Sunday, January 4, 2009

Tater Tot Casserole

We're having this for dinner tomorrow night, but I cooked the meat and prepped it all this afternoon while Carson was napping so that its ready to go right in the oven when we get home tomorrow night. Kevin has been asking for some "normal" recipes lately... i.e. something that he's used to, not something new. I found two last cans of cream soup when I cleaned out my pantry this past week and figured I'd better use them up soon since I've decided not to buy them anymore (I'm going to try making my own cream of mushroom and cream of celery soup). So I decided to make tater tot casserole. Its a recipe that I got from Kevin's mom, he loves it, I love it, and I'm betting that Carson will love it, too. I don't make it too often (twice a year, if that) because its not very healthy, but it is very good if you like casseroles.

Tater Tot Casserole

1 pound ground beef (I used all-natural/grass-fed/hormone-free lean ground beef this time, but I've used a mixture of half beef/half turkey in the past and it was good)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used the 98% fat free stuff. I've used cream of celery in the past and it was good.)
1 can peas (salt-free)
cheese slices (I used 2% milk Kraft American)
1 pound bag of frozen tater tots

Brown the meat, drain the grease, and pour the meat into a casserole dish. Top with cream soup. Then top with peas, then cheese slices, and finally tater tots.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for one hour. Remove foil during the last 15 minutes of baking.

2 comments:

The Voogts said...

I've never made this. I never liked this growing up. I always thought it was so greasy. I don't think my mom browned the meat first. Justin doesn't really care for it either. Glad you guys like it! :)

Sara said...

Mine is never greasy. I think it all depends on what grade of meat you use, too. I think your mom always used to use ground chuck or ground round... both have quite a bit of grease. I'm surprised Justin doesn't like it since its very similar to some of the casseroles you've posted that he loves. Seems like most casseroles have similarities, though.