good ole' tater tot hotdish

Tater Tot Hot Dish (TTHD) Ahhh. Hot dishes. This is just one of many, but treasured comfort food which I crave often in the cold winter months - and this year, on cold spring days. Easy to make ahead, ready to pop in the oven the next day. Not on the top of my fresh and healthy list, but I can deal with a meal like this every once in awhile. My family loves this too, so it's fun to make. I get the "what's for dinner?" and when I respond with TTHD, I get lots of oohs and ahhs. I'm not the short order cook kind of mom, so it's always nice when I can get at least 75% thumbs up on the dinner choice.

No real recipe on this one either. Fairly easy to whip up and can modify with all sorts of add-ins each time. (I like to throw a few veggies in there so everyone gets part of their daily quota. Not as easy to push to the side, and somewhat disguised amongst the other ingredients.)

It usually goes something like this...

Tater Tot Hotdish

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 bag frozen peas or corn
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag of tater tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown beef and onion until done. Drain fat. Season with salt & pepper and any other seasonings. Mix cooked beef/onions with cans of soup and spread in bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with peas or corn and sprinkle cheese on top. Finish by lining tater tots across the entire top of the dish. Bake for about an hour, until bubbly on the edges and hot in the center.