Tater Tot casserole

The original title of this recipe is "Healthier Tater Tot Casserole" from the Houston Chronicle.  I made this last week with minor changes - left out mushrooms this go-round.  The combo of veggies is labor-intensive to prep, but they make it sooo good!

Tater Tot Casserole

1 med. onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 med. carrots, peeled and diced
3/4 c. sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 pound ground turkey
S, P, 1 T paprika
1 2lb. bag frozen tater tots
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (low sodium or healthy version)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 and get a deep 13x9 dish ready.  Saute the onion in the olive oil in a large skillet about 5 minutes.  Add the veggies and the turkey.  Cook, stirring on medium heat about 5 minutes more until the turkey is broken up and getting cooked; season with salt, pepper, and paprika.

Lower the heat, cover it, and get the tots ready.

Mix the two cans of soup with a little water or milk, maybe a quarter of a can.  This will make it easier to get the tots all coated and spread out on top of the meat mixture.

Toss the tots in the soup quickly before they all clump up in a frozen glob!

Pour the hot meat mixture in the casserole dish,

and top with the tots.  A little cheese over the top never hurt anyone.  

Bake for about 50 minutes. 

The cheese doesn't overcook like you think it might - but if you wanted to, you could wait the last 10 minutes to put it on the top. 

It was saucy on the bottom, but if you let it sit to cool a bit, it gets a little thicker.  We couldn't wait that long to dig in and we don't mind that a bit.  The leftovers disappeared the next day!  

Gina

Shared with:

Mealplan Monday #45 and some fun thrifting

Thrifting was pretty fun last week 

 

A cute red and white long sleeve tee for moi, a Christmas pillow, a mug, a pretty china dish, and a small tripod for Hubby's digital camera. 

Monday - Broccoli cheese Scalloped Potatoes with sausage, oven carrots
Tuesday -Mexican Breakfast Casserole, fruit salad
Wednesday - Chicken Pilau, garlic toast, spinach
Thursday - Mom and Dad OUT for his birthday, boys get pizza
Friday -  freezer Turkey Sloppy Joes, fries
Saturday - freezer pulled pork for tacos, black beans
Sunday - Bean and Cheese Chalupas with sour cream, salsa, guacamole

I was so excited to see this Avon mug marked to 50 cents.  I had one just like it for years until one of my dear ones broke it.  Weeks later I was cleaning behind the fridge and found a chunk of it.  Evidence!  Hopefully this one can survive as long as the last one did!

Gina

Kitchen cannister up-cycle

Some months back I purchased these very cute owl jars for my kitchen counter from Kirkland's. 

I love the colors and the shapes - and they are empty, yes, because just having them sit there makes me smile!

 What to do with the old ones, ca. 1995 from Target?  The seals have long since failed, so they are really only good for display. 

I was thinking I could paint the lids and use them to store some small treasures.

I

Bubbie is really into collecting things - he used to bring home interesting rocks that he found in the school yard.  So cute.  He has a few shells, lots of marbles, the rock collection, and about a million tiny toys and mementos in a "junk box".

I think these cannisters are just perfect for displaying his stuff.  I sanded the lids, removed a couple of groddy rubber seals, and painted the lids with a soap and water washable enamel from Rustoleum.  It dies really fast - perfect for impatient people like me!

Marbles just naturally look fun in a jar.

The tall jar has tiny toys from Happy Meals and various mementos.  

In his room there is a shelf for toys and knick knacks, one for books, another two for mementos.  Bubbie is a great reader and loves to have a couple of books going at the same time.

I love him and his collections and hope he likes his new up-cycled storage jars!

Gina

Shared with:

Mealplan Monday #44 with background guitar music

It's a "no school" day, and instead of cooking or doing chores, I'd love to hang out in Scout's room and listen to him play guitar.

 

 He's actually getting quite good at it.  Wonder if he misses the baritone?  

Monday - Quesadilla Casserole, salad
Tuesday - Chicken and Dumplings
Wednesday - Tater Tot casserole
Thursday - Sweet and Tangy Meatballs, mashed potatoes
Friday - Cranberry Chicken, dressing, green beans
Saturday - Chicken Slammer sandwiches, fries
Sunday - Dr. Martin's Mix, salad

Gina

Happy 23rd Birthday, Firstborn!

Here is Firstborn around the age of two.  Loved all things car - whatever goes on wheels. So cute!

It just so happens that his 23rd birthday falls on a day when both Hubby and I will be rushing home from work and trying to get a million things done.  So I put together a super fast pizza party so that he could have dinner with brothers before they rush off to a scout camp.

 

 

Happy Birthday, Spencer.  Maybe we don't say it enough, and I know that was a quickie birthday party,  but we love you so much!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #43 and lemons

Monday - Freezer meal - Goulash, garlic toast
Tuesday - Sticky Chickey, brown rice, peas
Wednesday - Baked beans and hamburger, corn
Thursday - Calamity Anne's Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad
Friday - Firstborn's Birthday - Pizza,  Cherry Fudge Cake
Saturday - YOYO Dad and boys camping
Sunday - Turkey Pot Pie

Gina

Freezer meals #2

It's been a drab few days and with the rain, I am stuck indoors.  So what else to do besides clean and cook? I gathered up recipes I could throw into the freezer for cooking later and headed to the store.

First I cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast and added some leftover grilled chicken to the crock pot to make soup.

Then I made a master list of what I wanted to cook and the ingredients to buy for it.

Here's what I assembled:

Calamity Anne's Meatloaf
Beef Goulash (crock)
Teriyaki Chicken (crock)
Turkey Sloppy Joes
Cranberry Orange Chicken (crock)
Sticky Chicky (crock or bake)
Sweet and Tangy Meatballs (crock or bake)
Extra meatballs 

Cooked and shredded garlic chicken (for tacos or casseroles)

 

 Once I got home, the supplies went on the island and I set up a prep area. 

I had been cleaning out the freezer gradually the last week and a half so there was plenty of storage room.  The freezer meal shelf has six meals on it.

After two hours, my kitchen was clean and back in order.  

Oh!  And put the crock pot to work, too.  After the grilled chicken cooled, I shredded it and added raw chicken with garlic and onion to cook and shred for tacos.  These meals will probably last us through January. But Fridays will be a breeze and those are the hardest days of the week to cook for. I might go back to doubling up on recipes for a while to have an extra meal to freeze. 

Whatcha think?  Ever done these freezer meals in advance?

Gina