Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Ida Hotdish.

My Aunt Ida was a good woman. She was really my great aunt, sister to my grandmother, but we still called her just "Aunt Ida." She was unique, too. Of course I was quite young when she died so I don't remember a lot about her. But she has a legacy in my life nonetheless.

Now there is a story about a generous cook who would give out her personal recipes but would always leave out an ingredient or two. The recipe recipient, then, could never make the goodness quite as tasty as the recipe giver. I believe that story was told about Aunt Ida a time or two.

In order to do this justice, I feel like you need to see a photo of Aunt Ida. I picked the first two in my photo box. And yes, she's sporting the same purple polyester number in each photo, but with different accessories. Classy! 

Aunt Ida, with myself, Grandma Olga, my sister and our cousin DeAnn (and my Aunt Sandy doing dishes). We are quite stylish, I might add.

I wish I could remember this, sweet Aunt Ida playing dolls with me, the fro my mom created my hair into. And yes, that is a My Little Pony and Pound Puppy cat. What can I say, I'm a child of the 80's.

She was a good Norwegian cook, my Aunt Idea, and this hotdish recipe is hers.

It's one of my favorites because you don't have to cook the meat beforehand. It has four, yes four, cans of Campbell's soup in it. And meat and potatoes. Remember, I am a true midwesterner. Don't judge.

If you ever make this deliciousness, you must promise me that you will always call it Ida Hotdish. Or Aunt Ida Hotdish. Or Heather's Aunt Ida Hotdish. Agreed?

Good. Then I will share it with you.

Here's what it looks like after you make it, eat some, then put the leftovers in Pyrex. It makes a lot. No step-by-step photos here because I didn't even think about blogging about this until after we ate, after Rebekah told me she wanted the recipe. This photo may not make your mouth salivate, but that's because you haven't tried Ida Hotdish yet. 


Aunt Ida Hotdish

4 or 5 potatoes, peeled and cut in about 1 inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups of carrots, sliced or the little ones cut in half
2 pounds ground beef (make sure it's very lean)
2 cans vegetarian vegetable alphabet soup (don't get the wrong kind!)
2 cans tomato soup
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a larger covered casserole/roaster (a big pot that can go in the oven). Layer the following items; potatoes, onion, carrots. Crumble the burger, uncooked on top. Spread the soups on top and then poke holes through it all (I use the handle of a wooden spoon). Add enough water until you can just see it on the edges. Cover. Bake for one hour and then stir it up and continue baking for another hour. Stir again and eat!

That's it! Unless of course, I left out an ingredient...

-Heather

PS - I won't get into "hotdish" versus "casserole" right now, but certain recipes are one or the other (with my personal preference/experience with "hotdish" winning over "casserole").

2 comments:

Rebekah said...

Thanks!!! I can't wait to make it!

Ausmerican Housewife - Creating with Kara Davies said...

You haven't tried my mom's corned beef hotdish. YUM!