back to work, and another recipe

back to work. they switched the whole school district over to the microsoft exchange... it had a few bumps along the way for the first week or so of school, but it all seems fixed now. nice that you can log into any computer in the district and have your stuff come up.

got one of my re occuring inmates in detention again. the child is in 3rd grade this year, and i've had said child in detention since child was in 1st grade. i can't specify gender of said child or i could get in trouble, but does anyone remember that kid in the bad seed? said child has evil grin that scares me sometimes, and seems to have no conscience or remorse. said child tried to cut off another child's finger in 1st grade with scissors, said child pushed another child down the bleacher stairs in gym (child only shaken up, not hurt) because child brushed past him (barely touching him from behind). this happened in front of me, i sent said child to office for remained of detention. this child is a perfect example of parents who spawn and release ( i call them breeders). i see said child in maximum security prison for being serial killer, and if said child finishes high school, i'll be in shock.

ok, so i finally tweeked that tater tot casserole to my liking. i never used the cream of mushroom soup, cause i hate mushrooms. i was using the cream of celery, but it lacked oomph. so, i started using the cream of tomato and a package of taco seasoning. it was alright... last time i exchanged the ground beef for owens italian sausage... and WOW! yeah! that's the ticket!

TACO TATER TOT CASSEROLE

1lb. pkg of owens italian sausage (or other italian sausage)
1 sm onion, diced
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 pkg taco seasoning
1/4 cup milk
1 cup diced frozen veggies mix from freezer case at grocery store
8 ozs shredded cheese (cheddar or monterey jack work well, you could also try pepper jack)
tator tots, enough to cover top in one layer

oven 350F. about 40 minutes to bake.

brown sausage with diced onion. add soup, taco seasoning, and milk, mix well. add veggies, mix well. i use the 10 inch square corning ware baking dish for this, line it with foil, so you don't have to soak and scrub the dish. put meat mix on bottom, spread for even layer, top with cheese, top with one neat layer of tator tots. i'm OCD, so it takes me a few minutes to arrange the tots for what i think is a perfect looking layer. put in oven for 40 minutes, let set about 5 minutes when it comes out. this also freezes well in small portions to heat and eat later.

ok, on to the rest of my labor day. i'm sure it will involve puzzle pirates at some point.

stay tuned...