Many dishes pretty much scream where they originate from. This one shouts from the barn rooftops of its robust, slightly twangy, salt-of-the-earth, four-seasoned region. Say you’re from the Midwest without saying you’re from the Midwest with this Midwest’s Best Hot Bake. This down-home favorite works as hard as a tornado on a sunny spring day. It’s loaded up with toasted tater tots, topped with a hill of seasoned, farm-raised ground beef, with a flat plain of crispy fried onions, and surrounded by a caring community of perfectly seasoned sauce that always lends a helping hand to your tastebuds. Don’t be “Midwest nice” and hide your true feelings or apologize for how much you love Midwest’s Best Hot Bake. Because you betcha we understand. Seconds, anyone? Come back now anytime, ya hear!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (32-ounce) package tater tots, thawed
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
- 1 (6-ounce) can crispy fried onions
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –In a large skillet cook, the ground beef with the onion, the salt, and the pepper until the beef is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 3 –Drain the beef mixture and spread it along the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Step 4 –Top the beef mixture with the tater tots.
Step 5 –In a bowl, mix the cream of mushroom soup and the cream of celery soup together and pour the mixture over the tater tots.
Step 6 –Top the soup mixture with the crispy fried onions.
Step 7 –Bake the casserole until it is heated through, about 1 hour.
Step 8 –Serve.
