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 

White Chicken Chili

If you haven't noticed lately, I am on a bit of a soup kick.  When the temperatures start dropping all I can think of is soup.  Soup, soup and more soup.  

This one is totally a winner.  I get sick of eating regular (yet tasty) red chili.  This soup was so easy to make and I really enjoyed the unique flavor it had.  This one is definitely going on our soup rotation.  

Start by melting butter in a large Dutch oven or stock pot.

Finely dice up an onion

And introduce it to it's new friend, butter.

Open a can of green chiles and add it to the pan as well.

Finely, FINELY, dice up a few pickled jalapeños.  I'm sure you could use fresh but this is what I had on hand.

Add them to the pot. Let this cook for about 5 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, drain and rinse the beans.

Add them to the pot

Along with chicken broth

Garlic powder

Cumin

Mexican (or regular) oregano

Salt

And pepper.  Let this simmer for about 15 minutes and wait for your house to smells ah-maze-balls.

Oh hello BFF.  Can I get a hallelujah for rotisserie chicken!?  I love it.  I especially love it in soups because the chicken doesn't get dry.  Have you ever noticed how weird and dry chicken gets if you cook it then add it to a soup.  I'm not into weird chicken.

So, shred the chicken.  I used mainly the breasts

Into the pot it goes.

Don't forget all of the juice at the bottom of the tray.  Sorry for the blurry picture, the dog bumped me as I was snapping.

Shred two cups of Monterey Jack cheese.   When I know I'm going to be shredding cheese, I pop it into the freezer for a few minutes so it hardens a bit.  Just a little tip for ya...

Add sour cream

Half and half

And cheese.  I wanted it a bit thicker soooo...

I added a bit of corn starch to cold water.

Pour it into the soup while stirring it…until it is thick and creamy.

Then I realized I wanted corn in it too.  So I added some corn.  Let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes or until heated through.

That's it!

Delicious, creamy, spicy soup!

Sluuuurp.

White Chicken Chili 

1 1/2 tablespoon butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 4 oz can green chiles
2 tablespoons pickled jalapeños (more or less depending on your taste)
1 15 oz can Great Northern (white) beans
3 14.5 oz cans chicken broth (reduced sodium preferred)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon Mexican (or regular) oregano
1 teaspoon salt
15 cracks black pepper
2 chicken breasts (rotisserie preferred)
8 oz sour cream (fat free is okay)
1 cup half and half
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 12 oz bag frozen corn

Start by adding the butter an onions in a large Dutch oven or stock pot.  Toss in the green chiles and jalapeños.  Cook this for about 5 minutes on medium high heat or until the onions become translucent.

Drain and rinse the beans, add them to the pot along with the chicken broth.  Sprinkle in the garlic powder, oregano, salt and black pepper.  Let this simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, shred the chicken into bite sized pieces.  Add the chicken, sour cream, half and half and cheese into the pot.  Combine the cold water and corn starch into a small glass.  Pour it slowly into the soup while stirring.  Stop once you have reached your desired consistency.  Add in the corn and reduce to medium heat.  Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until heated through.

Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Recipe highly adapted from: Lil Luna 

Corn Chowder

This is my all time favorite soup.  Not because it tastes absolutely amazing (and it really does) but because it reminds me of my Grandma.  Oh boy, was she a spitfire and a half.  Not like I know anything about something like that...but I have stories for days.  

This soup reminds me of her small house across from the Armory.  It was a short walk to the park and fully equipped with strange orange and black dishes (I need to find them somewhere) and sweet yellow curtains that flew in the summer breeze.  I made this soup last weekend and it brought me right back to her house and gave me a big old hug of Grandma Nothnagel coziness.  I hope it does the same to you.   

Start with bacon...as all good things do.  I like to cut it up with my kitchen shears.  Seriously, amazing. Try it.

Fry it up, remove it from the pan and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Drain the majority of the bacon fat from the pot and toss it--or keep it in a leetle jar in your fridge incase the mood hits you.

Chop up an onion

And toss it into the pot.  See all that brown goodness at the bottom, the moisture from the onions and celery will make that come up...watch.

Speaking of celery, chop that up as well.

Toss it into the pot.

Since I took out the majority of the bacon fat, I added some butter.  It only seemed right.  Oh, and see those brown bits, yeah the onions and celery are doing their job.  Let them cook for about 4-5 minutes or until they start to get translucent.

Then grab a can of these guys.  Yeah, I don't buy them for anything but this...I'm sure you could boil your own potatoes but it wouldn't taste the same.

So slice them down the long way...

Then she short way to make little half moon potatoes.

Perfect..

Add some flour, this will thicken up the soup a bit.

Give it a good stir and cook the flour taste out a bit.

Add in milk.  Yes, straight up milk.  I actually make this with SKIM milk.  Can you believe it?  My mom always did I doubt my grandma did but it tastes just fine.  Remember, there is bacon, bacon fat and butter in this...skim milk is probably a wise choice.

Add in the potatoes

Creamed corn.  This is the only time I buy this stuff from the can again...Mr. Schwartz was jacked when he saw it.   Then I broke his heart and told him it was going in soup...I deprive him don't I?

Add salt...it needs quite a bit actually...

Lots of black pepper

And back in goes the bacon...or whats left of it...

Give it a good stir and let it simmer for at least 15 minutes.  Be sure to watch it as it can scald on the bottom.  The longer you let it simmer the thicker it will get.

Perfection.

It tastes so fresh, sweet and salty at the same time.  I can't take it!

Also, I froze a bunch of this since I was making a double batch and have already re-thawed it...it came out even better and thicker than the first time.  Score!

Corn Chowder: 

1 pound bacon
2 large or 5 small-medium sized onions, chopped
4 large stalks of celery, tops included, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
2 14.5 oz cans new potatoes, cut into half moons
2 14 3/4 oz cans creamed corn
8 cups milk (skim is just fine)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Start by chopping and cooking the bacon in a large Dutch oven or soup pot that you plan to cook the soup in.  Once fully cooked, remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel lined plate.  Remove the majority of the bacon grease (all but maybe a tablespoon or so) and discard.

Add the onions and celery to the pot along with the butter.  Saute these for about 5 minutes or until the onions become translucent.  Add the flour and cook for another 3-4 minutes to get the flour taste out.

Slowly pour in the milk and stir until fully combined.  Bring to a simmer while adding the potatoes and corn.  Once simmering, add the bacon and let it cook for at least 15 minutes.  It will become thicker as it cooks and even thicker once it cools a bit.  It's kind of strange that way but trust me.

Serve in large bowls and enjoy!

Recipe by: My Grandma Nothnagel

**a few notes, this is the doubled recipe and it makes a lot--freeze whatever is left and once thawed it is even better than the day you made it.

Also, it is not super thick from the get go, if you want a thicker soup add the 1/4 cup of flour and a few tablespoons to thicken it even more.