FAMILY LIFESTYLE

HDC for the HBD

sly bday 2018

It’s that time of year again. You guessed it, it’s Hot Dog Casserole (HDC) time!

Which can only mean one thing: it’s Sly’s birthday!

sly bday 2018

c’mon, you know you want the recipe

Sly’s birthday snuck up on me again this year, and I’m going to blame my so-called “pregnancy brain” (I blame pregnancy brain for everything, why stop now?) for things like forgetting to buy a gift, not planning a party, and not making a cake. It was practically a miracle I even remembered to get the supplies for Sly’s yearly HDC. In fact, Sly actually made ME a delicious chocolate cake earlier this week! Luckily there were a few slices left yesterday to celebrate Sly’s birthday.

But, I did get around to making HDC, because what would Sly’s birthday be without it? Of all the things he could request me to make him for his birthday dinner, every year he wants the same meal. And, after we eat it, we realize why we only make it one time a year. Over time, the HDC has evolved to be a slightly more gourmet, ever so slightly healthier version of the original recipe with the addition of lots of veggies and, if I’m feeling extra crazy, homemade cream of mushroom soup, because of course a dish like this uses cream of mushroom soup. One of these days, I’m going to go all out and make as much as I can from scratch, including my own pasta and hot dogs.

However, yesterday was not that day.

Sly took the day off work and we celebrated with a quiet day at home. I tackled a few more chores from my “things to do before babies arrive” list while Sly treated himself to an anime binge. Our bed that we ordered a million years ago finally arrived and I pretended like it was all part of the plan. “Look, Sly, your birthday gift arrived!” We put everything together and just laid in bed with the kitties, wondering why it took us 10 years to buy a real bed (another long and boring story for another time). We discussed baby names again – we’re 90% certain of the names, but are still a little iffy on middle names, spelling, and versions of the names (like if we prefer the traditional German versions/spellings or the more English versions). Just before noon, I summoned what energy I had (cooking — or doing anything — these days is no small feat for me) to make the HDC. After popping it in the oven to bake for an hour or so, we watched our new favorite Netflix show, Babylon Berlin. Once the HDC was done, we munched on it throughout the day. And then ate chocolate cake with ice cream. See that big pyrex dish full of HDC? Yeah, it’s almost gone. Like I said, there’s a reason I only make this/we only eat this dish once a year…

In the past few years, we have snorkeled in the Philippines (was that really a year ago?) and hiked through Japan to celebrate Sly’s bday. This year, we spent Sly’s bday at home. I felt bad that Sly spent his last birthday before the twins arrive watching anime, playing with the kitties on our new bed, and eating loads of HDC, but Sly said it was actually the perfect birthday. Knowing Sly, that’s probably the truth.

HBD SLY! ❤ Next year, I’ll make quadruple the HDC for you and the twins! And maybe even a cake.

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  • Kevin
    March 30, 2018 at 8:13 am

    Happy Birthday, Sir Sly!

    If squeeze cheese isn’t one of the ingredients, it should be.

    Keeping Good Thoughts…

  • veronika
    March 30, 2018 at 8:17 am

    That’s taking it to the next level..

  • Kevin
    March 30, 2018 at 9:06 am

    One should strive for perfection.

    Keeping Good Thoughts…

  • veronika
    March 30, 2018 at 9:07 am

    Maybe once you perfect the recipe you can share it with me. 😂

  • Kevin
    March 30, 2018 at 10:09 am

    It’d take some experimentation. Maybe start with one can and go from there. I’m thinking something like a squeeze cheese gravy.

    Keeping Good Thoughts…

  • veronika
    March 30, 2018 at 10:10 am

    Sounds delish. Lemme know how it turns out!😂

  • Kevin
    March 30, 2018 at 10:25 am

    You’ve been crafting the recipe for years. I’d have to start from scratch. In the name of efficiency, you really should be the one who tries it first.

    Keeping Good Thoughts…

  • Funnelcloud Rachel
    March 31, 2018 at 9:56 am

    I would eat that right now. I see peas, so it must be healthy…

    And I was weirdly “craving” hot dogs yesterday. I think because we had an 80 degree day, and I just wanted to sit on the patio and eat a grilled hot dog and drink a beer. Womp womp. We went out for pizza instead.

    Also, homemade hot dogs sound ambitious!

    I think guys are just happy with eating on their birthdays. Yesterday was actually my dad’s birthday, too, and when I called him he said he ate a dozen pancakes for breakfast!!! Then he followed up the day with more gluttony: bouillabaisse, a cake…

    A few days before Christmas, I told Larry tearfully that I literally had bought him nothing for Christmas. (I was 10 weeks preg and living under a blanket.) He said, “Just get me some beer!” and that is what I did. Dragged my ass off the couch, drove to the beer store, picked out a few fancy cans and stuck them under the tree, unwrapped, but with a stick-on bow on each one. He was delighted.

    Larry’s birthday is 6 weeks before my due date. Hopefully, I can make it up to him then. Maybe beer AND a cake?

  • veronika
    March 31, 2018 at 11:06 am

    Peas AND broccoli. SUPER HEALTHY!

    We have a sausage maker attachment for our KitchenAid and a food processor so…for some reason hot dog making doesn’t seem *that* hard, considering. Famous last words. Maybe I can make a “healthier” version or a semi-veggie version with soy protein, and if it’s good, I can make a lot to freeze. One of these days…

    Sly could request anything on the planet for me to make him for his bday and he still chooses HDC. I’m sure he would have been happy with anything though. One year I strayed from the HDC plan and I think I still ended up making HDC the following day…

    This past Xmas, I said, “Buy what you want off Amazon and I’ll PayPal you.” That’s exactly what happened. He was happy with his gift and I was happy that I didn’t have to go online and search for anything when I felt nauseous. We aren’t surprise or romantic gift people anyway. For small thinking of you type gifts, maybe, but bdays, holidays, etc. I prefer to get someone something I know they want or need.

    Making a cake 6 wks before you’re due might be ambitious. 3rd tri is no joke dude, at least for me anyway. Maybe have a gourmet dessert place in mind for backup! Or just have Larry make his own cake like Sly did. LOL.

  • Kevin
    March 31, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    Peas and broccoli?? With HDC?!? Are you mad?!?!?

    Keeping Good Thoughts…

  • veronika
    March 31, 2018 at 7:43 pm

    We live life on the edge.