MONDAY MUNCHIES: Tater Tot Casserole

For the life of me I can't remember who I got this gem from.  Wish it would come to me so I can thank and give them a high five!  It's the quintessential dish for any tailgater, bar, picnic, superbowl, etc.  Pretty much any laid back non-fancy party where the drink of choice is mostly beer.  This is the kind of dish that is a hit with people of the hootin and hollerin variety.  Or where there's a hardcore game of cornhole in session.

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So, recently I was rooting around on my baking station (a converted desk in the kitchen with all my gadgets and supplies) looking for some vintage cookie cutters and came across a handwritten recipe for Tater Tot Casserole.  I grabbed a fridge magnet and stuck the index card to the side to remind me that it would make a great Sunday Football dish someday soon.  Well, yesterday was that day!  The original had a tub of sour cream which I changed to french onion dip.  We happened to have some Pepperjack cheese so a 1/2 cup of each was mixed in instead of a full cup of sharp cheddar..  I used fried onions instead of real.  I even put it into a PowerPoint pic for you.  And added the most important part in my eyes to make it a Po Man's dish besides the Tots:  WIENERS!!  Mostly because it's a great word to say.  Wieners.

"Would you like to try my casserole?" 
"Maybe some other time."
"Did I mention it has WIENER'S in it?"
"Well of course!  Load me up!"

Next time I might try adding a 1/2 tub of the dip and 1/2 tub sour cream which would cut down the onion taste a little since there are cheddar fried onions in it also.  There is so much flavor that a cage fight will happen in your mouth upon each bite. 

Guaranteeeed.