Tater Tot Hotdish

Apparently hotdish is a term for casserole used in Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin. I had never heard of this growing up. Thanks to Joshy_D for making me aware of its existance. It's basically the midwest mom's version of shephard's pie.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick), divided in two
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 8 oz white mushrooms, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 C flour
• 1/4 C soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp hot sauce (something like Frank's, not Tabasco)
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 C milk
• 1/4 C sour cream
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp thyme, chopped
• 1 lb bag frozen vegetables
• 2 lb bag frozen tater tots
• 8 oz sharp cheddar, shredded

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Brown beef in a 12" cast iron skillet. Remove the beef and set aside, leaving the fat in the skillet.

Add 2 tbsp of butter to the skillet and melt over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Stir together and cook until the onions are transparent, 6-9 minutes.

Slide everything over to one side of the skillet. Melt the other 2 tbsp of butter on the now open side. Once melted, sprinkle in the flour while whisking to form a light roux. Tip the skillet a bit to get the juices from the other stuff to flow into the roux. Cook until only slightly browned.

Add the soy, hot, and worcestershire sauces to the roux and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly, and while whisking, pour in the milk. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to collect any fond at this point. Continue to whisk in the milk until the gravy is smooth.

Add in the mushroom and onions from the other side of the skillet and the beef which was set aside. Stir everything together until well mixed and cook until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Stir in the sour cream, half the parsley and thyme, and the frozen vegetables. Top with the tots arranged in a fancy pattern or just dump them everywhere like an animal.

Bake the skillet for 20 minutes on the lower shelf. Then, move to the topmost rakc and browil until the tots are browned, around 10 minutes. Remove the skillet and top with the shredded cheese and fresh ground pepper.

Place the skillet back in the oven, on the lower rack, and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the gravy is bubblings. Place back on the top rack for a few minutes to brown the cheese. Top with the reamining herbs and serve.