Tater Tot Casserole

This recipe came from my sister’s mother-in-law. You can make only half of it, if this is too much. I was surprised at how un-bad-for-you it is overall. It’s one of my favorite guilty pleasures and, in the winter, I always have the ingredients in my freezer.


Of course, these days I only make half of the recipe because I live by myself. If you decide to halve yours, I’d go for the cream of chicken soup rather than the cream of mushroom or using half of each. It’s still pretty yummy.

Ingredients
1 pound extra lean ground beef
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (you can sub any cream of whatever you like for either of these soups.)
8 ounces Reduced-fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1-32 ounce package Tater Tots


Supplies
9 x 13” baking dish (or a 9” square baking dish, if you’re making half)
Small mixing bowl (but you can use whatever size you have)


Instructions

  1. Put the uncooked ground beef in the bottom of the baking pan and press it in like you would a pie crust. Do not cook the ground beef ahead of time, no matter how much you want to. Trust me.

  2. Mix the two cans of soup in a bowl, then pour over the ground beef. Do not add water to the soup, just pour in the concentrated soup.

  3. Add the shredded cheddar cheese.

  4. Now put the tater tots in a single layer on top of the cheese. My sister methodically puts the tater tots in neat little rows. I dump the bag in and spread them out, making more or less a single layer. Do whatever you prefer.

  5. Bake at 350 for one hour.