Tater Tots Day and a Casserole Recipe

Tater tots are made from deep fried grated potatoes. They are often served as a side dish. They are loved for their crispness and shape. Ore Ida has registered the trademark "tater tots" Tater tots was welcomed as a new product in 1956 when Ore-Ida founders were looking for a way to use up leftover slivers of cut up potatoes. The potatoes were chopped up and added to flour and seasoning and prepared. 

Tater-Tots hit the store shelves at very inexpensive price. The price was raised when the product was more desired and purchased more. Today Americans will consume 70 million pounds of tater tots per year. Tater tots are common at school lunch counters and cafeterias as well as being sold in the frozen food sections at the grocery store.

Generic terms may include quick taters or potato puffs. Do you know any other generic terms for these delicious bites of potato??

As a young mother I attended a day out event for moms at a local church. Here I learned a whole new way to prepare tater tots. It was a great easy way and we have used it many times since then. The tater tot casserole was a great meal in one dish and our family loved it. 

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. ground turkey
3 green onions diced
Pepper and salt to taste
1/2 c. diced onions
32 oz. package of tater tors
(2) 10 oz. can of cream of mushroom and cream of cheese
8-10 oz. can of sour cream
1 c. milk
1-2 c. grated cheese

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown ground turkey and diced onions adding pepper and salt to taste. (if you want additional taste- you can add crushed garlic). Drain excess fat.

In a large 9x13 casserole dished (greased with shortening or butter) pour meet mixture and spread evenly. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream of soup, sour cream, and milk. Then take sour cream mixture and evenly distribute over meat mixture. To evenly cover use a spatula.

You can do the next part two ways: you can randomly toss tater tots over the sour cream mixture to cover the top of the casserole or you can do what I did: I took each tater tot, one by one, and evenly placed them in rows to cover the sour cream mixture and create a nice uniform pattern for the top of the casserole. It does not affect the taste, so choose your hearts desire ;)

Sprinkle shredded cheese over entire casserole, evenly distributing but not entirely covering. The cheese will spread when it melts. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes. Allow it to cool before cutting.