Recipe: Hot Dog Hotdish

I recently read the following: "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 considered a defining ingredient by some commentators." And so, I realized that I would be dishonoring the very essence of the hotdish if I tried to make it more sophisticated. It is consummate comfort food, and part of its charm is its hominess and ease in preparation.

Ingredients

• 4 wieners, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 10-3/4 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
• half of a 10-3/4 ounce can condensed cheddar cheese soup
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• several splashes cayenne pepper sauce
• 1 pound frozen green beans, defrosted
• 1 cup fried onions
• 45 tater tots
• 4 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish.

Heat the wieners over medium heat in a medium skillet until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine soups, mustard, salt, milk and pepper sauce. Stir in wieners, green beans and fried onions; pour into the prepared baking dish.

Place the tater tots in rows over the green bean mixture. Bake for 25 minutes.

Place the cheese over the tater tots, and bake for another 25 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Serves 8.

This recipe was written by Mary Bilyeu and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on Sept. 29, 2011.