Tater-Tot Beef Casserole

This recipe comes from CopyKat Recipes. They have a bunch of copycat recipes they post from different restaurants and such. This one I think is just a family favorite budget stretcher! It was very easy to throw together and the family loved it! The following recipe is exactly as it comes from their site. I added a few notes at the end!

1 lb. Ground Beef
3 T. Minced Onion
2 T. Italian Seasoning
1 t. Garlic Powder
1 t. Onion Powder
2 C. Shredded Hash Browns, thawed
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
½ C. Milk
1½ C. shredded cheese (Velveeta tastes best)
Frozen Tater Tots
Brown the ground beef with the onion, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder; drain fat. In a large mixing bowl, combine hash browns, soup, milk, and cheese, stirring well. Add ground beef. Place in a greased 2 QT casserole dish. Place tater tots in a single layer over entire casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until thoroughly heated and tater tots are crispy.
I served this with a dollop of sour cream on top and Cookie Salad {go to salads on the side bar for recipe}. As always I doubled it and used a 9x13 casserole dish. I also didn't get what they meant by "Velveeta works best" so I used 1½ C. shredded cheddar and 16 oz. of Velveeta processed cheese, cubed it, and added it to the mixture of hamburger and everything else!! It melted and was very cheesy! It was a very filling meal and will make great leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Hal enjoyed every bite!!

French Bread Rolls

This comes from Good Food, Good Fun recipe blog which she got from Kitchen Cafe ~ which is where the beautiful picture is from also! They were very easy to make but I made my dough balls a little big and had rolls the size of hamburger buns!! They were stiil very good and we used them the next night for the pulled pork sandwiches, which you must try by the way!!

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Pork Chop Potato Casserole

Jace had to "read a recipe" and prepare it all by himself for Teen Living!! I found this recipe on a blog and then couldn't find it again so I googled the name and found it at Taste Of Home recipes! It's basically Heavenly Potato's with pork chops on top!! Still it was a good recipe for him to follow and he did great!! I "hovered" just a little {I really try not to but it's an OBM ~ over bearing mother ~ thing} but he browned the chops, mixed and put everything together, and even cleaned up!! It was a good meal and you could see pride in his face as he ate!

8 pork loin chops
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (26 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 can french-fried onions, divided ~ I only added onions to half the casserole

Directions: Sprinkle pork chops with seasoned salt. In a large skillet, brown chops on both sides in oil. In a large bowl, combine the soup, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper; stir in hash browns, 3/4 cup cheese and half of the onions. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Arrange pork chops on top. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining cheese and onions. Bake, uncovered, 5-10 minutes longer or until meat juices run clear. Yield: 8 servings.

We had green beans, Grands biscuits, and he also whipped up the Orange Fluff Salad! I am so proud of him!! Good job J!!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I got this recipe from my dear friend Allison and it went so fast I didn't get a picture!! Good, flavor, very tender, easy, and so yummy!! And as always I doubled everything to feed the gang and have some leftovers!!

3-lbs. boneless pork shoulder
1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Mushroom Soup
Mix ~
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T. hot pepper sauce
8 hamburger buns
In slow cooker, arrange pork. Combine remaining ingredients except rolls and pour over pork; turn to coat. Cook covered on LOW 8 to 10 hours or HIGH 4 to 6 hours until pork is tender. Remove pork; reserve juices. With fork, shred pork, then stir in to reserved juices. Serve on buns.
I had made homemade French Bread Rolls Sunday, they turned out more like hamburger buns ~ they were huge ~ so we had it on those with a slice of Swiss cheese on top of the pulled pork! The heat of the meat melted the cheese and it was soo good!! We had fries and jello to complete the meal!!