Mexican Tater Tot Casserole

This is a great freezer recipe!  It's one I came up with to give a little bit of a mexican flavor to a staple - the tater tot casserole.  My family definitely prefers this version!

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
2 packets taco seasoning
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans
1 can sliced mushrooms, stems and pieces
1 can sliced olives
Tater tots
Shredded cheese (I use a combination monterey jack and cheddar cheese)

Directions
Brown beef, drain.  Add taco seasoning and water according to packet, simmer until water is absorbed. 

Open and drain cans.  Remove meet from heat, add ingredients from can and mix well.

Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick spray, put one layer of tater tots on the bottom.  Add meat mixture.  Sprinkle with desired amount of cheese.  Add another layer of tater tots.  You can cover the entire top, or just a row or two as a border.  Sprinkle with more cheese.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 50-60 minutes, remove foil the last 10 minutes.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Enjoy!

Super Cheesy Scalloped Potato Recipe

I LOVE cheese.  And I love potatos.  What better way than to put them together for a side dish that will break the mold of mashed or baked potatos??  Best part, you can make them up ahead of time and put it in the fridge for a day or so until you're ready to cook it!  This picture is from the leftovers that I sprinkled some MORE cheese on and warmed up in our toaster oven.  Mmmmmm.  Best lunch!

Ingredients
12-16 medium potatos peeled and sliced (I use a mandolin to get nice, even slices - cooks better!)
2 cups shredded Colby Jack Cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzerella
1/4 cup chopped onion (or dehydrated diced onion)
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 package bacon, cooked and diced
4 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Peel and slice potatos and place into 9x13 casserole dish (I would recommend spraying the sides with PAM).  Shred cheese and mix together.  Take 2 cups and mix in with the potatos.  In a seperate bowl, combine sour cream, soups, milk, butter, salt, pepper and 3/4 of the bacon and mix well.  Pour over the potatos.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bacon.  Also good sprinkled with fresh chives!

Bake at 350 for apx 60 minutes, or until potatos are tender to the fork and cheese is slighly browned.

Enjoy!

Tin Foil Dinners

The best part about these meals is that everyone gets exactly what they want.  They're great for camping, or can be done at home as well.

Basic Ingredients
Meat
Hamburger patty
Chicken strips
Round steak
Steak, cut into strips
Summer or Polish sausages
Whatever tickles your fancy

Veggies
Thin cut potatoes
Diced onion
Sliced carrots
Zucchini
Broccoli
Pea pods
Peppers
Mushrooms
whatever is fresh from your garden

Seasonings
ANY!
Cream of chicken or mushroom soup
lipton onion soup mix
lemon pepper
seasoning salt
etc

Butter

Take two 12" pieces of tin foil.  I place them crossways one over the other.  Place potatoes on foil, then layer meat with veggies, seasonings and a couple pats of butter.  Place in coals, or oven at 350 for 40-60 minutes.  Enjoy!

Here's how I did it tonight:

Had young lad dig a hole for fire

Making their dinners:

Look!  A happy face!  Oh, wait - we weren't supposed to play with our food?

Forgot a pic of it all in the fire, but here we are opening them up to enjoy!

Mmmmm, dinner!