Casseroles and the Midwest

My roommate in collage used to make corn flake, Campbell’s soup and Velveeta cheese casseroles. I thought she was out of her mind. Like 90% of a recipe shouldn’t come out of a vacuum sealed package, right? But after seeing the world a bit, I’ve learned to look at foreign cultures differently. With complete cultural relativity I’d like to introduce you to the most famous casserole in the American Midwest.


Actually in the Midwest casseroles are called hot dishes. My friend Alex, who grew up in Michigan, is half Belgian, speaks a gaggle of languages, and has visited many many countries, introduced me to THE hot dish classic, tater tot casserole. This little baked number is a combo of ground beef, Campbell’s cream soup, shredded cheddar and tater tots. You had no idea, did you?

For those of you who don’t know, tater tots are processed potato nuggets that are often served at school lunches. The exterior is brown and crisp while the interior has the texture of a potato that’s been through a wood chipper. Once baked up in the casserole, the tots disintegrate into a single gooey layer covered in dairy and beef.


I have to be honest, tater tot casserole will not make my death-row dinner list, but it’s good. It’s good like Wendy’s chicken nuggets are good or Pizza Hut is good. It’s good like Cheetos or Cool Ranch Doritos. There is something so wrong about this dish that it’s right. It will fill you up, keep you warm and remind you that some things can only be found right here in the U.S. of A.

Tater Tot Casserole

1 pound ground beef
1 can (approx. 10 ounces) cream of chicken condensed soup
1 can (approx. 10 ounces) cream of mushroom (or celery) condensed soup
1 1/2 cup milk or sour cream or mixture of the two
1 package (1 pound) frozen tater tots
1/4 pound each: shredded Cheddar and Colby Jack cheese (or 1/2 pound of either type)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Brown ground beef in medium saucepan; drain. Add soup and milk. Mix together over med-heat. Add 3/4 of cheese and mix until melted. At the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish, arrange tater tots in single layer.

Pour meat/soup/sour cream mixture over the top, spreading evenly over all tater tots. Sprinkle remainder of cheese over the top. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until center is bubbling and top cheese is golden brown.

As a final note, I’d like to thank George for his casserole post. Thanks for the inspiration.

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20 comments:

  1. I forgot to ask, have you ever heard of tater tot casserole?

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  2. Remembrance of things past :-). This is a great casserole to take to pot-luck suppers. Thanks for bringing back the memory.

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  3. I could scream! I love this dish, and my daughter and I would eat ourselves sick when we made it! Hubby does not care for it, but I sneak it in now and then...when I saw your photo I was like Ah! I knew what it was before I read the post :)

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  4. oh this is hilarious! I love your narrative! Oh gosh, and I'm SO happy I just saw all the books on your blog - I'll happily be added them to my list on goodreads.com! Thanks!

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  5. I grew up in west Michigan and we ate casseroles all the time. (of course the tater tot one was one of the better tasting ones in a kid's mind) I think my mom added corn to ours. I thought it was just a thing of the times, like TV dinners, not a regional thing. My favorite one was her chicken, broccoli, curry casserole!

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  6. Wow, you are a pretty worldly bunch. I only learned about this a month ago. I'm east coast born and raised.

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  7. I lived in Minnesota for about 5 years Tater Tot Hot Dish was a staple... Even restaurants in my small town had it on the menu. I agree with you I both crave and am repulsed by the dish at the same time.

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  8. Good thing you don't have my doctor. If he even caught me looking at that dish he'd send me into Mass General for open heart surgery. The problem eating those types of dishes is being able to transform the calories into useful energy before they become interest bearing deposits.

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  9. Awesome! No, I have never heard of tater tot casserole before but I do like tater tots (we call them Gems over here in Australia, I think). Love your blog :)

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  10. That looks simple and delicious!

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  11. Funny post! I'm from Michigan and I never heard of tater tot casserole and I DO call them casseroles and not hot dishes.
    Maybe I moved to Florida before all this happened!

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  12. Ripama, very funny comment.

    Shaz, nice to see an Aussie in here. It makes the post even more muti-culti.

    Barbara, Maybe I over generalized about Michigan folk. Even more interesting, I realized my friend Alex is actually from Illinois.

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  13. That is the first time I hear about Tater Tot casserole. It looks delicious!

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  14. I never heard about this, but you know what, I bet it tastes kinda awesome on a cold day like today.

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  15. Never heard of it but I'm so trying it. If only to say I have. A lovely day to you my dear.

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  16. Tater tot casserole? Awesome! This could be in the Motherlode book!!!

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  17. I have enjoyed that casserole -Nothing beats baked taters with cheese and an assortment of Campbell's condensed soups. This screams the U.S.A...
    I have learned a new term today too "Hot dishes" I will remember that.

    Hope your holiday was wonderful.

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  18. My family loves this casserole!!!! It's a sinful combination of ingredients but it sure is delicious. Sometimes we substitute chicken for the beef. That's healthier...right?

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  19. wow this is reallly sinful! Looks so good!

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  20. Very late comment, but I live in Iowa and this casserole is awesome.

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