Tater Tot Hotdish

Yes, tater tot hotdish does warrant two posts in one day. As a native Minnesotan, not only did I grow up on hotdish but I loved it!  We have to keep ourselves warm and comforted somehow during the long, long, cold, winters. Did I mention our winters are long?  I can't bring myself to do a whole heck of a lot of baking or cooking in the oven during the summer when it's hot but ah, Fall and Winter. I turn into Miss Susie Homemaker when it starts getting cold out.  I decorated for Halloween yesterday and I'm pretty sure I need to leave this up year round:

Caution:  Enter if you dare! 

Today I cleaned the kitchen, both bathrooms, and did some laundry.  Then I made some applesauce and now the tater tot hotdish is baking as I write this.

Ingredients You'll Need: 

1 lb ground beef

1/4 large onion, chopped. optional

1/2 tbsp minced garlic, optional

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

12-16 oz package of frozen mixed vegetables (I had a package of corn, green beans, carrots, and peas)

1 lb, 12 oz bag of tater tots (I used Ore-Ida extra crispy tots).  I had 2-3 oz left in the bag, so I didn't use it all.  I'm sure 1 lb exactly would be just fine too.

1 cup mild cheddar cheese, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the beef with the onion and garlic; drain the fat.  I chose to add the onion and garlic to the beef because otherwise there's not much flavor to this dish without it, but it is optional. If you add the onion and garlic, you actually don't really need much more seasoning.  I didn't add anything else...not even salt. Add the beef to the bottom of a greased, 9x13 pan.

Next, layer the veggies (no need to thaw) on top of the beef. Canned vegetables would also work but I find frozen veggies to have more vibrant colors.  Or, you could even cut up your own fresh veggies if you're motivated enough.

Spread the two cans of cream of mushroom soup on top of the vegetables (3 cans if you want your hotdish really creamy).  DO NOT mix the soup with milk or water...just dump it out of the can onto the veggies in its glorious gelatinous state.

Here is where you can sprinkle shredded cheese (I chose mild cheddar) but it's not necessary! I just really love cheese.  You could use whatever cheese your little heart desires but because Andy is not a huge cheese person, I almost always choose mild cheddar.

Arrange the tots on top so there is one layer of tots covering everything.  You can place them one by one in an orderly fashion, or just dump them on top and squish them down to be one layer. Whatever floats your boat. I tried doing them one at a time so it'd look nicer and couldn't handle it after the first two, so I chose the dump & squish method instead.

Place in the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the tots are done and golden brown, and the hotdish is bubbling.  Take out of the oven and enjoy! Because I like cheese I sprinkled more cheese on top of my serving but again, the cheese is completely optional.

Mmmm those are some extra crispy tots!

SO good! 

Until next time, Fire Away!