Week 7 - Minnesota

Hi-dee-ho there! Last week brought us to the Land of 1,000 Lakes, dontcha know? (Ok I'll knock that off now...)

Minnesota holds a special place in my family because it's the state that Lars Horpedahl immigrated to from Norway at the start of the 1900's.  He met his wife Sofie, who had also immigrated from Norway, and the two bought a farm in the Red River Valley.  I've spoken about Lars Horpedahl before (he's where my name comes from), and I hope to not only see the Horpedahl River in Norway one day, but the area of Minnesota where he staked his claim on a small part of the American Dream.

My grandma, Ruth, was the youngest of six children.  She went to a one room school house, and often skated to school when the rivers and lakes froze over in the winter.  The children at school would bring sandwiches for lunch, and the parents would rotate bringing a "hot dish" (casserole) so all the kids would also have something warm to eat during the frigid Minnesota days.  Grandma said that her mother would bring whatever hot dish she'd made in the same container with the red lid every time it was her turn.

I wanted to honor the Minnesota connection, so on February 15th, I made some hot dishes that Grandma Ruth and my Aunt Debbie found in some cookbooks from the church that the family went to up there.  It wasn't exactly health food, but it was sure was delicious.



Tater Tot Hot Dish

1 lb ground turkey, browned

1/2 cup FF onions

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1 can of cream of cream of celery soup

1 cup mixed frozen vegetables vegetables

1 pkg of tater tots

This was a super easy recipe to follow, which was the point.  Grandma said these were meant to be thrown together quickly after work for an easy, hot meal.

First, I mixed the frozen vegetables and the soups together and poured them into a large casserole dish. Then, I browned the turkey and folded that into the soup/veggie mixture. 

Finally, I topped the whole thing with the tater tots and baked it all at 350' for 1 hour.

Four Bean Hot Dish

1/2 lb bacon and some onion browned

1 can pork and beans

1 can light kidney beans

1 can dark kidney beans

1 can lima beans

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar

Again, a super easy dish to prepare.  I mixed the beans, ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar together in a large bowl.  Next, I browned the onions and the bacon. 

I folded this into the bean mixture, and poured everything into a casserole dish and baked it for 45 min, at 350'.

The result...

...was perfect for a cold, rainy evening.  I think my favorite was the tater tot casserole, while everyone else preferred the beans (those were also tasty too).  I'll have to keep both of them in the rotation.

It was great to be able to cook recipes that have a connection with my family.  I've done each of these blog projects for a specific reason that goes beyond their topics.  I wasn't celebrating a holiday each day just to do it. I was celebrating a holiday each day to show that there was a reason to celebrate something, always.  I've been cooking a different meal each week inspired by a different state because there is so much variety out there in this great big country of ours.

That, and there's so much of our history tied in to food.  Food gives us a sense of place.  Dinners around a table give us a sense of home.  Recipes like the ones I made for the Minnesota night give us a sense of history, a sense of those that came before us, a sense of family. I hope to find more recipes like this throughout the year.

Because come on, any recipe that includes tater tots is one that has to be tried.