Now don't be too shocked, the man actually does some things in the kitchen! 9 times out of 10, I'm the cook in the family. He's quite content on me making the majority of our meals but, every once in a while, he gets a wild hair .. and comes up with something great.
You see, Richard and his uncle Leo would have these movie marathons at home many moons ago during the VHS era. Since they would usually get the munchies late at night, they used to gather up all sorts of edible items from the fridge and cupboards and throw them together to see if they could actually produce something edible. In the Netherlands, this is usually referred to as kneuter koken, in which, kneuteren can easily be translated into nothing else but 'messing stuff up'.
So, one night after I came home from a long, hard day at work, I found Richard busy making this dish. My jaw dropped immediately and I asked him what he was doing and he told me, 'It's none of your business' so, I had to wait it out. Needless to say, I was a bit skeptic about the dish once he produced it. He sat me on the couch (we don't own a dining table and chairs anymore), brought me this big full pan of food and told me we were going to eat out of it. He got comfortable on the other end of the couch and with the pan between us, we dug in.
I couldn't believe it .. it actually worked out! It was so tasty, I didn't want it to end! Needless to say, this dish has cropped up many times in the last few months and will continue to do so ..
Here's all your ingredients ..
Spray your pan good ..
We just happen to love instant mashed potatoes but,
you can make your own from scratch.
I make ours with powdered milk and
we can't tell a difference in taste ..
See? Looks milky, right?
If using instant, just follow the instructions on the box
to make at least 2 cups mashed potatoes.
This is what silly Dutch guy loves to use,
we find it on sale and stock up ..
Pour contents into your greased baking dish ..
Dice up your onion either fine or chunky,
whichever you prefer ..
Put on top of chili ..
Dice up your tomato ..
Put on top of onion ..
Smooth out your mashed potatoes to make a layer ..
Sprinkle with shredded colby jack ..
Don't forget the bread crumbs ..
it'll make it nice and crunchy on top ..
And after it's baked, gaze at the wonder you have made ..
It's messy but, DELICIOUS! Dig right in ..
You'd think we didn't feed him with that pitiful look on his face ..
Yeah, we can't resist ..
we wait until it's cooled down enough and then ....
'Yay, we get samples!'
One of the best dishwashers in this house ..
and don't worry, we 'rewash' them!
Kneuter Chili
1 19 oz.can of chili
1 small onion, diced
1 roma tomato, diced
2 c. instant mashed potatoes
2 c. colby jack cheese, shredded
1 handful bread crumbs
In a greased 8 x 8 baking dish, layer in the order of ingredients listed above. Put into a 400F oven and cook for 25-30 minutes until cheese is melted and a crust has appeared on top.
And, as his Uncle Leo would say, 'We sure can't cook but, we surely can throw a lot of stuff together and make it tasty.'
