Potatoes with a Punch

After battling through most of a week at school - feeling like I'm perpetually a day late and a dollar short - I went back to Grandma's notes for some comfort food. Tonight's dish: Mexican Tater Tots (or in my case hash browns since the freezer did not magically offer up tater tots upon my command).

Here's the recipe:
4 cups of frozen tater tots with onions
1 #2 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup medium salsa
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Put the frozen tater tots in a 1.5 quart baking dish. Pour the tomatoes and salsa over the tots. Mix the sour cream and chilies together before spreading over the top of the tater tots. Sprinkle with cheese and bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.

This is an I'm-tired-and-don't-want-to-cook dish at its best. It was super simple to put together, and came out of the oven all bubbly and pretty. (I have to confess, though, I put extra cheese on top because half a cup just didn't look like enough to me.) The casserole didn't seem to suffer from the substitution of the hash browns, either. However, it was kind of watery when we dished up the plates (even after it had set for 10 minutes or so), so I double checked the can size on the tomatoes and discovered that a number 2 can is about 20 ounces, while the can I added was 28 ounces (a number 2.5). Thus, if you have a big can of tomatoes, drain off some of the juice before pouring them over the spuds.

The medium salsa with the green chilies gives it a nice little kick, but not so much as to drown out the other flavors, and provides a counterpoint to the coolness of the sour cream. While I don't really mind eating side dishes for dinner, you could easily add some left over ground turkey or a can of chopped chicken to make this into a main course offering. I'm contemplating spooning the contents into a corn tortilla for an impromptu potato taco, and I'm sure it will make fine leftovers in the lunch box tomorrow. Enjoy!