Life can hammer you down. Sometimes, I just toss together an ‘instant’ supper using foods I’d usually avoid. I prefer to call it a celebration of excess. And one or twice a month isn’t going to kill me. Tonight, it’s Tater Tots Chili Dump…
I’m sure you’ve had one of those days. It’s cloudy, chilly and rainy outside. Nothing seems to be going right inside. And around about 4:30 in the afternoon, you realize you’re starving, even though you haven’t really gotten anything done….
Just dump it!
That’s when I finally break down. Call it a day, and go for a 5-minute ‘dump’ supper.
I’m sure many of you will already be familiar with the concept of a ‘dump’ dinner. The idea is you just dump a few cans, packages, bags of prepared foods into a casserole dish or sauce pot, and add heat.
The prep is always under 5 minutes and heating/cooking time is usually under 30 minutes. Sometimes, all you have to do is stick the dish under the broiler to melt the cheese on top…
This is committed the sin of not only eating a supper based on Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs), but one that’s ENTIRELY composed of UPFs. Unless the cheese is real, and freshly grated from the block. And, yah… Most of the dumps I fall back on are topped with a sinful handful of cheese! Get over it.
Tots and tins…
I have never bothered to write down a dump dinner recipe. What’s the point? They seem to change in some significant way every time I make them…
Tonight it’s Tater Tot Chili Casserole. And that means three ingredients: A bag of frozen Tots, two cans of Hormel Chili (flavour and spiciness variant of your choice) and two big handfuls of grated Cheddar Cheese.
Real cheese is my shame defense against having to admit the dish is 100 percent sinful. Even though some folks claim real cheese is a UPF, because of the way it’s made. I prefer to point out that it’s considered a fermented food, and is therefore extremely healthy.
The secret’s in the can…
The biggest secret to Tater Tot Dump casserole is that you can use any prepared chili, stew, ‘Chunky’ soup you have in the back of the pantry cupboard/ And I always make a point of havin 2 or 3 cans of ‘sin’ in stock, specifically in case a Dump Dinner night strikes without warning. By the way, Hormel makes a legendary Corned Beef Hash…
My take
There’s really nothing left to say about Tater Tot Chili Casserole and it’s many siblings. It’s a big fam-ily, and I’m sure there’s something (in a can), among those naughty kids, that will make your next crappy day brighter!
~ Maggie J.