Tater Tot Casserole

Well, as you probably know, I'm on modified bed rest per doctor's orders. I'm not really sure why, because the Labetalol is controlling my blood pressure well, but I have to do what the doctor says. The good thing about modified bed rest is that I can still do some stuff, like cook. The problem is, often times, cooking requires standing for a good length of time, which makes my feet and legs puff up like marshmallows. Don't get me wrong, I like marshmallows. Just not as my feet.

So anyway, I've been making easy and quick to prepare meals for dinner. And I thought, "Hmm... I haven't put many recipes up on the blog lately." I realized that I don't post my go-to meals that I like to make when I don't know what else to cook. It occurred to me that you guys might need some go-to meals, too. So here you are.

I'm starting with one of my long-time favorites - tater tot casserole. Don't judge me. I know the first thing that comes to mind when you think of tater tot casserole is Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar. But normal people who don't have 19 kids (and counting) like tater tot casserole, too. Plus, my brother works at a potato processing plant and gets us super cheap tater tots. It's all about who you know. ;)

Here's what you'll need:
2 lbs ground beef
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
2 cans of whole kernel corn
4 oz sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese (I used colby jack)
Tater tots (enough to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan - one bag from the freezer section of the grocery store will be more than enough)

This is a double batch, so you'll probably want to make half of this. I like having leftovers because then I don't have to cook again sometime this week. Or you could split this into two casserole dishes and freeze one.

First, you want to put a layer of tater tots on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. I don't pack the tots in too tightly because we like a higher ratio of meat than potatoes. You can do whatever works for you. Put them in the oven and bake them according to the package directions. This will make it so you don't have to bake it for so long after it's all put together.

Then brown the ground beef.

While the beef and tots are cooking, get the rest of your ingredients ready.

Put one cup of cheese in a large mixing bowl.

Add the sour cream...

...and the cream of mushroom soup and corn. I've also heard of people using green beans instead of corn, but I like corn better.

Add the cooked ground beef to the mixture. At this point, I started to realize that I should have used a bigger bowl. Oops. But it worked out okay.

Mix everything together (except the tater tots, of course).

Then start glopping the mixture on top of the cooked tater tots.

Once the entire mixture is in the dish, even it out with a spoon or rubber scraper and top it with the rest of the cheese.

Bake on 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

And you end up with a delicious glob of meat and potatoes. Okay, I know it doesn't look all that appetizing, but it is really, really good. Seriously.