FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - Tater-Tot Hotdish

One time on Usenet, (Gal Called J.J.)
said:
> One time on Usenet, Melba's Jammin' > said:

> > I have a vague memory of making this culinary delight by patting out a
> > pound of raw ground beef into a pan (9x9 square maybe?) and laying some
> > frozen Tater Tots on top and pouring a can of cream of mushroom soup
> > over all of it before baking for half and hour or something. Does that
> > sound familiar to anybody?
> >
> > I haven't done an extensive search for this -- the Tater Tot and burger
> > hotdish recipes I'm finding seem to involve cooking the meat first and
> > I'm pretty sure that what I did used raw meat.
> >
> > Bring it.
>
> Oh yeah, my second stepfather made something like this and we loved
> it! I remember that he used a square casserole dish (probably 9x9 as
> you said), the ingredients were layered, and grated cheddar was put
> over the top. I'm 99% certain that he didn't cook the ground beef
> first, as he was a lazy sort (but a nice guy). If you make this, do
> let us know how it turns out, I'd really like to know...

I finally got around to making this last night (I try to plan meals
and shopping for two week periods, so sometimes it takes a while before
I can try something). I put 2# raw ground chuck in the bottom of a 9x13
inch baking dish, then layered with 15 oz. green beans, 16 oz. tater
tots, two cans cream of mushroom soup, S&P and some Worchestershire
sauce, then 8 oz. sharp cheddar, grated. It was very good, but I'm
going to tweak it next time -- I definitely want to brown the meat
first (putting it in raw left way too much fat in the dish, had to
drain several times), and I want to mix the soup and cheddar so the
cheese doesn't turn into a crust. Also, DH wants more tater tots, but
I'm not so sure about that one...

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF