I cut up a European wiener with a cross-cut on the end of each piece so that when they cooked they would turn into mini octopuses. I remember wieners and beans as a favourite of mine growing up. I don't know why it's taken me this long to introduce it to my 4 year old. As a result, he was skeptical at the idea of mixing the two ingredients but when he saw it on the plate he said "Mama, it's so cute. It looks like an ocean of octopus". He ate every last bite.