Tater Tot Hot Dish

I finally did it, I made Tater Tot Hot Dish for the blog.  While not the most glamourous of dishes, I mean I'm not expecting you to serve this on your fine China, it is tastier than "all get out." Yeah, that quote is from Mr. Schwartz.  What can I say, we are from Minnesota so I have got to represent.  

Although there are quite a few varieties of this dish this is mine.  Slightly adapted from my mom's recipe.  My secret: two, yes two, cans of "cream of something" soup.  It adds an extra creaminess.  Whip up a big o' batch of this and you can pretend that you are hanging out with us, in Minnesota.  Probably where you would like to be about now considering the high is a whopping 16 today.  It gets better ... -15 below wind chills tonight.  Thank God for leftovers.  

Start by chopping up a medium onion

Toss it in a pan with a bit of canola oil.  Let this sauté for a bit until the onions start to become translucent. 

Add a pound of ground beef.

Brown it up.

Add a bag of frozen veggies.  We like the green beans, corn, carrots and peas version.

Give it a quick stir

Add two cans of cream of something soup.  I used one can of low fat cream of chicken and one can of low fat cream of celery.  Cream of mushroom would work too…any combination of the three.

Stir that in as well.

Add a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. 

And a dash of Kitchen Bouquet.  This is completely optional but adds a richness that can't be beat.  It also makes the sauce a darker brown.  Be careful as you can go from perfect savory brown to black real quick.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and pour the mixture into the dish.

Spread out evenly and top with the tater tots.

Midwestern Food Art.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour or until hot and bubbly. 

 Deeelish.  It's hard to make Tater Tot Hotdish look pretty but I tried my best.

It's tasty, I swear. 

Tater Tot Hotdish

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound ground beef 

1 16 oz bag of your favorite frozen vegetables 

2 cans cream of chicken, mushroom or celery soup

A few shakes of Worcestershire Sauce 

A dash of Kitchen Bouquet

approximately 50 tater tots 

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. 

Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat.  Drizzle in the canola oil and add the onion.  Sauté the onions until they start to become translucent. 

Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.  Once the meat is cooked, add the soups, veggies, worcestershire sauce and Kitchen Bouquet.  Stir until completely combined.  

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and pour the mixture into the dish.  Spread out evenly and top with tater tots.  

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until bubbly and hot throughout.  

Enjoy! 

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz