Classic Tater Tot Casserole

Here's a classic and quick casserole:

Ingredients:
Tater tots
1/2 onion
Ground beef
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 can of milk
Spices
Cheese

Put 1 package of tater tots into a 9x13 dish to bake at 450 degrees for a bout 15 minutes or while sauteing onions and cooking some ground beef on the stove top.

Mix two cans of cream of mushroom soup in a large bowl with 1/2 a can of milk. Add cooked meat and onions and season with your favorite spices (I used some Mrs. Dash, chili powder, garlic salt, and curry powder).

The tater tots should be nice and crispy by now to add into the bowl and mix up. Put back into the 9x13 pan and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Serve with a side of veggies and you have a complete dinner!

A twist on apple cider

It's snowing today. I have the movie "UP" to return to redbox but don't want to go out. Perhaps I'll keep it for another day and curl up on the couch to watch it again with some of this:

Prepare a packet of apple cider as usual, then add a spoonful or two of caramel sauce, a sprinkle or two of cinnamon, and viola! Tasty caramel apple cider to curl up on the couch with on a cold day or evening.

No-Bake Cookies

One of my favorite and fairly quick cookie recipes is No-Bake Cookies. They're a relatively healthy and filling cookie due to the quick oats and are easy to pack for a school day snack for the "Hunnybun". And I curled up with one after reading Goobs a bedtime story and putting her to bed for the night. I won't tell you the nickname we've given them until after you've tried them for yourselves! This recipe comes from an old ward compassionate recipe book.

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1 stick margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy is just fine)
3 cups quick oats

Combine the sugar, cocoa, milk, and margarine into a saucepan. Put on medium heat, stir often and bring to a boil. Take off of heat and stir in peanut butter and then the oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets covered with wax paper. Cool in refrigerator. Eat up!

Baked Potato Soup

Today was a rainy/snowy day. Poor Goobs has had a "poopy" day and dear hubby, the Biological Engineer, may be coming down for a cold. So it seemed like a good day for me, the Domestic Engineer, to try making a soup that isn't from a can.



This recipe I found on one of my favorite cooking blogs, Eat At Home, but left out the bacon because I didn't feel like getting frostbitten fingers searching for it in the freezer. I also added broccoli because my husband loves it on his baked potatoes. So put whatever you usually like on baked potatoes!

4-6 baked potatoes
1 onion, chopped
2/3 cup butter
6 cups milk
2/3 cup flour
1-2 cups cheese
Steamed Broccoli
Seasonings

Bake potatoes and scoop out the pulp. I got tired halfway through and just ended up cutting the rest into chunks instead.
Melt butter and saute onion, add milk, WHISK in flour. DO NOT BOIL!
Add potatoes, cheese, broccoli.
Season to taste with what you generally like to put on baked potatoes. We like Mrs. Dash, garlic salt, and pepper.



Mmmmm, this soup is tasty! I don't know how healthy it may be but I don't always care about that. Bad me!