Hot Dish or Casserole?

I grew up in the Midwest in a fairly small town. I now live about 5 miles from my childhood home in an area we called "the boonies" back then. It was pure forest, trees and farmland with very little civilization in my mind. I never knew that the world was so large and that there was such a diversity of people and ideas and opinions out there. As far as I knew everyone talked like me, sounded like me and thought just like me.

When I went out West for college, I was told right away that I had an accent! An accent, ME? I did not have an accent, they had an accent! I was told that I said bEg instead of bAAg for the word bag (they sounded like they were gagging!) and pEn instead of pIn (like a pin to hold a baby's diaper!) for the word pen. Even as they said those words to me, trying to correct me, they sounded weird. It was crazy! So I decided that I agree that I have an accent when I am out in the West, but when I am in the Midwest and other people come to visit, they are the ones with the accent!

I was then told that I called things the wrong names. How was that possible? All the sudden the POP that I'd been drinking for years was called SODA, who knew? I didn't realize that this was such an issue for some people since the full word for them according to the cans is SODA POP. And that the one dish dinners my Mom had lovingly made me all these years were called Casseroles and not Hot Dishes! I had no idea that some people took this so seriously!

There are a few Hot Dishes that truly are Hot Dishes and they are the ones that truly come from the Midwest, namely Tater Tot Hot Dish, Wild Rice Hot Dish and Pizza Hot Dish, all the others I will gladly call casseroles. I grew up on all three of these, along with the typical hearty meat and potatoes meals. All I can say is that you can take the girl out of the Midwest but you can't take the Midwest out of the girl! Here are a few of the truly Midwest dishes that I grew up on:

Tater Tot Hot Dish

1 lb. ground beef

1 can cream of chicken soup or cheddar cheese soup

Tater Tots

Lawry’s Seasoning salt

Garlic salt

Fry beef and put in a cake pan and season with Lawry’s Seasoning salt. Spread soup on top and arrange Tater Tots tightly on top. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or better. Can broil for a couple minutes to brown tots, watch carefully.

Wild Rice Hot Dish

1 lb. hamburger, browned

1 c. cooked wild rice, I like to use cans or packets

1 c. celery, finely chopped

1 sm. onion, very finely chopped (optional) or use onion powder

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can milk or water

4 tsp. soy sauce

Brown hamburger with onion and celery. Combine soup, water, and soy sauce. Mix in hamburger mixture and rice and bake for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with chow mein noodles.

Pizza Hot Dish 

1 lb. hamburger

1 pkg. Sloppy Joe mix (Richard tries to substitute this for Manwich, but that is just wrong!)

15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 tsp. oregano

2 tubes crescent rolls

1 pkg. cheddar cheese, grated

1 pkg. mozzarella cheese, grated

Brown hamburger, then add Sloppy Joe mix, tomato sauce and oregano. Place 1 package rolls in 9 x 13 pan to cover bottom. Put hamburger mixture on top, then sprinkle with cheeses. Place remaining rolls on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.