Hamburger Hotdish

This week I thought I'd pick out another hotdish recipe, mainly to keep up appearances that this blog isn't just an excuse for me to make desserts all the time. Hamburger Hotdish is certainly a classic, though I've more often heard this one referred to as Tater Tot Hotdish (or Tater Snot Rot Dish, if you're my sister as a kid).

This recipe comes from the Norway Lutheran Church (1892-1992) cookbook and is attributed to S. Rosevold.

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Hamburger Hotdish

1 lb. raw hamburger

1/4 cup onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup milk

1 lb. tater tots

Press raw hamburger in bottom of 9x9 pan. Add onion, celery, cream of chicken soup and milk. Pour over hamburger. Add tater tots. Bake 1 hour at 350°.

Variations: 2 pounds hamburger, add 1 package onion soup (omit onions), 1 can whole kernel corn (omit milk).

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As you'll notice, I opted for the variation with corn in it. Since you're omitting the milk in that option, I just dumped the whole can of corn (liquid and all) to make up for the lost liquid. It doesn't specify whether to do that or not, but if I were to make it again, I'd only add half the can's liquid to make it slightly less wet. The onion soup mix variation interested me too, if only because I found the flavor a little bland overall.

I understand that hotdish is all about convenience, but I imagine sauteing the onions and celery beforehand and mixing them with the ground beef (and a pinch of salt) would have improved the flavor. The pressed beef at the bottom of the pan made a solid beef patty layer on the bottom that I didn't hate, but it was odd.

Let me tell you, I struggled to take appetizing photos and I don't think I really succeeded. The end product kind of looks like something you'd find on the sidewalk outside a seedy bar. Now that I think of it, i could probably say that for most hotdishes.

Final rating: 2.5/5 tater tot hotdish is decent, but clearly stems from a lazy attempt at cottage pie