Snowcaps

This isn’t a dessert or anything like the dessert of the same name. The meal I propose to you is so cheap, so easy, so ludicrously indulgent in a way only comfort food can be, you and your kids will be thanking me! It’s not the healthiest of meals. It’s mostly just mashed potatoes with cheese piled on top of some hotdogs. Yeah, you think I gave the recipe away there, and while you could probably work it out on your own, I am going to share a few tips to making this taste like something more than weird college food.

First off, you’re gonna need to mash some potatoes. I should mention here, that Tillie Toro isn’t allowed to cook in most kitchens. Mostly because while I was younger, I managed to catch my parents stove top on fire while boiling water for said mashed potatoes. But don’t worry, I only caught my kitchen on fire two more times before I figured it all out.

Okay, here we go… Since the potatoes take the longest, start cooking those first.

Mashed Potatoes

1. 5lbs of potatoes
2. 1/4 stick of butter (at least)
3. Half a cup of milk (at least)
4. Tablesoon of salt
5. BLACK PEPPER!!!!

•  Of course depending on how much you are making you’ll need between 2.5lbs – 5 lbs of your favorite potatoes, I go for the Russets personally. Peel ’em, cut ’em, rinse ’em and toss them in a stock pot filled three quarters of the way with water and just enough salt to flavor those ‘tatoes.
• Boil the ‘taters until they are mushy enough not to destroy your cheapie electric hand mixer (No, for real. I’ve done this at least twice and I’ve seasoned pros in my family do it once themselves) and then pour the entirety of the potatoes into a strainer. Be aware that they will be hot and burn you. I suggest oven-mitts and to keep your face out of the steam.
• Place your strained potatoes into a large mixing bowl, then your butter, and then your milk. You may need more milk or butter for flavor and for ease of mashing. I like to also throw in as much black pepper as I like, because nothing tastes better to me than black pepper.
• Mix it all up with electric beaters, season to taste, and then you’re done with that step.

Hotdogs

1. Hotdogs (pick your favorite brand because I don’t advertise for free, though I prefer all beef hot dogs myself)

• While your tater’s are boiling, go ahead and follow whatever boiling instructions are on your packaging. You might as well make sure they’re fully cooked so that baking time is all about other matters rather than cooking your ‘dogs. (You can microwave them if you prefer your hotdog blown up or wrinkly and chewy)
• Go ahead and preheat your oven for 350 F. (Really you can do that part anytime you need, you know your oven better than me and how long it takes to get to temperature.)

Cheese

1. Medium cheddar cheese

• You’ll notice I didn’t go into how much cheese. That’s because it’s also up to you. Do you prefer it sliced, in little cubes, or graded? Do you want enough cheesed to run through the mashed potaters? Do you want the cheese to wrap around your dog? Or do you only want to “cap” off the potatoes only? It’s a free country, so you do you. Make it as cheesy as you like. I’m not here to judge.

Snowcaps

1. Mashed Potatoes
2. Hotdogs
3. Cheese

• Now, you want to get a casserole dish and slice those hotdogs vertically in half. That probably sounded weird, but basically you want your dogs to be half moon shaped, not cylindrical or something.
• Lay your hot dogs flat side down into the dish.
• Plop your mashed potatoes on top of your dogs.
• This is also the part where you can go crazy with your cheese. Wherever you want it, place it. If it was a step before the potato plopping, then you should have read faster. Now you’ll just have to work around the potatoes.
• Place your casserole dish into the oven and let it bake until the cheese is as melted or crusted as you prefer.

So, yeah. That’s a Tillie original right there. Now I’ve seen some people get all fancy by adding sour cream right after the mashing part of the process or even green onions and bacon bits, but like I said, you do you. You’re the one who has to eat it.