Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

 Breakfast typically consists of a bowl of cereal or toast with peanut butter or a bowl of fruit, except for weekends when I try to make something different and hearty for either Saturday or Sunday morning depending on my work schedule. I came across this pin for Tater Tot Casserole quite a while ago. I have thought about making it but I tended to just skip over it when deciding what recipe to try next. 

I was meal planning the other evening for the coming weeks grocery trip and decided that this weekend was this casserole's week to shine. 

Tater tots are a treat around here for sure. I love them, but I don't think they are the healthiest of breakfast food so they tend to get passed while shopping. I guess I should add, its rare that I hit the frozen food sections while shopping because I enjoy cooking from scratch. My daughter was quite excited when we entered the frozen foods section of the grocery store and her face lit up when she realized that her Mommy was actually purchasing tater tots (I also picked up one of those McCain pizza's...poor girl could hardly contain her excitement haha).

This morning turned into the perfect morning to give this recipe a try. It takes about an hour to bake and I ended up being woken up early by neighbours who had one of those truck carpet cleaning company's parked nicely outside of my room. 7:30 am on a Saturday, gee...thanks. With the rest of the house still asleep, I headed down to begin.

I typically use a recipe as a guideline and add whatever I like to what I am making. I decided to prep my eggs like I do when I scramble them. In a bowl, I mixed the eggs with a little Worcester sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste. I then added the milk and a touch of hot sauce. Yes, this girl adds hot sauce to her eggs...shocking I know considering I am a wimp when it comes to spicy foods. This is what my eggs looked like before being added to the dish.

I spread some butter on the bottom and sides of the casserole dish, to prevent it all from sticking while baking. I then poured the egg into the dish and added my graded cheese. 

This is when you layer your tater tots on top. Don't push down on them too much or else the begin to sink in. 

I decided to be a bit of a rebel and put another layer of cheese on top of the first layer of tater tots and...added ANOTHER layer of tater tots on top. With the one layer, it did not look complete. And heck, its a casserole, you can do whatever you want with casseroles :p

On top of the second layer of tater tots, I graded a little more cheese, stuck the dish into the oven, which was preheated to 350, and set the timer for 1 hour. I left the casserole uncovered because I wanted the tater tots to become crunchy and not soft and soggy.

As soon as the casserole was in the oven, my little monkey awoke. I put on a pot of coffee and we just hung out waiting for breakfast to be finished. It started to smell really good!! So of course, drooling commenced (hypothetical drooling of course).

After an hour, the timer went off and it was time to serve and eat. 

First bite in, I knew we had found a winner!! This is such a nice breakfast treat. However, next time I will add some bacon. It felt like bacon was the only thing missing from this dish. It was filling, but in a satisfied full and not an overstuffed full. My daughter ate it up as well and she is not always a breakfast fan. I served it with a side of sliced banana's, yoghurt and a glass of fresh squeezed (home made) orange juice.

Ingredients:

This is a half recipe...

6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
butter
shredded swiss cheese
shredded cheddar cheese
salt
pepper
dry mustard
tater tots

Instructions:
Whip together the eggs and milk. Add salt, pepper and dry mustard. Pour it into a buttered 9 inch square casserole dish. Sprinkle on the cheese. Carefully place tots on top of the cheese. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Rating:

Preparation: 9/10...This was easy to prepare. Prep took just under 10 minutes which for a morning meal, is simple enough. It takes one hour to cook and this is where it lost the perfect score. You will have to plan for this meal and make it at a time where people are not needing or expecting breakfast right away. It is worth the wait though!

Taste: 9/10...Honestly, bacon should be included on the ingredients list because it would make this recipe a perfect 10!!

Servings: 10/10...It yielded more than enough and there was plenty left over for breakfast tomorrow or for Monday morning when it is nice to have something you can throw in the microwave and heat while you finish getting ready to head out the door. It would also be a great addition to a brunch get together.

This recipe gets a nice 28 out of 30. It is versatile as well because you can add pretty much whatever you'd like to it. Peppers, mushrooms, different cheeses, bacon, etc...The list is endless! 

Enjoy :)

  

Here is the website:
http://www.ljcfyi.com/2011/10/tater-tot-breakfast-casserole.html