Mexican Hotdish Hybrid. Olé!

Gather round my little Mexican jumping beans, in this installment of Hotdish in a Hallway we are heading southward!

Specifically, Kansas.

Now before you bust out your sombreros and prepare to let bartenders mix margaritas in your mouth, I need to address some pressing blog related issues.


I have received a few bits of constructive criticism/grievances regarding my online hotdish journal.
1. General lack of photos
Alright, I will meet you halfway or even a bit further on this one. The blog needs some more hotdish photos. In my defense however, the 'ol iBook G4 has grown testy in its old age and doesn't much care for me doing things like having 'two tabs open while online' or 'uploading photos,' the latter of which takes a looooong stinkin' time. For you though, I will be patient and try to step it up with the piccies.
2. My lax definition of a hotdish
This particular item was brought to my attention thanks to my most recent posting that apparently was 'a bit of a stretch.' I have to apologize. Apparently in my introductory blog post I didn't mention that Hotdish in a Hallway is not a democracy. This is a one-woman village of which I am both subject and ruler. Consider this your own online Cuba and I'm Fidel Castro before his brother took over the country. So if I say it's hotdish, it is a hotdish. If I decide to slap a little frosting on a nilla wafer, put it in a pyrex pan and call it a hotdish, so be it. I am not here to be judged. I am here to bake and eat hotdish. The End.
(Wow, I apologize for that. I didn't mean to be so stern my dear friends, I just felt like I needed to show a little tough love. I don't want you all to grow up and become menaces society because I didn't instill a little discipline early on in your development. That is all. I love you and I'm sorry.)

Ok, back on track. Last week I had the pleasure of joining Mom & Dad Klaassen for a good old fashioned family road trip to visit the extended family down in Kansas. To make it feel authentic and true to our car trips of my early teen years, I spent 90% of the time with headphones on in the backseat handing my parents Twizzlers or their Crossword puzzle books whenever they needed them. Unlike my early teen years, I was pleasant.

The time in Kansas was just lovely. Lots of quality time with Grandparents (note cute pic, and no - I'm not sitting on my Grandma), Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, 2nd Cousins and a really nice old lady who worked at a clothing shop in downtown Newton. The trip also served as a great reminder that I come from good cooking stock and as such, I decided to break out the original family cook book It All Started with Susie, title inspired by my Great-Grandma Suzanne Regier. This cook book is so old it is written in 'typewriter' and with zero intention of irony.

I was craving some Mexican hotdish. Not of the authentic variety (if such a thing exists), but of the classic midwest meets Chi-Chi's variety.  Lo and behold, the book had not one but TWO recipes that fit the bill—one from my Aunt Linda and another from my Dad's Cousin Barb. Both looked good and each had elements to which I was drawn. Barb's involved a Pillsbury crescent roll crust and Ellen's a nice variety of tasty fillings. I took it upon myself to steal parts of both and make my own using a wing-it strategy. Here's what I came up with:


Mexican Hotdish Hybrid
1 lb. hamburger
1 medium chopped onion
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 can milk
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 small jar taco sauce
1 can of crescent rolls
1 can of black beans*
LOTS of shredded cheese

*the actual recipe called for one can of ranch style beans. I have no idea what these are. I scoured the grocery store shelves for them to no avail. As I'm typing this now it's dawning on me that I could have either called my Aunt or just googled ranch style beans. At the time though, I opted to go with black beans, and you know what? I'm satisfied with this game-time decision.

SO, sauté your beef and onions together until browned (the meat that is). I actually used ground turkey, and I have to say, I should have gone beef. "Ground turkey tastes the same as ground beef" is a real doozy of a myth. Ground turkey is generally flavorless and beef is tasty. Live and learn.

Roll the crescent rolls out into a greased 9x13 pan. Mix all the other ingredients together including half the cheese (sorry for the lack of measurement, just eyeball it.) and pour it on top of the crescent roll crust. Bake at 325 degrees for approx. 45 minutes. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and broil for a few minutes until it reaches the pretty stage.

In retrospect, in addition to using actual beef, I'd skip the milk. The hotdish was a bit runny, which ended up working well since we basically ate it like a dip, but if you want a true thick hotdish, I'd leave it out. (Ooof. True thick hotdish is a terrible, gross-sounding descriptor. But I'm leaving it AS IS.)

Really, the only tricky part about this dish, was then transporting it over to my friends Kathryn & Amanda's house. Luckily I had Ana, the trusty roommate to hold it on the way over. Once we made it over and the hotdish was safe, we busted open a bottle of wine that was shaped like a woman. (As a general note, if you are looking for a good red to accompany this dish, you may want to choose one with a standard bottle shape.) As it was, the wine was just fine and the company, superb! OOH—and we added lettuce and guacamole on top which really amped up the dish.

Now go toss on your your woven poncho and bake up some Mexican mayhem!