Tater tot casserole (and other illicit subjects)

So...long story short our church secretary, Nancy, retired last year. As a volunteer she was the chief "old lady" behind Wednesday church dinners. So now pastor has asked us regular attendees to sign on for a week of making dinner. This week is my week.

First you must understand we are Lutherans. There is no "low carb" dinner. More than that, most folks who come consider it their dinner out for the week. So that is to say I'm not necessarily looking to convert anyone to healthy eating for this meal. In fact, it would probably be frowned up.

I ain't mad at that. I consider some occasions sacred and don't mess with the food too much. I simply make accommodations in my day (eating and exercise) to take the hit and enjoy a meal with my church family.

Anyhoo...thinking of what to make for dinner. I was originally just going to do a beef/veggie/egg noodles type casserole with cream of mushroom soup but what fun is that???

So I was thinking of trying the one recipe I regretted never having tried pre-op.

The infamous (Duggar-version) tator-tot casserole!!!! (I will also do one beef/noodle casserole as well).

Has anyone ever tried this thing? Is it good? It looks good. And anything with tater tots in it, to me, is a win.

And because there seems to be a reigning "three starchy carb" minimum at church dinner, I'm also going to serve french bread/butter and croutons with the side salad. That ought to qualify as an official Lutheran dinner.

Anyway, impressions on tater tot casserole? Any tips to avoid disaster. Help me out here! Unhealthy cooking has become something of a novelty for me!

 Put duct tape over your mouth while prepping, making, serving and cleaning up? That's pretty much the only way I could manage to not have a tater tot orgy.....

 do deep fried chocolate covered twinkies for dessert!

 I have never made it but I bet TLC or whatever channel they are on has a forum. Ask in the forum I'm sure people made it who watch he show. Good luck with whatever you decide. I am sure your church family will appreciate the effort you're putting into this.

 Swedish meatballs, boiled potatoes, bread, boiled veggies and a salad.  I grew up Lutheran.  Since it's almost March, you could also do a ham with scalloped potatoes, corn, bread and salad.

I know that all Lutherans do hot dish and they'll love your idea.  Another hotdish recipe that is really popular is an Italian style one:  Just brown hambuger (or ground turkey) in onions with some salt and pepper.  Boil some elbow pasta.  Mix together.  Add diced tomatoes, italian seasoning and garlic salt (Lutherans like garlic salt).  Mix in grated mozarella and parmesan cheeses.  Sprinkle some more mozarella and parmesan cheese on top.  Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes ****il the cheese on top browns a little).

Now, that's my own Lutheran mother recipe.  Substitute low carb pasta and you've even gotten a moderately healthy meal.

 By the way, I hate tater tot casserole, which is why I'm giving you alternative recipes.  My problem with the casserole is that almost every time I've had it, it's tasteless.  

Oh well nothing I make is ever tasteless. I'd play with it, of course!

Thanks for the suggestions! I may use some of them next time I do dinner. For this time I forgot that I was even supposed to be making dinner until earlier today which means:

a) I haven't shopped
b) I haven't taken time off work to prepare this meal
c) I'm a bit overwhelmed

So I think a make-ahead casserole of some sort is in order!

I enjoy your writing style - it seems like I'm talking to you.  :)

I'm Baptist - and I totally understand the eating traditions linked with the Church.

I, personnally, even morbidly obese, never enjoyed the tater tot casserole...nor pretty much any casserole for that matter.

I don't know how many you are cooking for.... when I do something like that I try to think about universal "liking" of some food, economics, ease of preparation and how to keep it hot/cold.

I tend to go for something like chicken/vegetable stew, corn bread, and a dessert.  Reason being... the stew is fairly economical, it has both meat and vegetable (no one around here doesn't eat meat), I could put it in a crockpot to keep in warm and it's pretty filling. Corn bread goes well with stew. 

I also pick things like Barb B Q Chicken, cole slaw and baked beans - again, fairly economical, easy to keep warm in a crock pot.

Have fun at the Church supper!

I'm feeding 40 so there needs to be noodles involved. Noodles are cheap and filling! The church gives me $50 to accomplish this. Everything else is outta pocket!

I second...or third...or....the I can't stand tater tot casserole. That being said I do make it for the hubs and daughter from time to time. They love it. I even add veggies to the meat mixture. Not sure if the TLC version has cheese on the tots after they're baked but I suggest it!