Tator Tot Casserole

Growing up this was one of the casseroles that my mom would make for us that we would ALL eat.

I still like it and my kids like it too.  Tried and true recipe! :)

It is tasty and has something that almost every kid will eat.

Tator Tots, Hamburger, Chicken & Rice Soup, Chicken Gumbo Soup, and French Style Green Beans

I am making this for a neighbor so I bought one of those foil casserole dishes.  

Since it was pretty large I decided to split it in half.  

Part of it the casserole and the other half I filled with the extra tator tots.  

Kids love tator tots and I figured that was a great extra to give my neighbor.

Brown your hamburger (you can use onion...but since this is for a family with young kids I didn't)

Place it on the bottom on your dish.

Next comes the french style green beans.  Drain them and place them over your hamburger.

Take your two soups and boil them on your stove top and mix them well.

Pour this over your green beans and hamburger.  

Cover with tator tots.

Bake for about half hour to one hour at 350 degrees.

Tator Tot Casserole
1 lb Ground Beef
1 small Onion
1 bag Frozen Tator Tot Potatoes
1 can French Green Beans
1 can Chicken Gumbo Soup
1 can Chicken Rice Soup

In a pan brown the beef with the onions. Spread on the bottom of a casserole dish. Drain the green bean and spread over the meat. In a saucepan combine the soups and heat to boiling. Pour that over the bean layer. Cover the top with the tator tot potatoes. Bake for about an hour at 350 degrees.

You'll-Never-Miss-The-Meat Cassarole

Hello there, furry friends! This is Sister #3 (a.k.a Amy) and do I have a recipe for you!
If you are anything like me then the day or three before the 'big' grocery shopping trip can mean meager meals made of whatever hasn't been eaten. Mostly, my husband and kids put up with these nights and try to humor me. (Scratch that, my five year old daughter has no problem telling me how tasteless my cooking is)
The solution? Well, creativity and a willingness to experiment have kept my family from starving but until last night when I threw this little gem together, I hadn't quite gotten the standing ovation I deserved.
If you don't believe vegetarian can be full-flavor, I would kindly like to direct you to any Indian-food restaurant to prove to you otherwise. But seeing as curry isn't in my cupboard, I went with a more acceptable Americanized southwest dish and TA-DA! My daughter said loudly, "Mom, I love this!"
I consider that an ovation in itself.
On to the food!

You'llNeverMissTheMeat Cassarole A'La Amy

6-8 corn tortillas, torn into bite-size pieces

1 can low-sodium corn

(too much sodium = health problems later in life. Accept it now)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

(unless you like the look of tar in your food?)

1 can mild Rotel or

1 small can green chilies (if you hate tomatoes.)

(But honestly, who hates tomatoes?)

1 can cream of chicken soup

6 oz. light sour cream

1 box rice-a-roni Spanish rice (or any flavor variety of your choosing)

*a few ounces of frozen spinach

*a few ounces of pictsweet's seasoning blend

1 cup shredded cheese of choice

Spray down a 13x9 glass pan with some cooking spray and spread the torn tortillas on the bottom.

Cook the rice according to directions, adding the frozen spinach and seasoning blend just before setting it to simmer.

Mix the cream of chicken soup, black beans, corn, rotel, 1/2 cup cheese and sour cream in a large bowl.

Spread rice over the tortillas in the pan then layer the mixture over top the rice. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes and voila!

*As you probably noticed, I say 'a few ounces' of frozen this or that. I like to hide additional vegetables in food to tie up that pesky pyramid and add some serious flavor. The seasoning blend adds alot of flavor so you don't need the whole package. Yay! Some for later! And the spinach in the recipe...you will never know it's there! If I have snuck in an entire bag of frozen spinach throughout two weeks, I consider it a good deal.