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Hotdish is a variety of baked casserole popular in the
Midwestern United States, and especially in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota,
and South Dakota. It consists of a starch, a meat or other protein, and a canned
and/ or frozen vegetable, mixed together with canned soup. |
The soup is
often cream of mushroom, which serves as a binding ingredient.
Hotdishes are filling, convenient, easy to make, and well-suited for family
reunions, church suppers, and potlucks, where they may be paired with pan-baked
cookies known as bars.
Typical ingredients in hotdish are potatoes, ground beef, green beans, and corn,
with canned soup added as a binder, flavoring and sauce. Potatoes may be in the
form of
tater tots,
hash browns, potato chips, or shoe string potatoes. The dish is
usually seasoned lightly with salt and pepper, and it may be eaten with ketchup
as a condiment. Another popular hotdish is made with Kraft macaroni and cheese
or plain
noodles, canned tuna, peas, and mushroom
soup.
Cream of mushroom soup is so ubiquitous in hotdish that it is often referred to
in such recipes as “Lutheran Binder,” referring to hotdish’s position as a
staple of Lutheran church cookbooks. The soup is often
considered a defining ingredient.
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