RECIPE: Rep. Walz's winning Turkey Taco Tot Hotdish

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With his Turkey Taco Tot Hotdish, Rep. Tim Walz grabbed first place at Sen. Al Franken's sixth-annual “Hotdish Off” on Wednesday. His recipe, and a link to the other recipes, is at the bottom of this article.

His recipe beat out nine other congressional dishes after a taste test performed by Washington Post food critic and Minnesota native Tom Sietsema, Tom’s mother, Dorothy, and Minnesota native Ryan Jensen who now owns two popular coffee shops in D.C.

“A Hotdish dynasty is born,” Rep. Walz said, after winning his third Hotdish championship. “In all seriousness though, I congratulate Rep. McCollum on her delicious runner-up dish as well, and thank Senator Franken again for putting on this friendly competition. It’s a great way for us to come together and celebrate our heritage, while building bipartisan relationships. As we move forward, let’s carry this spirit of bipartisanship past the Hotdish competition, and work to solve the real challenges we face.”

This is Rep. Walz's third victory -- his Turkey Trot Tater-Tot Hotdish won in 2014, and his Hermann the German Hotdish placed first in 2013.

Rep. Keith Ellison's The Most Beautiful Hotdish in the World: Green Chile-Chicken Casserole deserves an honorable mention, which was garnished with a Prince symbol made of crushed purple potato chips.

Tim’s Turkey Taco Tot Hotdish
Rep. Tim Walz

- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 large red bell pepper (or two medium ones)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 can sliced black olives
- 1 can diced mild green chilies
- 1 bottle taco sauce (medium)
- 1 16 oz sour cream
- 1 bag of frozen tots
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 cups sweet corn - cherry tomatoes
- green onions
- shredded iceberg lettuce
- paprika
- chili powder
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dice the onion and bell pepper into 1-inch dice and sauté in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper for 15 minutes, until tender. Remove onion and bell pepper and set aside in a mixing bowl. Brown turkey. In a small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons each of paprika, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Add half of mixture to the turkey while browning. Reserve the other half of mixture to sprinkle over the tots prior to baking. When finished, add the turkey in with the sautéed onion and bell pepper. Add black olives, sweet corn, chilies, taco sauce, 2 cups of cheese, and sour cream. Stir mixture until combined. Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of cheese on top. Add tots on top of the mixture and cheese. Sprinkle spice mixture on top of tots. Bake in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until tots are crispy and golden brown. After removing from the oven, sprinkle with shredded lettuce, green onions and diced tomato. Serve with sour cream, hot sauce, avocado, cilantro or your favorite taco topping.

Recipes: 2016 Hotdish Off recipes