TTC

[dormouse]

They look too good to put in a casserole, I would eat them as a side dish.

[WonderingInWA]

I'm coming here to confess. I actually made TTC last night. In true economical fashion, I didn't put meat in it. Just the tots, the canned soup, water, frozen peas, canned corn, and I didn't have any carrots so I had to leave them out.

My 12yo acted like I was torturing him to eat it (even though he loves tots). My 9yo was sweet and kept telling his brother it was good! LOL!

It will not be a repeat in this house, but I had to try it. The dare is on -- who's next?

[Lostie]

Do you have any pictures?

[Deleted12]

Was it edible?

[Annon]

lol I made my first only a few months ago despite having grown up in ATI - I wasn't one of the mega families despite my parents effors... and well it's just not my mom's style. She leans more towards vegetarian, and isn't a big fan of potatoes. My husband an XATI guy himself grew up on it though and loves it. So I made it - although I used one from allrecipes - ground beef and onions, can of mushroom soup, cheese and tater tots. I rather liked it. A little greasy IMO (so now I make sure to thoroughly drain the meat after browning). And I've made another version now with cubed ham instead of beef - also good. But I love my meat (of any kind) and potatoes.

Of course we know the ham version wouldn't be approved by ATI standards... that unclean meat you know.

[MamaJunebug]

You have to know that you did a good deed in this. No, srsly!

Tater Tots are made from the scraps of potato that are too small to be chips, fries or even hash. The waste-not-want-not Ore-Ida folks came up with the idea of taking the minutiae, rolling them into little tots and merchandising the heck out of them.

TTC is green! :dance:

[Deleted12]

Of course we know the ham version wouldn't be approved by ATI standards... that unclean meat you know.

Do they really not eat pork?

[WonderingInWA]

You have to know that you did a good deed in this. No, srsly!

Tater Tots are made from the scraps of potato that are too small to be chips, fries or even hash. The waste-not-want-not Ore-Ida folks came up with the idea of taking the minutiae, rolling them into little tots and merchandising the heck out of them.

TTC is green! :dance:

Seriously? I did not know that (and I grew up in Idaho!). Who knew?

No, I couldn't bear to take photos. It desperately needed cheese but I couldn't bring myself to add to the overall fat factor. And it was a total sodium plate with just the tots alone (my fingers are completely bloated this morning!).

Always looking for inexpensive ideas that kids like, but this was an epic fail at our house! :)

[Annon]

Well that does vary by family. But it is not encouraged to eat any unclean animal - which of course includes shellfish, shrimp, pigs... etc It's definitely taught against. My family couldn't quite give up the occasional bacon / sausage and rare ham if it was served. But I don't remember ever eating pork roast, chops...etc until after I was married and learned to cook pork (besides bacon and sausage which I cooked for my family as I was the family cook from age 12 and a meat addict). My family kind of tried to act like they didn't eat pork though and avoided it most the time - I basically had my first shellfish introduction when engaged/married as well.

[donks]

I've made up my own version of TTC. Mine involves a layer of tots, a jar of queso dip and leftover chili. Husband and Son of Donks would fight to the death over it, seriously.

I could take it or leave it... :snooty:

[Deleted12]

Well that does vary by family. But it is not encouraged to eat any unclean animal - which of course includes shellfish, shrimp, pigs... etc It's definitely taught against. My family couldn't quite give up the occasional bacon / sausage and rare ham if it was served. But I don't remember ever eating pork roast, chops...etc until after I was married and learned to cook pork (besides bacon and sausage which I cooked for my family as I was the family cook from age 12 and a meat addict). My family kind of tried to act like they didn't eat pork though and avoided it most the time - I basically had my first shellfish introduction when engaged/married as well.

How interesting! I can see how if you're trying to feed 20 people shellfish would be prohibitive, but it seems like a ham (like a real large ham still on the hock) would go a very long way towards keeping people fed. It could be cut up and used in casseroles, used for lunch meat, added to omelets, used to flavor beans, used for soups, and in half a dozen other economical ways. I bet a practical family could make a ham last for a week or two by using it as flavoring and not as a main course.

[MaroonMandy]

My mom never made casseroles when I was growing up, so once I got out on my own for some reason I felt compelled to make them. TTC was one of my first. I loved it, and occasionally still make it. For some reason, every once in a while I'll get a craving for it. It's sad and embarrassing, I know. However, now I made my own cream of mushroom soup and since we live on a ranch our meat is grass-fed deliciousness so I don't feel like as much of a loser when I give in and make it. Usually.

[clibbyjo]

How interesting! I can see how if you're trying to feed 20 people shellfish would be prohibitive, but it seems like a ham (like a real large ham still on the hock) would go a very long way towards keeping people fed. It could be cut up and used in casseroles, used for lunch meat, added to omelets, used to flavor beans, used for soups, and in half a dozen other economical ways. I bet a practical family could make a ham last for a week or two by using it as flavoring and not as a main course.

My fundie sister dropped ham a few years ago. Being that is what we eat and have always eaten on X-mas eve, I guess she just eats side dishes because I see her kids eating the ham which I know she hates. Her family no longer comes to New Years at my parents because we have pork roast,mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Her reasoning is pork is full if parasites. She is right,but I don't care. I will eat the side of parasites with my ham.

[kittypie]

I made my own tweaked version of TTC, only I made it with hashbrowns, for a...ahem...church potluck. The pan was scraped clean. It was carb heaven. <--NPI :)

[koolmom]

Man, oh, man...you all are making me SO hongry! I'm eating a nice fresh, healthy green salad, but have an Amy's Organic Mac & Cheese entree heating up in my oven right now, with a couple links of healthy chicken/apple sausages. Makes me want to run right out and get TTC fixin's and go to town! I've been reading all your posts about which recipe seems least unhealthiest -- albeit, I will drain the meat, but do you layer the bottom layer with tots, THEN place the meat, soup, cheese on top? Is that the basic layout? And do the Duggars/fundies use any onion in the meat also? I might even spice up the meat with taco spices or chili powder...what about black olives? Okay, I'll get back to my salad, now...

[Annon]

Well Koolmom, my inlaws do the onion & beef thing (they have "only" 10 kids) . I see the Duggars don't include onions an use ground turkey.

yeah basically though it's a layer of tatertots, the cooked beef and onions (or turkey) and a sprinkle of cheese, some more tatertots and then the cream of mushroom soup (and equivalent milk) on top and more cheese.

So how was that salad of yours?

[bionicmlle]

I grew up fundie-lite and we didn't eat shellfish or the pig. My husband STILL won't eat any meat except fish - fish with scales. Growing up neither of us could eat fish without scales - he still sticks to that but more because he thinks bottom feeders are gross. Poor man has never had a bite of bacon...

We had a casserole growing up that was sort of the SDA version of TTC -- TenderBits (see: http://www.amazon.com/Loma-Linda-Tender ... B000AY9SR2), a bag of crushed-up BBQ potato chips, a diced onion and a can of cream-of-mushroom soup. Mix. Bake. ENJOY! (I STILL love that casserole...)

[synchroswimr]

The recipe the Duggars posted looks gross, but my MIL makes it with one pound tots, one pound ground beef, one onion, one can cream o' shroom. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Better. Great comfort food

[FundiesInMyFamily]

When I was 18 or 19 I worked in a small office and we had Quizinos often for lunch, and sat at our desks eating and bullshitting. My fav thing in the world is ham & swiss - one day we were in the middle of out little lunchfest and one of our coworkers, out of nowhere, comes over to my desk, bible in hand, and starts quoting scripture to me about cloven hoofed animals, ect. He then explained to me that I was going to hell because I was eating a ham sandwich. Having been raised a generic Lutheran and still believing in those teachings somewhat at the time, I answered him in a simple "what the fuck?"

[jenny_islander]

Maybe it's just the freight, but tater tots are expensive around here! I make something similar with thinly sliced potatoes. Just peel any green parts off the potatoes and use the slicer side of a box grater to get very thin slices rapidly. The potatoes get a little bit dark, but the kids don't care. Also locally grown fresh potatoes cost about a third as much per pound.

[Annon]

I don't consider tatertots cheap in contrast to the cost of potatoes per pound - for that reason alone I'm curious about making it with shredded fresh potatoes. Which would also be less grease.

[Avalondaughter]

I made it, but I made a homemade version of it. I like cooking from scratch and work very hard to only eat fresh foods, but I really wanted to try a very trashy recipe just for the fun of making really trashy recipes.

However, when I saw the cans of soup in the TTC, I just couldn't bring myself to make it Duggar-style and made my version with homemade white sauce, fresh mushrooms, and some frozen broccoli cuts.

I renamed it Napoleon Dynamite Casserole in honor of the ultimate Tater Tot lover.

http://baconandrhubarb.blogspot.com/201 ... -this.html

It was actually pretty good and my hubby loved it. It's really more like cottage pie but with Tots instead of mashed/sliced.

[mnb357]

I have made ttc, but it was a serious flop at our house. BLEAH. What did go over well, though, was an LDS friend's recipe for Mormon Funeral Potatoes. Now THOSE??? Those were delicious, but it seemed fairly similar to ttc...except she uses cream, butter, and homemade hashbrowns. Sometimes she adds ham. (My friend's husband did warn me that while funeral potatoes were delicious, they are very unhealthy, and that unless you want to die yourself, and die with a really big gut, it's best not to serve them for more than funerals and Fourth of July cookouts!)

[JesusFightClub]

Laughing at the "why would any weirdo not eat pork" style posts ;) I do admit it is tasty but I have eaten pork once in five years ( I have a rule if someone offers me it out of hospitality, I will not turn it down). However, it is generally a conviction of mine I will not buy pork or pork products. The time I ate pork I was sick afterwards and felt like a total idiot for trying.

It is important not to be offensive to other people for what they eat and I do not in the slightest act aggressive or horrible if someone else eats pork. My personal conviction is that it is wrong. I haven't yet worked out how to approach others (definitely not while eating ) or even if I should.

So not all non pork eaters are judgemental bastards ;)

[Annon]

Not to pick on you JesusFightClub...

But I have an aversion to the word "conviction".... largely because I used to use it all the time. "I don't listen to rock music because I have a conviction." blah blah. In my high religious days. And it makes me cringe now.

What does a "conviction" mean to you? I don't care if you don't like it or don't wish to eat it or even if you think you have a religious reason not to eat it.

Just in my former ATI ultra conservative circles (way beyond Fundy, fundies were "liberal" to us - eeek). The word was thrown around for everything from wearing skirts, headcoverings, eating certain foods and avoiding others, wearing your hair up or down short or long...etc And was almost always accompanied by a judgemental attitude... I'm better somehow because I have this holy conviction (which really was a "standard". ATI liked to use that word for external conformation to religious things, and often the words conviction and standard were muddled). For example: "I have a conviction not to wear men's clothing, therefore I only wear frumpers." Really it was nothing but a choice based on... not much, mostly pride, sometimes true desire to do what they thought God wanted... but mostly pride, or social pressure to conform. I once had a so called "conviction" against pants... because well it was taught in my ATI church that women wearing pants were an abomination. So of course I was "convicted" to not wear pants.

At the best I can truly believe that some people are truly convicted by God and no one else to do certain things.

More often than not I see it as social and prideful thing. I also see "standards" for lack of a better term as a way people carry out their "convictions" or that it should be. So one might have a conviction to dress modestly and for them that means dresses. I don't really care if that's what they want to do. I also believe in personal modesty... however I'd be considered scandalous for what I wear now.

A conviction to me, would mean - it would be going against my conscience to do something (or not do something). A "standard" (since I have no other idea what the heck to call it) would be how I might choose to abide by my conscience.

And then there are preferences. One might prefer skirts, or prefer to not eat pork, or prefer to not listen to certain styles of music. But please please please can these not be "standards" or worse "convictions". Is God really going to count it against you if you do this or that? I believe He really allows a lot of personal preference. And it's not a sin to choose one over the other as long as you abide by the conscience that God gave you.