Hotdish

Recipe by Philipp Melanchthon Wikified by Drimble Wedge

Chances are, if you've at least driven through Minnesota (or the upper midwest in general) you've had a hotdish. Maybe at a church potluck, or your Grandmother's house, or even deep fried on a stick at the state fair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotdish

Don't know what a hotdish is? Basically it's the perfect midwestern food. It usually consists of meat and some type of starch, and is what some might consider "bland". Usually it is held together with cans of Campbell's "Cream of ..." soup.

As a child I absolutely loved it when my mom made Tater Tot Hotdish, yet I just couldn't watch her make it because dumping that can shape blob of cream of mushroom soup onto the meat. That being said, I won't be using anything that retains the shape of the can you dump it out of, and like a good Minnesotan I won't be making this hotdish with beef, but with venison instead.

Ingredients

• Ground venison or beef
• 1 Medium onion
• Ground Pepper

• 4 Tbs butter
• 4 Tbs Flour
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 Pint half and half
• 1 Bay leaf
• 8oz Mushrooms

• 1 Bag tater tots

Butter and Flour:

Add broth, bay leaf, and mushrooms:

Let that simmer while you start browning the meat. How much meat? I used two packages of venison that I ground myself and packaged without measuring at all. I'd probably say around 2 pounds.

While your meat's browning, toss in the diced onions and some ground pepper:

Add the half and half to the broth and mushrooms:

Then blend it up:

Once the meat is done browning, put it in a 9x13 baking dish:

Mix in enough mushroom soup to cover (I didn't use all of it, maybe 2/3):

Top with frozen Tater Tots:

Bake at 350F for an hour.

Scoop some out and eat it. I prefer to mash it all together:

Anyone else have any good Hotdish recipes? Now I'm in the mood to make a Jello salad.