Tater Tot Hot Dish

It has been resurrected from all those high school lunch lines. We were talking about it recently and we admitted that it was one of our favorite school lunches. I looked for a recipe but could not find one, so I winged it. It turned out pretty awesome.

1 pound hamburger
1 large onion, chopped
1 can French style green beans, drained
2 cans low salt cream of mushroom soup
½ Cup Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
Enough tater tots to cover the casserole
Brown the hamburger on medium heat, drain excess fat. Return pan to heat and add onions, sauté for about 3 minutes or until onions are tender-crisp. Turn the heat down and add the green beans, mushroom soup, and milk. Stir well, add pepper and salt to taste, heat until warm. Place mixture in a 9” X 13” pan and cover neatly with tater tots, line them up next to each other in rows. Heat for 30-45 minutes in 425 degree oven. Remove from oven when the tater tots are nicely brown and the sauce is bubbly. Let sit for 10 minutes and serve.

Note: D. this is for you! I've fallen in love with it all over again.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 and ½ Cups all purpose flour, unsifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 and ½ cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium or 4 small)
¼ Cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 Cup sugar
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Evenly grease a 9” by 5” metal loaf pan. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, combine bananas, milk, and vanilla.

In a large bowl, with a mixer at medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (creaming). Beat in eggs, one at a time. Reduce speed to low; alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat until just blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove fro pan and cool completely on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.

Notes: Do not use a glass loaf pan. A glass pan heats faster than the metal pan causing the crust to be darker and causes a ½ inch of brown crust.

Optional: Add one Cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) before baking.

Make-Ahead Tip: Up to 1 month ahead, make and bake banana bread. Cool completely. Place loaf in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw for 1 hour at room temperature before using.

Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 pound margarine
1 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 and 1/2 Cups unsifted flour
1 teapspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Cups oatmeal
1 Cup raisins (optional)

In a medium bowl combine floour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Cream together the margarine and the sugars until well blended.
Add eggs and vanilla, blend again.
Add the flour mixture; beat again.
Add the oatmeal and raisins.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until done.

Notes: Still the best oatmeal cookie recipe can be found on the back of the Quacker oatmeal box.