"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
