Upper Midwesterners - What was the largest variety of hotdishes you have seen assembled in 1 place?

[KitchenWitch]

It had to be last year at my great-uncle's funeral. In the Lutheran Church's social hall, there were two of those very long folding tables and it must have been at least 35 different varieties of hotdish.

:9

[trof]

1. Do you write for PHC?

Prairie Home Companion?

[KitchenWitch]

3. No, but perhaps I should!

:rofl:

[trof]

8. Is that what we in the south call 'casseroles'?

I think?
At our church, when I was a kid?
We'd count the number of 'Tuna-Noodle Surprises'.
"Oh Jesus, Jimmy! There's SEVEN! Wow!"

[KitchenWitch]

10. Yes - what everyone else calls 'casserole' we call 'hotdish'

"Mom, what are we having for supper tonight?"

"Hotdish."

"What kind?"

"Hamburger Hotdish."

"Which hamburger hotdish."

"The one with the mixed vegetables."

"But Mom, I like the one with the tatertots better!"

"You will eat what I cook, and you will be happy."

[Left Is Write]

12. Hamburger hotdish! The staple of cooking for so many Minnesota families.

Standard hamburger hotdish in our house: Hamburger, onion, salt, pepper, tomatoes, elbow macaroni. Is a very elastic recipe and can be modified/dressed up to suit.

[smtpgirl]

17. That sounds like chili mac to me

the only difference is chili powder mixed in & cheddar cheese on top

[Left Is Write]

18. Chili mac would require chili powder and chili beans.

[smtpgirl]

64. all chili mac is browned hamburger flavored with chili

powder and other spices, macaroni, cheese, tomatoes, onions and baked with cheese on top.

[Left Is Write]

65. I know. It's not the same as hamburger hotdish.

No cheese or chili powder in hamburger hotdish.

[hippywife]

32. That was called

Johnny Marzetti in our house.

[Connonym]

34. lol, I had that on Tuesday night

it was tasty

[Left Is Write]

13. Yes, but the one true and correct term is hotdish.

:D

[Left Is Write]

2. I'm not sure, but it would either have been a church supper or our family reunion!

Probably the family reunion. :D

(Of course, any decent Lutheran church supper would include Jell-o to go along with the hotdish.)

[KitchenWitch]

4. Jello with the canned fruit mixed in before it gelled.

:7

[trof]

11. Oh yeah. Jello Fruit 'Salad'.

"This is a salad? It looks like dessert."
"It's a salad."

[KitchenWitch]

20. exactly!

[Goblinmonger]

51. And really, really bland potato salad.

I grew up in eastern North Dakota (so we also ate hotdish). I grew up in the Polish/Czech area north of Grand Forks. When we went to a wedding we were always pissed when it was a Lutheran wedding because that meant that the food would be bland and suck a lot. There is NOTHING like a Polish wedding for great food. And beer. And food.

[jakefrep]

5. Would this include Lutefisk?

Or just what the rest of us call Tater Tot casserole?

[KitchenWitch]

6. Woefully, there was NO lutefisk.

There was however plenty of lefse! :9

There were 2 varieties of the tater tot hotdish, one with a cheesy sauce and one with the cream of mushroom soup and the Durkee french fried onions.

[Left Is Write]

16. We might make some lefse for Easter.

I usually only make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but my first grader expressed a desire the other day for lefse, and making it now seems a fine idea.

[Left Is Write]

14. There are an infinite number of hotdish possibilites.

Tater tots not needed.

Thankfully, I have never heard of anyone makine lutefisk hotdish.

[jakefrep]

30. Then I wouldn't say "lutefisk hotdish" out loud...

...you just know someone will try it now.

[lutefisk]

45. Might as well say "sushi hot dish"

Lutefisk and hotdish might be eaten in the same part of the country, but eating lutefisk is practically a ceremony, and it certainly deserves respect, if you know what I mean. I love lutefisk, my kids love lutefisk, my ancestors all loved lutefisk- and hotdish has nothing to do with lutefisk. I have never, ever, seen a "hotdish" served with lutefisk.

[knitter4democracy]

7. Hmm. I'm not sure I can beat 35.

Church potlucks always had a ton, but there used to be a lady in charge of organizing so we didn't all bring entrees or desserts and forget everything else.

Hmm. Maybe it's casserole night tomorrow night. :)

[KitchenWitch]

9. It was a large funeral, and my great-uncle was very popular in the church

:)

[Left Is Write]

15. Oh, funerals...

My mother said that when she was growing up, the church-basement-lady standard funeral lunch was ham buns (ham salad on white hamburger buns), Jell-o salad and egg coffee.

Seems to me we had ham buns when my grandmother passed away in 1996. The funeral was in Montevideo.

[KitchenWitch]

22. Yeah, I think Montevideo is hambun central!

:)

[Critters2]

27. And bars!!! Don't forget the bars!!

In Iowa every church gathering has bars. Here they call 'em brownies and stuff, but they'll always be bars to me!!

[Beausoir]

52. LOL! Bars! Can't forget those. My MIL is forever wanting to bring bars.

[knitter4democracy]

55. Well, there are bar cookies that are bars, and then there are brownies.

I love bars, though. Mmmmm. I might have to make some this weekend. :)

[Critters2]

59. My faves are chocolate chip bars and Rice krispie bars with chocolate on top

I love me some bars.

[knitter4democracy]

60. I had a good apricot bar recipe around here somewhere.

I could try those this weekend. If I remember right, they were coconut and chopped up dried apricots. Mmmm.

[smtpgirl]

19. my favorite "hotdish" or casserole

Turkey Tetrazinni, so good.

Cooked turkey
white wine
parmesan cheese
celery or peas
onion
milk
chicken broth
mushrooms
bread crumbs
salt
white pepper
pasta, I like fettucine, but linguine or spaghetti could be used

[Redstone]

21. Spoken like a true Minnesotan. Wish I'd been there, except for the circumstances.

Redstone

[KitchenWitch]

23. Yes the spread was amazing!

Norwegian Lutheran Soul Food.

[Critters2]

29. Kringla is my comfort food. nt

[Critters2]

24. Not sure the largest variety of what we call casseroles would have been

but my church in Iowa had a potluck where every single soul brought baked beans! Good baked beans, for the most part, but it is possible to have too many baked bean dishes.

[trof]

25. Open the windows.

[Left Is Write]

26. Does everybody make that baked bean dish with the hamburger in it?

I know dozens of people who make that for every potluck, swearing it's "their" recipe and a true specialty!

I like it, but yes, there can be too many baked bean dishes. They're easy to serve in a crockpot, though.

[Critters2]

28. Some of that, but mostly just beans with the obligatory bacon

and ketchup and mustard and brown sugar, etc.

[Maddy McCall]

31. I live in the south...

May I intrude?

Black funerals in Mississippi. Tons of food for a week. Every day, some new food is put out...I've seen dozens of casseroles assembled on tables in church halls.

Runner up: Family reunions. Again, dozens of casseroles and deserts. My favorite, I believe, is broccoli and rice casserole, with Mexican cornbread casserole taking a close second.

[MichiganVote]

33. A polish wedding on the lower west side of Grand Rapids in the 60's

[dembotoz]

35. My uncles funeral about a month ago-northern wisconsin

everything was wonderful, except for the whatever it was that made really really sick for 2 days.

[johnnie]

36. Is a hotdish the same as a sidedish?

:shrug:

[FuzzySlippers]

37. You poor culturally deprived boy.

A hotdish is an entree and a sidedish and frequently a soup and bread course all rolled up into one.

[johnnie]

39. LOL, we don't call an entree a "hotdish"

Not that I have ever heard. I know a sidedish can be a casserole, some sort of salad, soups stuff like that.

[Critters2]

40. A hotdish is a main course casserole.

Preferably with tots on top :)

[Left Is Write]

42. Johnnie, you must come to the LIW house for supper sometime.

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

46. And it is SUPPER, not DINNER

:)

[johnnie]

48. You never know.

I just may do that sometime. :hi:

[KitchenWitch]

47. oh johnnie - the hotdish I could cook for you!

:hi:

[johnnie]

49. Yeah?

:woohoo: <---me, hungry

[KitchenWitch]

56. Oh yeah, I have a poultry and wildrice hotdish that is to DIE for.

:)

[WeRQ4U]

38. All of the cub scout dinners when I was a kid

Always a lot of hotdishes. Also always a lot of jello...sometimes with miracle whip.

[KitchenWitch]

41. Hey - have not seen you in AGES!

:)

[WeRQ4U]

62. Nice to see you too...

New job. A lot busier now. I still manage to check in one or twice every now and again.

What do you think about them sending Garza down in favor of Silva? Ugh.

[SaveElmer]

43. Oh yeah...a Minnesota funeral is the Nirvana of Hot Dish...and get this...

At my Uncles funeral they served a hot dish and bars that he had made and frozen...only in Minnesota does the deceased cook for his own funeral!!!

[KitchenWitch]

44. Truly!

Now that is rugged individualism.

[Bunny]

50. Alright , you Midwestern freaks! Can someone give me a recipe for hamburger

hotdish, with tater tots? That sounds kinda good, actually. :9

[AwakeAtLast]

53. You mean Tater Tot Casserole?

1 lb. hamburger (the original recipe I have says uncooked, but I cook and drain)
Mix with:
1 can cream of mushoom soup

then I add:
Garlic powder and Onion powder to taste (my addition)

Tater tots to cover

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

I'm sure there are more out there - I've seen some with cheddar cheese in it.

I don't make it anymore as it was my ex-husband's favorite, but that's what I used when I did.

:hi:

[Bunny]

54. Sounds good - thanks!

I think I'll throw some cheese into mine. :hi:

[AwakeAtLast]

63. Now this part might gross you out

Said ex commenced to drowning it in ketchup before he ate it. For some of you that might sound good, I never know.

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

57. Tater Tot HOTDISH!

x(

[AwakeAtLast]

61. Yeah, well, I am from Southern Illinois

:P

[myrna minx]

58. Whoa! You're living on the wild side adding garlic or onion powder to your recipe!

:rofl: My North Dakotan Lutheran Mom would only season with morton salt and black pepper *VERY* sparingly. When I moved out of the house, I was exposed to exotic flavors like basil and garlic. Oregano in marinara seemed like a trip to the exotic spice island for me.

Don't forget, Lutheran Church coffee must be translucent. It must be soooo weak that you can see through it. Lemon bars and cool whip are staples too.