Tater Tot Casserole. In the style of Dixie.

SGH

Phatchris said:

Does the sausage have to be Jimmy Dean or will a local product work?

No sir, it can be anything that you like. However the Jimmy Dean Hot to one regular Jimmy Dean always is a hit. The two just work outstanding together so I usually stick with them. I did use some wild Russian boar as a test on one. While good, it honestly wasn't as good as the two Jimmy Deans. I hope that everyone will at least try the recipe as is once before they make any substitutions or changes. That way they have something to compare it to.  

SGH

Mickey said:

I love you man

And the love is returned in kind my friend. Along with tons of respect. 

SGH

johnmitchell said:

I am thinking of squeezing in another layer of tots and cheese, sort of layered like a lasagne....

If you do, drop temp to 325 and cook it longer. You reach a point where it is so thick that you burn the cheese trying to get the middle done. Depending on how thick you make it, you may have to drop temp even more. 

SGH

Dredger said:

Love tater tots way more than elbow macaroni. 

As do I sister. I like both, but tater tots wins by a nose. 

SmokingPiney

That looks killer, @SGH !

Bookmarked. 

Durangler

I've got the football Sunday food going for today, but this is on tap for next weekend.
Sounds great. Fork, spoon or spatula for consuming? 
I'm thinking big spoon!

SGH

Durangler said:

Fork, spoon or spatula for consuming? 
I'm thinking big spoon!

Just use the one that you are the most proficient with so you can eat fast

piney

Scottie, are you doing 1 layer of taters or 2

SGH

piney said:

Scottie, are you doing 1 layer of taters or 2

Brother piney, on that big one, it's 2 layers. On the small one its one layer. The one layered ones are a little easier to cook. As such, I recommend using a longer and wider pan to keep a single layer of tots if you are wanting to use the whole bag. They just cook better without scorching. There is a ton of cheese in mine. If you cut back on the cheese some, the double layer would probably cook more even. But who wants to cut back on cheese  

piney

SGH said:

piney said:

Scottie, are you doing 1 layer of taters or 2

Brother piney, on that big one, it's 2 layers. On the small one its one layer. The one layered ones are a little easier to cook. As such, I recommend using a longer and wider pan to keep a single layer of tots if you are wanting to use the whole bag. They just cook better without scorching. There is a ton of cheese in mine. If you cut back on the cheese some, the double layer would probably cook more even. But who wants to cut back on cheese  

That is what it looked like to me in pics. Also, I agree..cut back cheese?? nope, I vote for adding more. Great looking recipe I will try this right along with sausage loaf. I bet you will see this at Butt Blast in April. Thanks ole buddy looks great!

SGH

piney said:
Thanks ole buddy looks great!

My pleasure my friend.  

Botch

My college roommate made something very similar, but he used Campbell's Vegetable soup instead of CofM.  I liked it a lot.
 
He's actually at the Vikings/Seahawks game right now:
 

SGH

Botch said:

My college roommate made something very similar, but he used Campbell's Vegetable soup instead of CofM.  

That's interesting for sure. I have never tried the vegetable soup. May give it a go just to see. 

jonnymack

Dumb question, do you put the tots on frozen or already cooked? Looks like another heart healthy SGH special I'll have to try. 

Ianb1122

That looks awesome.  Can't wait to try it.

SGH

jonnymack said:

Dumb question, do you put the tots on frozen or already cooked? Looks like another heart healthy SGH special I'll have to try. 

Frozen my friend. Straight from the freezer to the pan. They will over cook if you cook them first. They are already cooked when you buy them frozen. They need to only warm up and come up to temp in the mix. 

cajunrph

Looks great. Yet another recipe to try. 

SGH

cajunrph said:

Looks great. Yet another recipe to try. 

Thanks brother. Like the SL, it's cheap, easy and absolutley fantastic. Hope that you enjoy it my friend. 

jonnymack

Duh makes sense, many thanks. 

SunDeviledEgg

do the tots end up soggy or crispy?

SGH

SunDeviledEgg said:

do the tots end up soggy or crispy?

They certainly won't be crispy compared to deep fried or baked ones. But the outside will be firmer than the inside. However they are soaking up soup and cheese, so overall I would rate them as soft. 

mgillia

Thanks SGH!!  Going to give this one a try for sure.

SGH

mgillia said:

Thanks SGH!!  Going to give this one a try for sure.

My pleasure. I think you will like it. It's always a big hit my friend.  

mgillia

Question.  If I use a single layer of tots, about how long (estimate) will it take to get to an internal temp of 140?  Just want to judge when to add the Parmesan over the other cheese 10 minutes before being done.

SGH

mgillia said:

Question.  If I use a single layer of tots, about how long (estimate) will it take to get to an internal temp of 140?  Just want to judge when to add the Parmesan over the other cheese 10 minutes before being done.

The egg and the oven cook at different speeds. With that said, it's usually 45 minutes, give or take a little either way in the oven. Also something that will effect cooking time dramatically (I should have mentioned this above) is if you use coarse  shredded cheese vs finely shredded cheese.  The coarse takes considerably longer to cook. 

Phatchris

Dumb question.... How hot is too hot for a Pyrex in the egg?

mgillia

Thanks again SGH!

SGH

Phatchris said:

Dumb question.... How hot is too hot for a Pyrex in the egg?

I don't know how hot is to hot, but I have cooked with them up to 450 degrees with them in the egg before. Never had any trouble with 450 or lower.  

fishepa

There has to be a way to put bacon in this recipe.

SGH

@Phatchris
I did a little farther research into your question above. I have a friend who works for DOW/Corning and I gave him a call. The answer was somewhat compound, but here goes. New Pyrex Cooking Grade Glass is rated for 950 degrees of indirect heat with no flame impingement. As glass ages, it suffers from "glass fatigue". Thus, with time and use, the rating drops substantially. With that said, if you have a real old Pyrex dish that was your mothers or grandmothers (heir loom), I would limit the temp to normal cooking temps. They make different grades of glass that are rated for even higher temps. But new Pyrex cookware across the board is rated to 950 degrees of indirect heat. Their ceramic cookware gets up into the 1,000's. Hope this helps my friend.