29 More Days before I leave for Wisconsin and "The Lake"

I've been on a diet for so long that Lesson 3 in How To Talk Minnesotan....A Visitor's Guide (Do I still need to keep telling you that Howard Mohr wrote the book?) was very difficult for me. I wanted to run out and buy some jello and little marshmallows so I could make salad. And when I go to Wisconsin I'm going to be faced with such culinary favorites as Wednesday Wing Dings, Friday Fish Fry, and Deep-fried Cheese Curds. Sigh! So many carbohydrates. Too many carbohydrates in the hot dish recipe too. But I thought I'd pass it on. It's a basic formula that every Minnesota woman was taught from birth.

GENERIC HOTDISH (for 4)

Mix together in a large bowl:

2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 pound of cooked pulverized meat
2 cans vegetables

Stir.
Salt to taste.
Sprinkle with canned french-fried onion rings or Chow Mein noodles.
Bake at 400 degrees until a brown crust forms.

The following is another favorite of mine.

Froggy's Generic Hot Dish (for 4)

Mix together in a large bowl:

One can stewed tomatoes
One can tomato sauce
1 pound cooked pulverized meat
1 cup macaroni noodles, cooked

Stir.
Salt to taste.
Bake at 400 degrees....if you think you need to do this because the dish isn't hot enough.

Grey Froggy's Generic Hot Dish (for 4)

Mix together in a large bowl:

Two cans of cream of mushroom soup
Two cans of tuna
1 cup of egg noodles, cooked

Stir.
Salt to taste.
Pour into baking dish.
Sprinkle with stale potato chips (left-over from when the guys came over to watch that football game and left the bag open so they're all stale and soggy now)
Bake at 400 degrees until the chips are brown( and crisp enough to cut your gums and the roof of you mouth)

I won't go into how Minnesotan's make taco's. It's just too painfully true. Pass the ketchup (catsup?) please. I do know how to make and appreciate good Salsa.....now....but I've lived here in Arizona for quite some time. There are a great many of us transplanted Minnesotans here so I also have a recipe for Taco Hot Dish.