Tater Tot Casserole

I found this recipe on Cooking Claire's blog a few weeks ago and starred it in my googl reader to make at some point down the line. Well last night was the night! I never had or even heard of Tater Tot Casserole, but having a fond memory of Tater Tots from those wonderful public school lunches growing up, I knew it had to be good!

I was unsure (again) whether or not I was supposed to brown the ground beef first, but after googling other Tater Tot Casserole recipes I noticed that many of them don't brown the beef first--so I didn't either. I also used deli sliced cheddar cheese (as suggested) rather than shredded. All in all it turned out pretty yummy and was very simple to make. Dave said he liked it too even though he had to take it to go since I got a late start cooking (I got sucked into updating my blog:)) and he had to be at work on the film set by 10pm.

Even though this version was good, next time I would brown the beef in a skillet first, just to make it more crumbly and also to drain off the fat (it was a little greasy). I also think I would layer it in the order of beef, soup, cheese, taters rather than what this recipe calls for which is beef, cheese, soup, taters. The beef really didn't get to meld with the mushroom soup because the cheese was reating a barier and I think the flavor would have been better if the soup and the beef had cooked together. But that's just me...and what do I know?:)

Here is the recipe from last night:


Tater Tot Casserole

• 1 lb groung beef
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
• Cheddar cheese--sliced or shredded
• I can cream of mushroom soup
• Frozen Tater Tots

Directions

In an 11x7 pan, crumble or spread ground beef. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder on top of beef. Cover with sliced or shredded cheddar cheese (NOT American cheese...real cheddar). Spread can of cream of mushroom soup over the cheese layer (this can be tricky business if you've used shredded cheese). Top wtih tater tots. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, uncovering for last 30 minutes. Or bake at 375 for one hour, uncovering for last 30 minutes.