Cheeseburger Casserole with Tater Tots...recipe

One of these days I'll start taking pictures of the recipes I've shared on this blog. :)

This is one of those meals that tastes great on a winter night, and perfect for those "meat and potatoes" kind of guys. Simple and hearty.
You can throw it all together and then while it's baking you've got time to help the kids with homework, do chores, or make a dessert.

Preheat Oven to 350*F

Ingredients
1 pound hamburger
1 onion chopped (we like ours diced really fine) Sometimes I add a minced garlic clove for a change of pace.
1 package frozen tater tots (we use a 2 pound pkg)...I suggest pre-baking these for 5 min. less than the directed time on the pkg. This makes the tots on the bottom AND top nice and crispy.
3/4 pound Colby cheese, grated (you can also use mild or medium cheddar, depends on your tastes)
salt and pepper
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 soup can of milk (we like whole)

In a skillet brown hamburger and onion together, drain, being careful not to lose your onions.
Place half the tater tots in the bottom of a buttered casserole dish and lightly salt & pepper. Cover with the meat/onion mixture, season with salt and pepper, then top with the grated cheese.
Combine the soup and milk, pour over the casserole, then top with the remaining tater tots, lightly salt the tots (or omit if you think you've got enough salt in your recipe).
Bake about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the casserole is heated through and bubbly around the edges.

Note: if you do not pre-bake your tater tots, up the baking time to 1.5 hours.
Sometimes a little dried basil sprinkled over the cheese, before the soup mixture goes on gives this dish an "Italian" flavor.

This is another recipe I found in the Sept/Oct 2011 Issue of GRIT. If you can get a hold of this issue, there are a LOT of good recipes in it! I have adapted it to suit our family's taste buds.