I lived in North Dakota, (my first generation Russian German great aunt Helen's homestate) for six years, from 1990 until 1996. During that time, I was introduced to this glorious recipe called Tater Tot Hotdish.  Along with kuchen, fleischkuekle, knoephla, and stop sign pizza (that last one isn't regional--it's just the greatest food EVER when you're in first grade) this recipe defines my brief time in North Dakota in every possible way.  (At that young age, there were three ways to know you were going to have an awesome day at Prairie View Elementary School--1) there was a parachute in the gym, 2) the TV was pulled into the classroom for a film, or 3)Tater tot hotdish was on the lunch menu.)  

There are many variations of this, but here's the version I have in my recipe box:

Tater Tot Hotdish
Serves 4-6

1 lb of lean ground beef
1 lb bag of tater tots
2 10-ounce cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup
14 ounce can of vegetables of your choice (corn is often used; I prefer peas and carrots)
2 cups of cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While it's preheating, brown and drain beef. In a 2.5 quart casserole dish, layer beef, drained vegetables, soup mix (don't add water to this!), and tater tots. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Remove from oven; top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes longer.

A Note From Bethany...
To make this recipe lower in fat, I use low sodium cream of mushroom soup. Some versions also use turkey in place of beef. I also use a lower fat sharp cheddar cheese made with 2% milk. (Some versions of the recipe omit it entirely). It won't make it a health food by any means, but it'll help cut down on the guilt!

This recipe from my mom dates back to at least 1978. It was one of my favorite desserts growing up. Down in the South it's called just Banana Pudding, but no matter. Check it out below!

Banana Boat Dessert

1 box of banana pudding
2 bananas
1/2 cup whipped cream
1 1/2 cups of small marshmallows
vanilla wafers

Prepare pudding per instructions. Chill. Fold in whipped cream and marshmallows. Line bottom and sides of 10 x 6 pan with wafers. Pour in half of pudding mixture. Cover with banana slices. Top with remaining pudding. Chill.

This simple recipe is for lightly floured, baked chicken. My mother called it "crispy chicken" when I was growing up, and it often accompanied rice and vegetables. I often use this recipe as a base, as it can be modified easily according to taste.

Crispy Chicken

1/4 cup all purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lb chicken

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour, salt, paprika, and pepper in plastic or paper bag. Shake chicken, 2 or 3 pieces at a time in bag until coated.

Place chicken skin side down in sprayed pan. Bake uncovered 30 minutes. Turn chicken. Bake until tender, 15-20 minutes longer.

A Note From Bethany...
I always add other spices when I make this. Try adding garlic salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, rosemary, oregano, etc, after the chicken has been placed in the pan. When you turn it halfway through cooking, sprinkle seasonings again.

For those with Celiac's disease or gluten sensitivity, my father says that substituting gluten-free flour for regular flour tastes great!

This is a recipe I finally begged my mother to give me so I can make it now for my own family.  It is named for the church in Germantown, OH where my father pastored for several years, another church in Ohio ironically also named St. John's United Church of Christ. The recipe card, a vintage strawberry motif which matched our strawberry kitchen from the mid-to late-eighties in Ohio is dated 1985 (no, seriously, my mom had strawberries everywhere. I blame it for my current obsession with my lemon-themed kitchen!)

I remember eating this at church dinners, on Easter, on Christmas, in the fellowship hall with my then-kindergarten-aged peers.  Just seeing it these days takes me back to that glorious time right before the 90s began that everything just seemed perfect for me as a 4-year-old. Even today almost three decades later, there isn't a single Christmas or Easter gathering at my parents' house that my mom doesn't make this. Try it out for yourself and see if it doesn't become a holiday tradition for you and your family as well!

St. John's Sausage Bake
Serves 4-6

1 lb cooked and drained sausage
6 eggs, slightly beaten
6 slices of bread, dried slightly and cubed
2 cups of milk
1 cup of mild grated cheddar cheese

Beat eggs, add milk and other ingredients. Refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight. Bake 45-60 minutes in a 9x12 inch casserole dish for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees.

A Note From Bethany...
Since my father was diagnosed with Celiac's disease several years back, the bread used in the recipe can easily be substituted for gluten-free bread. I've eaten it with both types of bread, and you can't tell the difference!

Here's another casserole my mom used to make growing up.  I never liked eggs or mayo, but somehow it works with this recipe.

Noodle Egg Bake
Serves 4

3 cups of wide noodles
1 can of condensed cream of celery soup
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup of mayo or Miracle Whip
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
3-4 boiled eggs, shelled and sliced
3 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles, drain, and place in a greased 4 cup baking dish (9" glass pie plate or medium sized casserole dish.

Combine celery soup, mayo, and Worcestershire sauce in a small saucepan.  Heat slowly and stir until smooth and hot. Stir 1/2 over the noodles.

Place egg slices over noodle mixture. Spoon the rest of the sauce over the eggs. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

This is another recipe that dates back to my childhood, growing up in Germantown, Ohio in the late 80s. This is the cheapest recipe I've posted so far, consisting of rice, beef, some onion, and bouillon. You can make it for about a dollar a serving, assuming you already have white rice in the house, which most people do.  

Skillet Beef Pilaf
Serves 4

1 small onion minced
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 lb hamburger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup uncooked rice
2 cups beef broth or bouillon
Grated parmesan

In deep skillet, saute onion in oil until tender.  Add hamburger and cook.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add rice.  Cook and stir until rice looks translucent but not brown, about 3-4 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of broth.  Cook and stir until broth is absorbed.  Add the rest of the broth; cover and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.  Top with parmesan cheese. 

A Note From Bethany...
I often have to simmer this recipe about 10 minutes longer to absorb all of the broth.

Chicken Rivel Soup
3 lb. chicken, cut up
2 tsp chicken bouillon
2 medium carrots
Grated parsley to taste
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup flour

Cover chicken parts with water.  Add the bouillon, carrots, onion, and celery.  Cook until the chicken is tender.  Remove parts from broth.  Break eggs into square baking pan and beat with a fork.  Add salt and parsley.  Work in flour with hands until it is crumbly. (The dough should not be the consistency to be rolled and stirred; it should be done by hand.)  Drop into boiling, salted water.  Let cook until partially done.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Add to stock soup with chopped onion.

This crustless savory pie recipe dates back to my childhood in the late 80s in Germantown, OH.

Meat-za-pie 
Serves 6

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread or cracker crumbs
2/3 cup (5 oz) evaporated milk 
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2/3 cup tomato or spaghetti sauce
3 slices of American or Mozzarella cheese, cut into strips
Oregano to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix beef, cracker crumbs, evaporated milk and garlic salt in a bowl for the meat mixture.  Then, spread evenly over the bottom of a 9 inch pan, raising  a rim about 1/2 inch high around the side of a pan. 

Spread sauce over meat mixture.  Arrange cheese slices in a crisscross pattern over the top. Sprinkle on oregano.   

Bake at 400 degrees about 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and meat is cooked through. Cut in wedges to serve.  

A Note From Bethany...
My mom always used a 9-inch glass pie dish when she made this. I can't vouch for the results in other types of casserole dishes.

After the pie is cooked, you will need to take a turkey baster and remove the grease from under and along the sides of the meat. I can't stress this enough!

I started making this recipe when I lived in my tiny one bedroom apartment in downtown Durham while I attended college.  It's inexpensive, easy to make, and tastes delicious.  This is a great main course dish, or something easy to take to a potluck.  I've seen variations of this recipe throughout the years, but this is the one that I've always loved best.

Pepperoni Pasta Bake

3/4 lbs (12 oz) of rotini pasta
16 oz (2 cups) of mozzarella cheese
4 oz can of mushrooms
4 oz can of sliced black olives
24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
6 oz of pepperoni
16 ounces of ground sausage, browned

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground sausage until thoroughly cooked; drain. Boil pasta according to directions and spread evenly in a 2 quart casserole dish. Stir in sausage, black olives, mushrooms, and spaghetti sauce and mix evenly.  Take half of the cheese and pepperoni and mix in. Line the top of the casserole with pepperoni, then cover with remaining cheese.  

Bake for around 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and has started to brown on edges.

A Note From Bethany...
You may need to use more pasta sauce depending on taste. I generally use most of the package of pepperoni, but you can use less if you'd like. Sometimes I add chopped sauteed onions, depending on the time I have to make the casserole.

Ho-Ho Cake 

Prepare 1 box chocolate cake mix according to directions and bake in 9x13 inch baking dish. Set aside to cool.

Mix 5 tablespoons of flour with 1 1/4 cup milk. Cook over low heat until thickened. Cool.

Cream: 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of Crisco, 1 stick of margarine. Add cooled milk mixture. Spread on cake. To frost, melt 3 ounces of Baker's chocolate with 1 stick of margarine and 2 1/2 tablespoons of water. Cool. Then add 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 cups of powdered sugar. Frost cake and refrigerate.

This recipe comes from my paternal grandparents' home church, St. John's United Church of Christ in Bluffton, OH. The recipe in the Ladies' Auxiliary cookbook is listed as from my great-grandmother, Della (Bushong) Clark, but my father says he only remembers Grandpa Crites making it, especially at family gatherings.

Vanilla Cake Pie
Serves 6

1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp oleo (margarine)
2 eggs, separated
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 Tbsp cold water
1 cup milk

Beat egg whites until stiff. Set aside.  Combine egg yolks with other ingredients.  Fold in egg whites.  Pour into unbaked pie shell (9 inch).  Bake at 350 degrees approximately 30 minutes or until firm.