Tater Tot Casserole!

Did you think I forgot about this lovely blog over here? Well...honestly, I just haven't done any freezer cooking! I did find some good deals lately, but I posted them on the family blog. You can find those posts over there, along with my adorable children :)

http://theidahopetersons.blogspot.com/2009/06/update-3.html
http://theidahopetersons.blogspot.com/2009/06/another-shopping-score.html

So..time for some more cooking. I'm in a hurry today. I asked my mother to help do the impossible. Make 5 medieval costumes by Saturday. Um yeah, today is Wednesday! So mom is great and got to work on them, but her request was that I provide dinner tonight. Not a problem, I wanted to make this anyway. This is a great family favorite. Like...we could eat it every single night kinda favorite.

Scene 1
1 lb of ground turkey 1.88
1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup - .50 (yes...two are in the pic, but I only used one)
1/4 - 1/3 cup of milk (not pictured...oops) .25
Cheddar Cheese - probably 4 cups or so shredded - 2.00?
1 bag of frozen mixed veggies - .75
1 bag of tater tots - 1.50


Scene 2
Garlic, Onions and Seasoning Salt
So it's blurry..deal with it.



Scene 3
Brown the turkey with the garlic and the onion. This could also be ground beef or even chicken. I've made it with all. I'm not sure about tuna though, but you could give it a try.



Scene 4
While this is cooking, go ahead and shred your cheese. (Or as my 13 year old of course has to say....cut the cheese...uh uh uh uh..)



Scene 5
Add the can of Cream of Mushroom soup (or cream of chicken, or cream of celery, or cream of about anything) and the milk. I just guess on the milk until it is a good consistancy.



Scene 6
Mix in the bag of veggies and make sure your molds are ready to go.



Scene 7
Divide the mixture between two molds (or dump it all into a 9 x 12 pan) and spread part of the cheese on top.



Of course, during this I catch my 4 year old daughter stealing my cheese! I wondered where it why I didn't have as much as I thought!



So what did I do? Yep...made her shred more cheese! She loves this job however, so this wasn't any kind of punishment at all. :)



Scene 8
Cover both pans with frozen tater tots. Since I was making one pan to give away, I made it nice and straight. The second pan is how I would make it for us!




Scene 9
Cover with more cheese...wrap up and freeze! Perfect Tater Tot casserole!


Scene 10
All packed up and ready to go to moms! I threw in a bag of salad, some bread (although I think I will send rolls instead) and two cookies. All ready for her and dad.


Total cost: 5.50ish for two dinners. Love it!