Tater Tot Cassarole

What?!  No recipe for something drenched in chocolate or covered in fondant roses?  Yeah, well, I actually did make Cherry Bombs (cake balls with maraschino cherries in the middle).  Two flavors even!  White Almond dipped in white chocolate and Devil's Food dipped in dark chocolate.  But guess what?  I forgot to take pictures.  DUH!  Let me just say they turned out beautifully and were a HUGE hit with my fellow co-workers. 

So instead of a romantic dish, I'm baking up some good old-fashioned yumminess.  Tater Tot Casserole has been making the rounds at work and with my friends.  Perhaps it's the cold weather and we're craving some serious comfort food.  Or maybe it's just delicious and now we have an excuse to eat it. 

Everyone has their own unique spin on this recipe.  Some people cook the hamburger/ground pork/turkey first.  Some don't.  Some add veggies.  Some don't.  Some pre-cook the tater tots.  People use different Cream-of-Whatever soup.  Cheese?  Yes and no.  Apparently this is the kind of dish that you can clean out the fridge with, tossing in whatever you happen to have on hand. 

My recipe is a twist on a favorite quick dish my mother used to make when I was a kid.  It was a mix of hamburger, tomato soup, mushroom soup, and Minute Rice.  Remember Minute Rice?  We affectionately called it 'Glop'. Sounds appetizing, doesn't it?  Trust me, it really was tasty.  I think tossing it in the oven, covering it with crispy tater tots, and calling it Tater Tot Casserole sounds a bit more appealing.

Tater Tot Casserole ala Paulette
1 pound Hamburger
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 can Tomato Soup
1 can Mushroom Soup
1 cup Mixed Seasoning Blend (It's just chopped onions, celery, green & red peppers, and parsley. Chop your own if you can't find it in the freezer section).
1-1/4 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 bag Tater Tots
Dried Parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef and Mixed Seasoning Vegetables & cook until veggies are tender. 

Drain and spread into a 9 x 13 casserole dish.  I used an 11 x 7 casserole dish because someone got away with my big one!

Mix tomato soup and mushroom soup. 

Pour 2 cups evenly over hamburger mixture.

Sprinkle on the shredded cheese.

Cover evenly with tater tots. Sprinkle with dried parsley just to make it pretty. :)

Bake at 350 degrees approximately 45-60 minutes until casserole is bubbly and the tater tots are crisp and browned.

Oh my goodness!  This is SO good!