The Journal of an Honest Mom

Can we talk about how you can air fry hot dogs?

And voila.

Dinner.

Maybe I’m just stupid, but it genuinely never occurred to me that you could throw a hot dog in the air fryer and the outside would get that little crunch to it. That crisp you’re looking for on the outside of a hot dog.

Apparently you can.

You’re welcome. Or maybe I’m the last person on earth to figure this out and you’re all welcome to judge me.

We got home last night and I only had a few minutes to make dinner.

I had just been outside at soccer practice, so I was hot. I was sweaty. And I did not feel like cooking.

And by cooking, I mean actually cooking.

I did not want to get elbow deep washing chicken and seasoning it up and then figuring out which sides were going to pair beautifully hand in hand with the meat being served.

No.

I wanted food.

Preferably with as little effort as possible.

So I threw some hot dogs in the air fryer.

We had mac and cheese already in the fridge, so I heated that up. I cut up some watermelon because we had just been exercising outside in the heat, also known as Satan’s armpit, and clearly needed to rehydrate.

The boys got applesauce with theirs.

My husband and I had pineapple and watermelon.

Hot dog. Mac and cheese. Fruit.

And you know what?

It was splendid.

Nobody complained.

Nobody cared that I hadn’t lovingly prepared some elaborate meal.

Everybody ate.

And then this morning, I had to pack lunches for the older boys because they were going to their co-op for a few hours.

I asked what they wanted.

Hot dogs.

The same hot dogs.

The meal I had thrown together the night before because I was too tired and sweaty to cook was apparently good enough that they wanted it again less than 24 hours later.

Fine by me.

Into the thermoses they went.

And there’s another little mom hack for you.

If you’re ever in need of a quick dinner, throw some hot dogs in the air fryer. Make extras. Put the leftovers in your kid’s thermos the next day and apparently they’ll think it’s the greatest lunch you’ve ever packed.

My kids unfortunately like to raw dog it and just eat the straight hot dog.

No bun.

Nothing.

Just… hot dog.

But if your children prefer theirs with a bun like civilized people, wrap the whole thing in foil like they do at sporting events and put it in their thermos.

Dinner took almost no effort.

Lunch took almost no effort.

And everybody was happy with both.

Simple. Easy. Everybody’s fed.

That’s a triple win.

And apparently sometimes dinner really can just be hot dogs.