Cheesy chicken tater tot casserole (crockpot)

 Ingredients:

32 oz. bag frozen tater tots

3 oz. bag bacon pieces

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

¾ c. milk

Salt & pepper to taste

Spray crock pot or use crock pot liner.  Layer half the tots on the bottom. Sprinkle 1/3 bacon pieces, top with 1/3 of the cheese.  Add chicken on top.  Salt and pepper.  Add 1/3 cheese and bacon.  Layer with the rest of the tots.  Finish with remaining cheese and bacon.  Pour ¾ cup milk over the top.  Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.  

White Trash Casserole

I have to admit, the name of this recipe intrigued me.  It looked simple and included ingredients I had on hand so I decided to give it a shot last night.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp. mince garlic

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can corn, drained

Small brick of Velveeta, cut into cubes

Tater Tots

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown beef and onion together then drain. (The original recipe doesn’t call for minced garlic but I added it and was glad I did.)  Mix cream of mushroom with the ground beef.  Spread beef mixture in bottom of a casserole dish. Layer corn, Velveeta, and tater tots. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour, until tater tots are golden brown.

This made my house smell amazing while it was cooking.  It tasted great too. It was what I imagine a casserole would taste like if Hunters Dish and Tater Tot Casserole had a baby.  If you’re looking for an easy recipe to throw together on a cold night, add this to your collection.

World’s Best Tater Tots

Review by Lyndee:

If you’ve ever watched Man versus Food or visited the capitol city, Des Moines, Iowa, you may have heard of the High Life Lounge.  If you’ve been witness to the shag carpet, 70’s throwback beer décor and Tanger bomb shots, it’s very likely you’ve seen their bacon and jalapeno wrapped tater tots.  This appetizer is just a tad on the side of ridiculously awesome.  I mean, who doesn’t love tater tots?  Then load them down with bacon, jalapenos, cheese and some ranch dressing?  My inner fat girl is doing cartwheels at the thought of it.  Because I don’t wanna be fat, I had to come up with a variation of these that would be easier than the deep fried version on my metabolism and my wallet. 

Ingredients:

Tater tots

Shredded cheese

Diced jalapenos

Bacon, RAW, cut into pieces

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

First we tried these on the grill but they got a bit of a mush factor to them.  For best results, make these fab nuggets of goodness in the oven.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Place a layer of tater tots on the foil.  NOTE-do not spread these out like you normally would when baking tots or fries.  You want a single layer of tots but they should be touching in a bunch.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Spread on the uncooked bacon pieces and jalapenos.  I used the peppers for flavor but if you want some real bite to your tots, be more generous.  Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.  Remove from oven and add shredded cheese.  I used a Colby Jack combo but cheddar would work great too.  Put under the broiler in the oven for a few minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the cheese is melting. 

Remove and serve! Some people dip these in ranch or ketchup but they are seriously perfect on their own.