered it now, it wouldn't be here in time for dinner. So I hid my immediate gratification desire behind my "I'm a scientist" facade as I grabbed a hotdog (all natural, no nitrates for anyone who is wincing at the idea of eating hotdogs) out of the freezer and starting cutting...

I cut 3/4 of the hotdog in one direction, making two legs, and then rotating the hotdog 90° and cut again making a total of 4 legs. The legs weren't perfectly even but I was able to make two more cuts that yielded a total of eight legs. I then cut two circles for eyes with the knife at an angle. I propped my eight-legged hotdog up on a plate and popped it in the microwave for 35 seconds. It was fun to watch it rotate and move as it cooked. The head popped up a bit and the legs curled.

I'm sure the boys will be excited by their mom's ability to play with food this evening. I might even use cookie cutters to make fish-shaped toast for the themed dinner. I generally try not to make too many high maintenance meals for the kids because I don't want them to expect it but it's fun once in a while.