On Wed 23 Feb 2005 09:01:03a, Gal Called J.J. wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> 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...
>

Do the tater tots lose their crispy crust in this dish? I don't think I'd
like it if they did...the same as I don't like gravy on French fries.

Thanks,
Wayne