Cheesy Tater Tot Hotdish From a South Dakota Dairy Farm

Just a few miles north of Sioux Falls lies Lynn Boadwine’s dairy farm. Homesteaded in 1874, Boadwine Farms is home to more than 2,000 dairy cows and 2,000 acres of corn, alfalfa and sorghum. Lynn is the fourth generation to farm this land, along with his employees who keep the family-owned operation running smoothly.

Heidi Zwinger is one of those employees. She’s worked on the farm as a herd manager for 16 years, helping care for the dairy cows and managing the other farmworkers. Heidi, who grew up on a dairy farm, is passionate about producing great milk while taking great care of the animals.

“Even though I’m not the farm owner, I still call it my farm because I take pride in it,” Heidi explained. “I love working with our cows and helping them grow and produce milk. I also love working with my coworkers to make sure we’re doing what’s right for the animals.”

On farms large and small, everyone who works together is passionate about ensuring the animals are well cared for so they can create delicious, high-quality food.

“There are real, passionate people behind large farm operations,” Heidi said. “I’m a member of the Boadwine farm family and so are my coworkers, who are just as dedicated as I am.”

One way Heidi and her coworkers take care of the cows is by feeding them a high-quality diet. Dairy cows need a protein-rich diet to produce delicious, nutritious milk. The cows at Boadwine Farm are fed hay and silage grown right on the farm, supplemented with soybean and corn meal from the local grain elevator. Soybeans are a great source of protein so dairy cows across South Dakota enjoy eating approximately 18,000 tons of soybean meal annually.

“We harvest everything we plant as feed for the cows, so nothing is wasted,” Heidi said. “Our cows eat locally,” she added with a laugh.

After a long day tending to animals, there’s nothing like curling up with a hearty plate of Cheesy Tater Tot Hotdish, an upper Midwest specialty.

“For me, tater tot hotdish is an old standby, something my mom used to make. Every family does it a little differently,” Heidi said. “Ours is simple, made with browned ground beef, green beans, cream of mushroom soup and some cheese to add a little gooiness. You can mix it up by experimenting with different kinds of cheese and seeing what your family likes.”

Dig into Heidi’s cheesy tater tot hotdish! Need another classic dinner option? Try this  classic meatloaf.

Cheesy Tater Tot Hotdish

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Main Dish

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cans green beans
• 10 oz Mushrooms chopped
• 10-12 slices American cheese divided
• salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
• 1 bag frozen tater tots

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Brown beef with onion powder over medium heat and drain.
  
• In a casserole dish, mix browned beef, soup, green beans, mushrooms and 4 slices of cheese torn into small pieces, salt and pepper.
  
• Layer remaining cheese slices over mixture, then layer tater tots over cheese.
  
• Cover with lid or tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes.
• Remove covering and bake for another 15 minutes to crisp tots.
  

Notes

Variations:

Substitute 1-1/2 cups shredded colby Jack cheese for the American cheese.

Substitute chopped cauliflower for tater tots.