It’s a tater tot casserole with hot dogs, baked beans, onions, and barbecue sauce. The only way this could get trashier (and tastier) is if it’s topped with cheez wiz & washed down with store-brand koolaid.

Years ago, my brother, Kevin, and I came up with this dish. He was away from home for the first time doing an internship at Walt Disney World. My saddest Christmas that I’ve ever had was when he wasn’t there for because he was in Disney. Kevin knows me better than anyone else in the whole world, we shared a bedroom up until I was 16. He’s the person I’ll love the longest in my whole life and I’m lucky that he’s my best friend.

During this internship in Florida, it was the first time Kev was buying his own groceries and cooking for himself. As adults who went to public school, we carry with us a strong affinity for tater tots. When he was away, we would email each other tater tot casserole recipes that we’d find and would report back if we tried one of them out.

I can’t remember who came up with the recipe, but Kevin named it White Trash Lasagna. When we were younger we’d have “white trash nights” with our mom while eating only cheez wiz and drinking koolaid while watching Gilmore Girls.

Until this post, the last time I had made White Trash Lasagna was the night that Whitney Houston died. I did not make in in memory or her, but it’s like the cosmos knew. I had slipped on a thick patch of ice on my back stairs and tumbled down. I ended up breaking my shoulder. With the shoulder hanging out of place, I started making dinner. I know, i know, it’s dumb, but they never feed you in the ER and I was really excited about this one. After dinner a friend drove me to the hospital. Kevin was there with me the whole time.

I ended up naming my sling Whitney after my fallen star. I bedazzled that sling because it was a diva. I found that with a sparkly sling, more people would comment “I like your sling” instead of “oh what happened?” It’s honestly no one’s business on the CTA what happened to my arm.

I still bust out my sling Whitney from time to time when I have someone come over from Craigslist to pick up a free couch. By putting on Whitney, it’s obvious that I can’t help them lug the garbage out of my apartment.

I stopped listing stuff for free on Amazon anyways, the last person who came asked to use my bathroom, of course I said yes because I am too trusting. The next day I realized that not only were they the new recipient of a full sized box spring, but they also now possessed a half-empty bottle of body wash. What a weirdo. Whatevs, no more Craigslist.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 bag of tater tots
• 1 package of hot dogs
•  a 14.5 oz-ish can of baked beans
• barbecue sauce
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• cheese (optional, not shown)

Let’s Get Cooking: 

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.
3. Add tater tots to pan.
4. Top with diced onions.
5. Dump can of beans on top.
6. Slice hot dogs and place on top.
7. Coat delicately with barbecue sauce.
8. Top it all off with shredded cheese, if you want.
9. Place in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the tater tots are cooked all the way.
10. Scoop out a heap and enjoy.