Pasta with mashed potatoes and hot dog slivers

Ingredients

• 8 Patriotic Vibes Hot Dog Trays

  On sale at Dollar General: Patriotic Vibes Hot Dog Trays, 8 ct

  $0.45 $2.25

• 4.4 oz Knorr Pasta Sides Fettuccine Alfredo

  On sale at Dollar General: Knorr Pasta Sides Fettuccine Alfredo, 4.4 oz

  $1.00 $1.35

• 1 cup prepared Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes

  On sale at Dollar General: Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes, 13.75 oz Box

  $2.00 $2.75

• 4 cups Water

  pantry

• 2 tablespoons Butter

  pantry

• 1 cup Milk

  about $1.75

• to taste Salt and pepper

  pantry

• 1 cup Frozen peas

  about $1.25

Prices are from Dollar General the week of October 18, 2026. Sale prices change every week and differ by store.

Steps

1. Slice hot dogs on the diagonal into half inch pieces and cook them in a large skillet over medium high heat until the edges brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, then set aside.
2. Bring water and butter to a boil, add the pasta sides and cook according to package directions until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes.
3. While the pasta cooks, prepare the mashed potatoes according to package directions using 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon butter.
4. Stir the milk and prepared mashed potatoes into the cooked pasta off the heat, then fold in the cooked hot dogs and frozen peas.
5. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.

Why it’s cheap

3 of the 8 ingredients were on sale at Dollar General the week of October 18, 2026, led by patriotic vibes hot dog trays at $0.45 instead of $2.25.

The sale items rang up $2.90 under their regular prices.

Penny Meals prices a dinner by the share of each package you actually cook, adds an estimated shelf price for anything that wasn’t on sale, and counts pantry staples like oil and salt as free. That came to $1.17 a serving, or $3.51 for 3 servings.

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