Minnesota Hot Dish

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Rebecca Baugh

Sorry I have been a little absent from posting on my little web page. The last month has been hectic with a major plumbing issue in my basement (Minerva, I know you can relate). What was a little leak ended up jack hammering out a 15 foot section of my basement floor and replacing the pipe…..(tearing out carpet) moving furniture having a big hole in the floor for 5 days….need I go on..haha..

Then I got the dreaded flu….I am on the mend now, and it is a good thing to, cause Christmas is right around the corner and I have a ton of baking to do for my Christmas Trays, I hand out each year.

I know that everyone out there is just as busy or more so than I am. If you are looking for something simple to make for dinner that does not take a lot of time, you might want to give this recipe a try.

It is so simple to make Oldest Daughter Who Does Not Cook can make it.

Yes, seriously, it is that easy. : )

It is called Minnesota Hot Dish.

I found this recipe last year for my foods class when we were cooking recipes by regions of the United States. I stumbled upon this recipe (although there is a ton of variations on it) and thought it would be a perfect recipe the my students at school could try. They loved it so much, I made it at home, and my kiddos and grandgirls loved it too….even Company!

In fact, I put one together today and put it in the fridge to bake this weekend.

Anything I can do ahead so I can just bake in the kitchen and not worry about at least one meal.

It only takes a few ingredients to make this simple, yet satisfying dish.

You will need two pounds of hamburger, one can of cream of chicken soup, one can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 tablespoon of garlic, 1/2 chopped small onion, season salt, frozen mixed vegetables (you can used canned if you want) and tater tots.

First thing you need to do is chop the onion. I have to chop it really fine, cause Company does not like onions, so if hid them in a dish he can’t find them.

Brown the hamburger and drain the grease.

Add in the chopped onion, a tablespoon garlic and season salt to taste. I used about a teaspoon.

Cook until the onion is translucent.

Layer the hamburger in the bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish.

Layer the frozen vegetables on top of the hamburger.

You will use two cans of cream soup.

In a bowl, mix the cream of mushroom and the cream of chicken soup together.

Evenly spoon the cream soup over the vegetables.

Spread the soup over the frozen vegetables.

Layer tater tots on top of the soup.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until the tater tots are brown the layers are bubbling together.

You can serve it just like this with out cheese or………….

You can get out your favorite slice cheese.

And lay the cheese on top to melt. Then dig in. It is a complete meal in one.

Easy Peasy Nice and Easy!

Here is the recipe:

Minnesota Hot Dish

Ingredients:

2 pounds of hamburger

1/2 chopped small onion

1 teaspoon of season salt

1 tablespoon of garlic

3 to 4 cups of mixed frozen vegetables (you can use 2 to 3 cans of different vegetables if that is what you have on hand)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 small bag of frozen tater tots.

Directions:

Brown the hamburger and drain the grease. Put the hamburger back in the frying pan and add the season salt, garlic and chopped onions. Fry until the onions are translucent.

Layer the hamburger in the bottom of a 9 by 13 pan. Sprinkle the frozen vegetables over the top of the hamburger. Mix the cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup together in a small bowl. Spread the soup over the vegetables. Cover the soup with the tater tots. You should have 4 layers. Bake the hot dish in a 350 degree preheated oven until the layers are bubbling and the tater tots are brown and crispy.

This is a perfect recipe to make when you are busy and do not have a bunch of time to spend in the kitchen.

Enjoy!

Becky

Messy Marvin

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Rebecca Baugh

I love recipes with unusual names. They catch my attention and some of them make me laugh.

Well….when I found a old recipe for Messy Marvin, I first laughed, then wondered who was Marvin and why he was so messy, and then decided I had to make it.

I am so glad I did. Messy Marvins are fun and tasty and even the Oldest Daughter who does not cook, Grandgirls and the Super Hero loved their Messy Marvins.

I ate one too.

Messy Marvin are like a juicy burger. but in my opinion. taste much better. It could be the fresh cut sweet red pepper and onion or the combination of seasonings. This recipe made enough for all of us to have a sandwich or two and there were still left overs.

Anywho, if you are looking for a quick, tasting, family pleasing meat dish, that even the name makes you laugh, try Messy Marvin.

Here is what you need to make them.

You will need two pounds of hamburger, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sweet pepper and some seasoning.

The first thing I did was dice my onion and red pepper.

Place the hamburger in a large pan and fry till completely cooked. Drain off the grease.

After you drain the cooked hamburger, you can add the diced pepper, onion and garlic. Stir and cook for about five minutes or until the onions and pepper soften. Be sure and stir so the mixture does not start to stick.

Now you can start adding in the seasoning. Add in the Italian seasoning and the chili pepper.

Next, I added the Worcestershire sauce and the salt.

Then, I added the pepper. Stir all the spices in.

Now it time to add in the tomato sauce and the tomato paste.

Cover the pan and simmer on low for about 10 minutes to bring all the flavors together. Be careful not to let the mixture stick.

So what the heck in the oatmeal for? Well, if the sauce on the Messy Marvin is really running, you can add a little oatmeal to tighten it up. As it turned out, I did not need to use the oatmeal.

Now, all you have to do, is scoop some out and put on a bun. Walla, now you have a Messy Marvin.

Here is your recipe:

Messy Marvin

Adapted from old recipe from newspaper

Ingredients:

2 pounds of hamburger (I used a 80/20 mix)

16 ounces of tomato sauce

6 ounces of tomato paste

1 sweet red pepper, diced (you can use a green or yellow pepper if you want)

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt (or salt to taste)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup oatmeal if needed (see note)

2 teaspoons Tabasco (Optional) I did not use

Hamburger buns or bread

Directions:

Dice the onion and red pepper. In a large skillet, fry the hamburger until cook thoroughly. Drain off the excess grease. Add in the diced onion, red pepper and minced garlic. Sauté together until onion and pepper begin to soften. Add in the Italian seasoning, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Stir together. Pour in the tomato sauce and the tomato paste. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Note. If the sauce is thin and runny you can add up to 1/4 cup oatmeal to tighten the sauce up.

Serve hot over bread or on a bun.

It might be messy but it is so, so, good!

Enjoy!

Becky

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Rebecca Baugh

Have you ever had to figure out how to make a meatloaf that everyone in your family will enjoy? Baby college girl is home for the weekend and she wants “home cooked” food. The big question now is what to make that every one in the house will eat. Every one in the family chose BBQ Meatloaf.

You should try this recipe. Really, you should try this recipe. I know it seems weird to put brown sugar on the bottom of your meat loaf pan and then covering that brown sugar with ketchup. But, it really does work. While the meatloaf bakes in the oven, the brown sugar dissolves and slowly flavors the meatloaf. It is not overly sweet….. no need to worry about that. I bet you have most of the ingredients in your cupboard and fridge/freezer. If you don’t have Italian bread crumbs just substitute crackers. If you don’t like onions but love the flavor just use some onion powder instead.

Don’t let a recipe own you. Own your recipe. What I mean by that is, don’t be bogged down by every little ingredient. Especially for something like meat loaf. Look in your kitchen, see what you have. Even if you are out of ketchup, you can use BBQ sauce. But seriously, can a kitchen ever be without ketchup?! A Ketchup outage at my house sets off a four alarm kitchen emergency!!! Ketchup is the glue and hamburger is the paper…..go forth and make meatloaf, BBQ style!

Here is the ingredients for the meatloaf. I just literally went through the cabinet and fridge and found everything I needed. I am sure you can too. : )

First thing you do is cover the botton of your pan with brown sugar. I used some brown sugar that was getting a little dry. I would not use this brown sugar in cookies or any baked good, but for this recipe, this is the perfect time to get rid of some long on the shelf brown sugar. Next, cover the brown sugar with ketchup. I just squirted rows of ketchup. I did not even bother to smooth it down.

If you are using fresh onions, now is the time to chop up a small onion. I cried a few tears over this. Not because we do not like onions, we do. It is just chopping onions makes me weepy! Boohoo…..where is a paper towel when you need one?

Put 1 1/2 pound of ground hamburger to a large mixing bowl. (I used 2 pounds of hamburger and just adapted my recipe for a little more hamburger). Crack two eggs into a bowl and beat.