Subject: hash brown/"tater tot" recipes
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking

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From: af566 at freenet.hamilton.on.ca (Lisa Hetherington)
Date: 17 Nov 1997 17:14:38 GMT
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Does anyone have a good casserole recipe for either of these items? Probably with cheese, cream of mushroom/chicken soup, etc. Do you use the tater tots/hash browns frozen or do you have to thaw them first?

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From: defore at gwis2.circ.gwu.edu (Juli DeFore)
Date: 17 Nov 1997 16:12:47 -0500
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brown some beef, add spices you like, mix in cream of mushroom soup, top with cheese, top with frozen tator tots. It's o.k.

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From: hilbrich at antares.cloudnet.com (WB or CM Hilbrich)
Date: 18 Nov 97 06:36:32 GMT
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Here is another Classic Potluck Dish that is typical of the Lake Wobegon Spirit but is probably found in nearly every Church Cookbook in the USA. However, this Article crossposted from rec.food.recipes and authored by Chloie Parsons is special because of the tips included at the end.
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I make a tater tot casserole that my family loves to eat. I don't follow a set recipe but here is an impromptu one.

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb hamburger (amount can be less depending on size of pan used)
2 cans (10 1/2 oz) condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
Parsley (about 2 Tbsp dried or 1/2 cup fresh)
1 tsp to 2 Tb Garlic powder (to taste, I like a lot!)
Pepper
Tater tots (amount varies on size of pan used)

Preheat oven to 350 F. I normally use my Pyrex 13x9x11" glass baking dish for this. Crumble raw hamburger into baking dish, spreading evenly. Sprinkle pepper, liberal amounts of parsley, and lots of garlic). In a 2 quart bowl, mix up the 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup along with 3/4 can of water. The consistency should be thick with just enough water so that it can be stirred smooth instead of being two oblong blobs. Evenly pour the soup over the meat. Place tater tots side by side, end to end, in rows (kinda like the airport parking lot on holidays =)). Place in an oven. Bake approximately 45 minutes or until bubbly in center. Best when Taters are crisp and golden on top.

I don't add salt to the recipe because I figure that the soup has enough in it for the entire dish.

The hardest thing with this dish is letting it cool after I take it out of the oven. I usually burn my mouth with the first three tastes and then finally realize that I should let it cool. =). You'd think I would learn. I think this is what I'll fix for dinner on Friday. So easy after a long week. =)

Chloie Parsons, Oregon State U.
parsonsc at ucs.orst.edu

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From: Liz Swanson (lswanson at spamless-sfo.com)
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 11:52:26 -0800
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Here's one I got last year--it's soooo good. Along with Big Macs, it's one of those foods I hate to admit that I like. You don't need to thaw the Tater Tots. They turn out realy crispy on top and underneath is a cheesy sauce.

Title: Tater Tot Casserole
Categories: Main dish, Meats
Yield: 6 servings

2 lb Ground Chuck
1 Onion, Chopped
12 oz Sour Cream
10 3/4 oz Cream of Chicken Soup
10 3/4 oz Cream of Mushroom Soup
16 oz Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
1 lg Bag of Tater Tots

Brown ground chuck and chopped onion; season with salt and pepper. Drain. Layer other ingredients into baking dish. Top with large bag of Tater Tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until brown and heated through.

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From: Maven
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 1997 16:33:24 GMT
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1 Bag of tots or hashbrowns or fries
2 or 3 cups greated cheese (your favorite type - I use ex-sharp)
1 Lb loose sausage, cooked and well drained
1 Can cream of....Mushroom, chicken, asperagus...whatever's in the Pantry, most commonly mushroom.
1 bag of frozen veggies, often peas

Topped with:
1 can (ya gotta have 'em) french fried onions or shoestring potatoes (chips in a pinch)

Mix and pour into a baking dish and top. Bake at 350f for 30 min. As you can guess this is pretty flexable and usually made with what's on hand at the time. My family loves it and it's low fuss to make. I usually dump everything in the dish and stir it up, top it, and pop it in the oven.