Introducing Something Great: Tater Tot Pizza Pan

I love tater tots. My girlfriend loves tater tots. Who doesn't like tater tots? We also both love pizza, so this mashup is the best of both worlds. What is even better is that I can put this together in ten minutes or less from simple, bagged ingredients, and watch a show while it incubates in the oven. Another absolutely amazing detail is that all the ingredients cost me less than 8 dollars. Shoutout to fellow college students who are counting every penny!

Supplies

1) A quick trip to the grocery store (or your freezer). I Got everything I needed from the Dollar General, which is great because they are nearly everywhere. I also love this store because everything is cheap.

2) 1 28oz bag of tater tots (I didn't use the whole thing, but I did use a lot of it.)

3) 1 24oz jar of sauce (Prego meat sauce with Italian sausage and garlic was great because I didn't need extra meat)

4) 8 oz bag of shredded cheese

5) An 8x6x2 inch baking pan (any size will do, but you may have to modify your layout) and a spoon

6) Optional toppings such as ham, pepperoni, onions, peppers, olives, or anything else you like on pizza!

Step 1: Preparation of the First Layer

Before you start making the casserole, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. To begin constructing it, rip open the bag of tater tots and put them in neat rows until you cover the bottom of the pan. I didn't toast them at this point, but if you want to speed up the process later, put them on a cookie sheet and broil them for a few minutes. Back to layering: once you have a layer that is one tater tot deep in the baking pan, spoon sauce over all of them in a thinnish layer. Add some shredded cheese, and it will be done!

Step 2: When the Pizza Becomes Casserole

For the second layer, you need to add another layer of tater tots, sauce, and cheese. I did a much more liberal spread of sauce here because it will seep into the gaps between both the first and second layers of tots and add lots of succulent flavor. As my pictures suggest, I also loaded it with cheese at this point. I had some left in the bag and it wasn't worth saving... so the cheese was thick (I loved it this way). On top of this layer, you can add any additional toppings you want: ham, pepperoni, peppers, onions – anything you would put on a pizza belongs on here too.

Step 3: Cooking

This was the most complicated step for me. After 20 minutes at 350, the tots were still cold, so I kept adding time until about 35 minutes of baking. This changes based on how cold your ingredients are, so I would advise you to keep checking after about twenty minutes. As I said earlier, it would have been smart of me to toast the tater tots prior to putting them into the casserole. Nonetheless, after 35-40 minutes of baking, the casserole should be done if the tots were cold. If they were warm, you should check the situation after about 15 minutes.

Step 4: Final Steps... Aka Dinner Time

And so the casserole comes to an end. I guarantee it won't last long in your kitchen (actually I don't. I will take no claims or complaints on this point.) because its really delicious. as you can see, this is massively cheesy and scrumptiously layered. It does taste like pizza, but it also has a distinct tater tot flavor. If, by chance, it does last in your kitchen, you can put this in the fridge and reheat it easily without losing its quality taste.