Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> 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
I agree with you, Wayne. I'd have to have 'em crunchy, but again, the
ground beef doesn't sound all that appealing to me. Now, oven toasted tater
tots on a freshly grilled burger, that I could see!
kili