TTC

[Austin]

Ah, excellent. Truly excellent.

[Guest Anonymous]

To make a dish for the sole purpose that no one is gonna eat it?

It's a work of art- It should be preserved forever, not eaten!

The celery tucked between the tater tots makes me laugh the most. I like the partially-hidden irony of it. :P

[WonderingInWA]

Yes. I'm dying to know. I copied the picture and posted it to my FB to share. It was so beautiful, a work of art. As for playing with food, my ex was a food photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle. A lot of food goes to waste that way. Anyway, a lot of my family is from overseas so I labeled the photo, "Classic American Cooking".

:lol:

OMG, my masterpiece could go viral!

And yes, food photographers do all sorts of nasty things to food to make it look irresistable! I want you to know that my casserole had no touch-ups whatsoever -- completely, uh, as natural as it could be!

[WonderingInWA]

I dare someone to send the photo to the Duggars.

To answer the question, yes, a couple of the spam leaves were eaten and some of the tots picked off the top (you know, the crispy ones). I don't think anyone "duggared" far enough down to actually eat the celery/onion/cheddar cheese/canned soup layer that was holding it all together. I left it at my sister's and she said it was completely consumed as a midnight snack and/or they ate it for brunch the next day (she changed her story!). Good thing I didn't need my dish back and that garbage day was yesterday.

[Angri-la]

YUCK.

May I be the one who says it still is respectless to play with food, even if it is yucky food?

Sure you may. Just as I may diisagree with you. Remind me not to invite you to

My house, as you'd strongly disapprove, as we enjoy preperation with shape cutters, and make broccoli forests, etc. Maybe having a 4 year old is openiing up my whimsical side.

No...I used Jello and raw chicken during conceptual. Art class in college (not together). I love playing with food.

[WonderingInWA]

Sure you may. Just as I may diisagree with you. Remind me not to invite you to

My house, as you'd strongly disapprove, as we enjoy preperation with shape cutters, and make broccoli forests, etc. Maybe having a 4 year old is openiing up my whimsical side.

No...I used Jello and raw chicken during conceptual. Art class in college (not together). I love playing with food.

Jello and raw chicken -- mmmmmmm! LOL!

The perfect complement to tot casserole IS in fact jello (preferably lime) with a can of fruit cocktail magically suspended inside, served on a bed of iceberg lettuce. Food just doesn't get any better than that.

[Guest Anonymous]

How can you eat jello with lettuce? :o That's so wrong, it makes TTC seem right! :lol:

[WonderingInWA]

How can you eat jello with lettuce? :o That's so wrong, it makes TTC seem right! :lol:

Oh, no -- you don't eat it WITH lettuce. It's just served ON lettuce. You know, it's the "plating", the "presentation". The lettuce is a garnish!

BTW, my 9yo son eats most garnishes. It's almost embarrassing except that most garnishes are pretty healthy (orange slices, kale, etc.) so I don't stop him. I might have to draw the line on iceberg lettuce, though. Why did God make iceberg lettuce, anyway?

[Witsec5]

I know iceburg lettuce and celery have no nutritional value whatsoever!! Anyway, I love the way you cook. You sound like a fun Mom. My mom was a young mom (although she died young too). She used to make chocolate/banana pancakes and used to dye the mashed potatoes green on St. Patrick's Day. My kid is picky about textures and colors (being half autistic--LOL) so I can't have fun with food.

I've got FB comments on the photo so who knows it could go viral. People seem to know who the Duggars are and about their tater tot casserole. Oh and yes, they like your style too.

[clarinetpower]

One of my best friends once held a "Fargo Party" in grad school. (We're from Fargo; she was living in Wyoming at the time.) She served jello shots with shredded carrots in them, to make them pretty, just like her grandma taught her.

She's awesome.

BTW, I did eat TTC as a kid, though we called it hotdish. Ours also had corn, so you know, extra healthy. Sometimes green beans, but I preferred the corn. My mom was never so fancy as to put *real* celery in it, though.

[ilovetchotchkes]

OMG I am getting over the stomach flu and I think I may have to re-retire to my sick bed after looking at that and imagining how it tastes.

[Witsec5]

I'm learning from a FB friend that there's a variation on the recipe called "dogfood casserole". It uses tater tots, cream of mushroom soup and ground beef. I guess that's the rich person' version. It sounds like something that should be in a haunted house next to the spaghetti for brains.

[lizzy]

Jello and raw chicken -- mmmmmmm! LOL!

The perfect complement to tot casserole IS in fact jello (preferably lime) with a can of fruit cocktail magically suspended inside, served on a bed of iceberg lettuce. Food just doesn't get any better than that.

I just nearly spit out my drink all over my computer reading that. Having grown up in the midwest, where Jello "salad" is a staple, I couldn't help but laugh. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[WonderingInWA]

I know iceburg lettuce and celery have no nutritional value whatsoever!! Anyway, I love the way you cook. You sound like a fun Mom. My mom was a young mom (although she died young too). She used to make chocolate/banana pancakes and used to dye the mashed potatoes green on St. Patrick's Day. My kid is picky about textures and colors (being half autistic--LOL) so I can't have fun with food.

I've got FB comments on the photo so who knows it could go viral. People seem to know who the Duggars are and about their tater tot casserole. Oh and yes, they like your style too.

I'd like to think I am a fun mom (we do have green scrambled eggs here on St. Patty's Day and have our fair share of chocolate chips in anything from pancakes to fruit smoothies!). I'm sorry to hear that your mom died young.

Kids that are picky about textures and colors are hard. I'd love to talk more with you about that if you want to send me a private message. I have had experience there, too. My kids are 12 and 9.

[Aurora]

That is a thing of disgusting beauty! Right now my cat is trying to get at it through the monitor; high praise indeed The spam leaves are killing me: Genius!

I just found this thread. THANK YOU so much for posting the picture! It looks disgusting and hilarious and classic, and Angri-la's comment seems right on :D

I actually could see eating it - at least a bit - if made without the cheese and spam, but maybe it's worse than it sounds?

[Fun-Dee]

BTW, my 9yo son eats most garnishes. It's almost embarrassing except that most garnishes are pretty healthy (orange slices, kale, etc.) so I don't stop him. I might have to draw the line on iceberg lettuce, though. Why did God make iceberg lettuce, anyway?

I always seem to see kale on plates as a garnish lately. I wonder whatever happened to parsley? When I was a kid, parsley was on every plate in just about every restaurant I ever ate in. I was the parsley eating kid. My dad would often eat a bite of parsley after dinner, saying that it freshened your breath. I tried it and found that I liked it. I guess I could buy it and put it on my dinner plates at home, and make my family think I've gone off the deep end.

[uber frau]

. Why did God make iceberg lettuce, anyway?

FWIW, I don't think iceberg lettuce is a product of God or nature anyway. I think it's something some agri-business student dreamed up (bland enough that it doesn't taste too healthy, robust enough that it can be transported cross-country and still have something of the original texture a month after harvest but still, technically, a vegetable so ppl will eat it and feel virtuous).

I have a white-trash menu somewhere. It includes such delights as Coca-Cola glazed Spam, molded Salad (mmm, lime jello) and Jello Poke Cake. TTC would fit right in.

[Constance Vigilance]

...Is it wrong that I don't think it would taste too bad? Around November time my body is like "WINTER! STODGE STODGE STODGE" and I eat ~nothing that doesn't have at least 40% fat til Spring. There's celery in there and all! It's practically a health food.

Nooooooooooooo to the person who said guys they knew used to eat it after a night out. IMAGINE waking up the next morning, already delicate, and then remembering that you ate that. Or wandering in to the kitchen and seeing the congealed leftovers. I believe I would vomit instantly in protest (and god knows I have eaten some 'unusual' things after a night out.)

EFR (Edited for riffle)

[WonderingInWA]

I always seem to see kale on plates as a garnish lately. I wonder whatever happened to parsley? When I was a kid, parsley was on every plate in just about every restaurant I ever ate in. I was the parsley eating kid. My dad would often eat a bite of parsley after dinner, saying that it freshened your breath. I tried it and found that I liked it. I guess I could buy it and put it on my dinner plates at home, and make my family think I've gone off the deep end.

Kale is the new parsley. Kale is leathery and has staying power -- it doesn't wilt like parsley does. I actually like it sauteed with some turkey bacon or thrown into lentil soup at the end of cooking. Easy way to get those dark leafy greens! It would be beautiful in TTC!

[Guest Anonymous]

Another garnish eater here. I am not a super-healthy eater but I don't much like stodgy buffet food and so if there is no salad provided, I scoop up any bits of lettuce/tomato etc that I can find. :mrgreen:

I've never seen kale as a garnish - but I eat a lot of it, steamed, as a side dish.

[Curious]

I got "handed down" the recipe for TTC from my aunt many years ago (that side of the family was mainly from MN) and it does not resemble the Duggar version very much based on looking at this picture. I will have to find their recipe to compare them. I actually like TTC (the one I had as a kid) and consider it a comfort food, so we still have it a couple times a year.

My recipe calls for:

Hamburger

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Tater Tots

Cheese Slices

Green Beans

Corn

Mushrooms

[buddingmedievalist]

I had TTC as a kid, but rarely. Ours was just:

Hamburger

Cream of Chicken Soup

Tater Tots

Shredded Cheese

Still super-comfort food for me, but since I live alone, I never make it--too many leftovers. Plus the obvious not being healthy thing

[Aurora]

I had TTC as a kid, but rarely. Ours was just:

Hamburger

Cream of Chicken Soup

Tater Tots

Shredded Cheese

Still super-comfort food for me, but since I live alone, I never make it--too many leftovers. Plus the obvious not being healthy thing

It actually sounds pretty good, for once in a while on a cold winter night. Can you post what ratios to use?

[buddingmedievalist]

It actually sounds pretty good, for once in a while on a cold winter night. Can you post what ratios to use?

Sure! It was a pound of hamburger, a bag of tater tots, two cans of cream of chicken soup and a couple of handfuls of shredded cheese. You brown and drain the hamburger and put it in a big bowl, put the soup on top and mix the tots in. Then put it in a casserole dish and lightly sprinkle cheese on the top. I recommend it with a very large salad :)

[Aurora]

Sure! It was a pound of hamburger, a bag of tater tots, two cans of cream of chicken soup and a couple of handfuls of shredded cheese. You brown and drain the hamburger and put it in a big bowl, put the soup on top and mix the tots in. Then put it in a casserole dish and lightly sprinkle cheese on the top. I recommend it with a very large salad :)

Thank you buddingmedievalist! I might try it one of these cold winter nights, when I'm feeling daring. I have a thing for tater tots! :)