"Oh Cwap" that is what my four year old repeated as he came up behind me...
I dropped the spaghetti noodles on the floor. Between the dog hair, dust from the furnace
blowing all day long, and general lack of ambition lately there is no way those noodles were salvagable. So dinner had to switch gears and quickly. Ahh ha, yeah you betcha I got an idea!HOTDISH! A long standing Minnesota Tradition.
Now, to make hotdish you need one mainstay - cream soup. Pick your type - most prefer cream of mushroom. I myself am more of a cream of chicken gal. (Now my mom gets all sorts of crazy and uses 1 can cream of chicken and one can cream of celery)
From there you can alter the recipe in uncountable ways. Today I made a rice hotdish.
1) Start rice cooking ( I "cheated" and used a rice cooker instead the stove)
2) Sautee onions, celery, and carrots in pan (wit a lil' oil)
3) Add cream 2 cans cream soup and 1 can milk - cook on low and whisk together.
4) Brown ground beef (to keep it truly traditional you should use ground venison)
note - I did not include a pic of this, because there is NOTHING pretty about ground beef
5) Mix meat and cream mixture together in pan - for extra flavor simmer for a few minutes.
6) When rice is done mix together cream mixture and rice in a "casserole dish" or cake pan.
7) I mixed in a little shredded cheese today (gettin' crazy!)
8) Put into oven and bake for about an hour, or until it gets hot n' bubbly. (this will go into the 'fridge until an hour before supper)
9) Serve with bread and butter, pickles, and milk.
Tip: Use hotdish to get rid of left overs. Chicken from last night - make chix/broc. hotdish. Left over veggies - throw them in dar!...
I will leave you with my Dearest's favorite supper/hotdish
Tator Tot Casserole
1) brown ground beef (add onions if ya wanta)
2) drain beef
3) add 2 cans cream soup (mix in 1 can milk)
4) add 1 or 2 cans of mixed vegetables (I actually prefer green beans)
5) mix together and pour into bottom of cake pan
6) top mixture with frozen tator tots - line them all up nice and even
7) throw a few extra tots on top for testing (his instructions, not mine)
8) bake 350 degrees for around an hour. (until hot and bubbly)
9) serve with bread and grape jelly (don't ask!), pickles, and milk
11 comments:
It's true! There is a Tater Tot Casserole!
I have a darling coworker who hails from Minnesota and he has promised to make me a Tater Tot Casserole and that we could have a Hot Dish Potluck here at work.
I had no idea that there is such a thing as cream of celery soup. I must be in the wrong aisle at the store!
GREAT!
Now I'm hungry.
Must go make something!
A hotdish sounds good!
OK, I am now laughing (at both of you) and my winter dried skin is cracking!
Adam - sorry, the power of suggestion coming into play!
Tango- I will gladly send you a couple of cans of cream soup if they are not available at your local market! ~I've always wonder how you cream celery~ and finally...Yes, tator tot hotdish is not just a legend/myth.
This sounds, and looks, rather nice! And exactly the sort of thing I'm hungry for in this very cold weather... perhaps I should come up with a London variety of hotdish... it will add to all the casseroles currently in production at this side of the pond...hmmm.
This video is really funny, thanks!
mmmm good ole tator tot hotdish! I grew up in Wabasha and mom was also an EXPERT at hotdishes. Good eating!
WOW! Growing up in ND the ol' hotdish was standard fare. Your pantry was definitely NOT stocked if it didn't contain any of the cream soups..mushroom, celery, chicken. Thanks for the flashback!!
My family's (and my favorite!) MN-SD border hotdish/goulash consists of ground beef (undrained and "fried to hell" as my dad would say) onions, home-grown canned tomatoes from the previous summer, maybe a little V8 added if it's handy, or green bell peppers if you are feeling crazy, and any kind of noodles mixed into it. that's it! I've never had it with rice or cream of anything before, but it sounds good that way too! :)
p.s. I have that same rice cooker/steamer! I love it!
Makes me feel warm and toasty inside. I wonder if there might be a way to make a vegan version of hotdish... No creamed soup, no milk, no meat... Maybe pureed fresh mushroom soup made with soy milk, more soy milk, and fake meat or nutritional yeast... with a little soy cheese on top... You've got my wheels turning.
Ok...those look good! I have to try that. And anything made with tater tots has got to be good!
aah, comfort food. and the word "supper." it's like coming home!
Yes, I had thought of changing my wording and not using supper - but why? That is who I am. We have always and will always call it supper. Dinner is what you eat Sunday's at noon (as you remember julie) So, in keeping with the tradition of hotdish you eat it at "suppertime" :)
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