Tator Tot Meal Ideas

Sometimes I just get in the mood for a tator tot. Call me crazy (I won't argue with ya) but if you have a bag of tator tots in your freezer and a few random items you can make a pretty tasty meal.

Search the Internet or Pinterest and you will find tons of tator tot casseroles. Many use (yuck) canned creamed soups and other stuff that I don't keep in MY kitchen but the point of this post is to show you how you can start with a bag of tator tots and create something unusual but delicious!

The other night I had to throw together a quick dinner for me and the husband and I had a craving for potatoes. I had a bag of Ore-Ida tator tots in the freezer (unusual but an impulse buy I am glad I made) and not a whole lot else.

I had about 3/4 cup of already made taco meat mixture in the refrigerator and cheddar cheese. So I thought to myself, why not a Mexican tator tot bake?

It was super easy to do. All I did was line the bottom of an 8" square pan with tator tots (I was only making 2 servings) and stick them in the oven for about 15 minutes until they got crispy. It was a pre-heated 400 degree oven, by the way!

Then I took the pan out and sprinkled the taco meat over the top and finished it off with about 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. I returned it to the oven and gave it another 10 minutes.

It will be hot when you take it out of the oven so allow it to sit for a few minutes.

The husband was very pleasantly surprised by this latest creation.

Other tator tot meal ideas?

Take a page from my book and get creative with leftovers. Trying to not waste anything I am real careful to save what I can. That little bit of taco meat stretched into a whole new meal. I almost always have some kind of cheese which is always great to add to just about anything!

Another good tator tot casserole would have been with chopped red onions, crumbled bacon and cheese. Loaded tator tots!!!

Pretty much you could add just about anything. The only tip I have is to allow the tator tots to cook first until they reach your desired level of crispy. Then add your extras and continue baking until warm through!

You can even make a tator tot lasagna! Sure! Layer it with ground meat (chicken, turkey or beef) tator tots, frozen veggies and homemade cheese sauce. YUM!!!

Pictures to follow in a future post.