Tator Tot Casserole

This is mostly my mom's recipe. It has adjustments for the things we (by this, I mean Andy) don't like much.
Tator Tot Casserole
Ingredients:
1 pound Ground Beef (or less or more, whichever you like more)
Spices (salt, pepper, dried onions, garlic, red pepper, parsley-I just add a little-less than 1/2 teaspoon-of each of these in when the hamburger is almost done.)
1 can Spaghetti Sauce or Tomato Soup
1 bag Tator Tots, divided
2 cups Mixed Vegetables (or whatever veggies you like)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup (you could use mushroom or celery if you prefer those.)
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese

Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef in large frying pan. Add spices when it is almost cooked. Drain. Put back in pan and add spaghetti sauce. Heat. Spray casserole dish with cooking non-stick spray. Add ground beef/spaghetti sauce to casserole dish. Sprinkle a layer of tator tots on top of it. Add mixed vegetables in a layer. Put cream of chicken on top of vegetables. Add another layer of tator tots. Sprinkle top with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until it's bubbly goodness shows around the edges. Let it set for about 10 minutes before serving so that it doesn't become soup.

Example from top to bottom:
Cheddar Cheese
Tator Tots
Cream of Chicken
Mixed Vegetables
Tator Tots
Hamburger/Spaghetti Sauce

I love this meal. I love cream of chicken. I wish I could find a really good and easy recipe to make it from scratch. Maybe I will someday, but it's so good from the can and I use it in so many things.
(I hope posting things helps you not be too bored Trish.)
This is what my one year old looked like after eating/spilling his. He is almost in his "food coma".

Easy Cheesy Lasagna

NaDell’s Easy Cheesy Lasagna

Ingredients:
2 cups Ragu or other Spaghetti Sauce
2 cans (10 ¾ oz.) Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
(may substitute Cream of Celery or Mushroom)
2 ½ cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
¼ cup Milk
1 lb. Ground Beef
10 dry lasagna noodles

Instructions:
The best part about this is that you don’t have to cook the noodles before baking.
Mix Chicken Soup, Mozzarella Cheese, and Milk. Set aside. Cook Beef until browned. Pour off fat. Stir in Spaghetti sauce. Heat thorough. Add spices as you wish. Spoon half the Meat Mixture into a 9x13 pan. Top with 5 dry Lasagna Noodles and Chicken Soup Mixture. Top with the remaining 5 Dry Lasagna Noodles and the remaining meat mixture. Add more cheese, olives, etc. if desired. Bake at 400° F covered for 30 minutes, or until it starts to bubble up a little. Let stand 10 minutes to set up. Eat and enjoy!!!

Chicken Pot Pie

It really is better than these pictures make it look, I promise. (Mine has a few more "spices" from the bottom of the pot when I left it on medium heat too long, but it still tasted very good.)
Chicken Pot Pie
My sister-in-law made Chicken Pot Pie for my brother's birthday dinner this week and I've been thinking about it since then. It is just SO yummy!
Ingredients:
2 Large Chicken Breasts
2 cups Water
1 teaspoon Parsley
2 teaspoons Dry Chopped Onion (or 1/2 cup regular onion)
1 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Garlic (or Garlic Salt-either way)
1 Family size Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup Milk
2-3 cups Sliced Baby Carrots
5 Medium Diced Potatoes
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
1 can Cream Corn (I was out of the Regular kind, but it still tastes really good in it.)
Instructions:
Defrost Chicken if needed. Cut up chicken into small chunks. Put chicken in large pot. Dump water and spices on top. Let cook on Medium for 15 minutes. Add Cream of Chicken Soup and Milk and stir. Add in carrots, potatoes, peas, and corn. Stir and let heat until it is boiling. Turn heat down to low and let it simmer until the crust is made or longer to help it thicken.

Crust my Mom uses that is SO good:
Celery Seed Pastry Crust for Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients:
2/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons Shortening
2 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Celery Seed (find this in the spice aisle or Poppy Seeds, Fennel might work too)
1 teaspoon Salt
4-5 Tablespoons Water
Instructions:
Cut shortening into flour, celery seeds, and salt (use a fork or a rubber spatula if you don't have a pastry cutter) until particles are the size of small peas.
Sprinkle in water 1 Tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans the side of the bowl (I only needed 4 Tablespoons). Add in 1-2 Tablespoons extra, if needed.
Gather pastry in a ball and divide into four parts. (top and bottom crust of two pies). Roll out each piece separately on a lightly floured surface.

Place into greased pie pan and then fill with Chicken soup (there will be some left over probably. Good for a lunch or to freeze for another day or if you wanted to, you could make more crust and make some more pies). Add top crust and use a knife to make several holes in the top.
When cooking, use a cookie sheet underneath to catch any possible spills (just in case).
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Then, let it sit for five minutes to thicken (if you can stand it) and then enjoy with cheddar cheese on top. YUM!
Let me know if you try it out.