Hot Dog Pasta Salad

The original recipe for this - which I've modified a bit - has been sitting in my computer recipe file for a long time - and I have no idea where it came from. At first I figured it was from the internet, but when I went looking with all my usual searching tools, I couldn't find it, so maybe it just showed up as an email virus attachment and parked itself in my recipe file, quietly waiting until I went insane enough to look for a salad recipe using hot dogs. Well, it happened one day last month and I decided to give it a go. I was sufficiently impressed with the results to share it with you. Oh, and kids seem to like this quite a lot as well. If you're going to serve it to little ones, make sure to cut the hot dogs up smaller (not just into circles) so as to avoid choking possiblities. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 6  ounces macaroni or 6  ounces  other small salad-type pasta
• 5  hot dogs, boiled and sliced in rounds (or smaller bits for young children to avoid choking hazard)
• 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
• 1  tablespoon yellow mustard (no substitutes)
• 2  teaspoons cider vinegar
•  salt and pepper (may omit)
• 1⁄3 cup  thinly sliced  sweet gherkin
• 2  green onions, thinly sliced (use both green and white parts) or 1⁄8 cup  chopped yellow onion

Directions

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions, just until tender.
2. Drain and rinse well with cold water.
3. Meanwhile, cook hot dogs as desired- grill'em, boil'em or pan-fry; cool enough to handle, then slice into circles.
4. If small children will be eating this, cut the circles in halves or quarters to avoid choking hazards.
5. Combine mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar and salt & pepper in small bowl.
6. Place hot dogs and pasta in large bowl and add remaining ingredients.
7. Pour dressing over and toss gently with two spoons until all the bits are coated with dressing.
8. Chill for two hours or longer in refrigerator before serving.