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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

It's Hot Dish Season in Minnesota


With the onset of fall comes the onset of "hot dish" season in the midwest. Until I moved to the midwest many years ago, I had never heard the term "hot dish." It wasn't long before I realized that

HOT DISH = CASSEROLE, only with a few variations.

To make a successful "hot dish," one must have a starch (can be tater tots), a meat (usually hamburger), a canned or frozen veggie (many times, corn),
along with a can of soup (usually cream of mushroom,) then this mixture is topped off with something crunchy, (usually potato chips or bread crumbs), which is usually topped off with a little bit of cheese (usually cheddar). You bake this mixture for 45 - 60 minutes in a 350 degree oven and serve. This is a classic midwestern Hot Dish! These are most commonly found on kitchen tables all over the midwest, church suppers, family get togethers etc. At every event, you find that there are variations on this recipe. The easiest way to remember is: starch + meat + soup + vegetable + crunchy + cheese. Bake. Serve. Easy Peasy! Now, what is your favorite Hot Dish?

6 comments:

  1. Yum! The only hot dish I have made recently was an apple crumble. Well it was hot & in a dish anyway ;)

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  2. We don't make too many hot dishes in our family in Atlanta, but you know I married into a Minnesota family...so I hear about the hot dishes they are all eating Up North now :)

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  3. I don't know if it qualifies as a hot dish, but we love Poppy Seed Chicken. That inspires me to make some this week perhaps! Chicken, cream of mush, egg noodles, crushed Ritz with butter and poppy seeds (only on half as my children think those spots are 'dirt'!) bake and yum!
    Enjoy the day!
    Erin

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  4. Erin, Yes, that is truly a hot dish!

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  5. My guilty pleasure - macaroni and cheese hot out of the oven.

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  6. With that one word, "hotdish", it was like being transported back home to Minnesota! The tater tot hotdish is my absolute favorite, although there was one my mom used to make where the crunchies were chow mein noodles. Yum!

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