Morbid Curiosity Thursday: Stuffed Frankfurter Casserole

Hello, my darlings. You probably didn’t know, but I slipped on a sneaky patch of ice last week and broke my arm. I’m all bolted back together now, but the question on everyone’s mind is: What sort of monstrosity will Jen create when she is stoned out of her mind on painkillers with nothing to do but watch movies all day? I see you shiver in antici…

…Pation! Don’t be afraid, babies. I made something you’ll adore. Everyone wants a hearty and well-balanced meal, right? Well, I’ve got your balanced nutrition for you right here: there’s the Cheese group, the Pasta group, the Hotdog group, and the Relish group. That’s a pretty well-built Creature!

There’s nothing terribly wrong with this casserole. It isn’t exactly high-brow fare, but it’s not hideous, either. (It’s like a Science Fiction Double Feature!  Ooo ooo… )The only real problem with this is the amount of salt in it. The pasta is cooked in salted water, there’s a teaspoon and a half of salt in the sauce for the macaroni, the hotdogs are high in sodium, and there’s probably a bunch of salt in the relish and other stuff too.

If I were making this for non-blogging purposes, I wouldn’t follow the recipe exactly. I’d cut out the excess salt wherever I could, and pile on way more cheese. (For a truly amazing macaroni dish, please visit our own Meghan William’s recipe for World’s Best Mac & Cheese.)

Now, what did you just say?  You say that Rocky Horror is usually a Halloween thing and it’s March now?  Aww crap!  What the hell happened to the last few months?  I need to take another look at what’s in my painkillers.

Stuffed Frankfurter Casserole

1 cup uncooked macaroni
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons diced pimento
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup pickle relish
1/4 cup minced onion
8 frankfurters

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until tender. Drain. Combine macaroni, milk, pimento, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and 3/4 cup cheese.  Pour into greased, shallow casserole.

Combine pickle relish and chopped onion. Slit frankfurters lengthwise but do not cut all the way through. Fill frankfurters with relish mixture.  Top with remaining cheese and place on macaroni.

Bake in moderate oven (350° F) 25 minutes.  Serves 6 – 8.

This recipe is from the casserole section of the Mary Margaret McBride Encyclopedia of Cooking, published by Homemakers Research Institute in 1959.