After reading the reviews, I used this recipe as a jumping off point and made the following changes: Used 2lbs of ground sirloin, 1 can cream of mushroom, 1 can cheddar cheese soup, a full bag of tater tots, and a can of french style green beans. I browned the beef with the onion and a teaspoon of minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon greek seasoning. I then mixed the soups and 1 cup of milk into the meat after it was browned and drained. I layered the greenbeans on the bottom of a 9X13 casserole dish, spooned the meat mixture over it, then sprinkled 2 cups of shredded cheddar over that, then topped with the tots, which I patted down into the cheese. sprinkled the whole thing with some fresh ground pepper, and baked at 350 for 40 minutes.
For those other reviewers who complained about blandness, well I think it's common sense to season your meat while cooking, and hey, be adventurous and use this recipe as a starting point, tweak it with different soups, cheeses, spices...My family and I really enjoyed this dish, and while I did make changes, I think this recipe deserves 5 stars for a great basic recipe, and inspiration. I am looking forward to the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, I am betting that like most casseroles like this, it'll taste even better tomorrow! :)
This is one of my family's favorite recipes. I do layer it a bit different, as we like the potaotes crispy. I pour the soup mixture over the ground beef, then add half the cheese, top with the potatoes, then sprinkle with a bit more cheeese, resulting in a crispier topping. Good comfort food.
This recipe is pretty good, I've made it 2 times. I recommend mixing the soup and milk into the meat and leaving the cheese and tater tots on top. I also used a whole bag of tater tots. The tots came out nice and crunchy which is what i wanted.
I have made this recipe several times, but I didn't have all of the ingredients. I had to improvise. I used 1# ground beef, 1 chopped onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and worcestchire sauce. I cooked that over med-high heat and after it was cooked I added 1 can of cheddar cheese soup and 1 can of milk and mixed it all together. I then poured that into a greased dish and topped it with cheddar and colby cheese. Following that, I topped it with tater tots. ( there are also new mashed potato tots from Ore-Ida that are AWESOME!) I baked that for about half an hour then put it on broil for about five more min. Then topped it with more shredded cheese. My husband loved it....with ketchup of course. I have to say I have made this many ways...I find it best with corn mixed in....and a nice fresh salad on the side...this is one of those meals that you have to balance out..in order to relieve some of the guilt of eating it! But man is it good..it is great mexican style too, with peppers and onions mixed into the beef and taco seasoning. Campbell's makes a great fiesta cheese soup that mixes well with this too. It is one of those meals that you can do almost anything too. It is hard to screw it up. ENJOY!!!
I'd give this recipe 4 stars 'as is' and 5 stars with a few adjustments. I put canned green beans and/or corn in the bottom of the pan, layer ground beef seasoned with a little garlic over that, then pour the soup mixture over, sprinkle shredded cheese and top with tatortots. Great comfort food!
I love this recipe. Every time I make this, my kids go back for seconds and even thirds! That automatically makes it a keeper in my book. I've tried it two ways, I've poured the soup over the tots and I've also poured the soup over the meat and put the tots on afterward. I actually like it better with the soup over the tots because they come out creamy and it mixes together more like a casserole this way. We also always use ground turkey rather than beef. Yum!!
I was surprised at how good this tasted. My husband liked it to. I used low fat/low sodium soup (omitted the milk since soup was not condensed); used low fat cheddar and soy cheddar and low fat ground beef. Very good flavor. My husband and I ate the whole thing!
I thought this was yummy but I must add that I did use the recippe as a guide only. I used a tube of orig. Jimmy Dean sausage instead of hamburger and then topped it off with french fried onion rings (like for greenbean casserole). Then I put the mushroom sauce and then the tatertots. I topped it off with cheese the last 5 minutes of cooking and it was great! It wasn't dry and it wasn't bland at all. I'll definitely try this recipe again. It seems the variations are endless.
This is one of my husband's favorite meals. I don't layer the dish though. I cook the ground beef and onion, and when browned, mix in the cream of mushroom soup, milk, a can of drained corn, and the 1 1/2 cups of cheese. I then put it in a 2qt casserole dish and top with the tater tots and another 1/2 cup of cheese and bake for about 55 minutes. We've tried this with different types of cheese, but always go back to a mild cheddar. Sharp cheddar is very good, but probably not the most kid-friendly taste and Co-jack seems to leave it with a slightly bitter taste.
I made this as the recipe stated but my husband and I both found it quite bland. Perhaps I will add more vegetables or maybe some garlic....
