Easy Cheesy Meat and Potatoes

Carrying on with the tater tot theme, our next meal is another yummy one. Sometimes I just don't feel like fighting with my kids to get them to eat something "gourmet", and this is a great go-to meal for those occasions. It's yummy enough to please the parents, too. And it's fast. And it's cheap. So there you go - all perfectly great reasons to make this.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound bag frozen tater tots
4 cups cheese, shredded
(1) 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
(1) 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 ½ cups sour cream
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 ½ teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon marjoram
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven, and cook tater tots according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cook ground beef, onions and garlic in a large skillet until meat is brown and onions are translucent.

Add soups, sour cream, Worcestershire, soy sauce and thyme to meat mixture. Mix well. Heat through.

When tater tots are finished baking, transfer them to a 9x13 casserole dish. Or you can transfer them to an 8x8 casserole dish and make 2 layers. Either way. Anyway, top tater tots with meat mixture. Then top meat mixture with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. Then dish up a big scoop, just for yourself. Yummy, right?

Need A Little Inspiration?

Life is hard. Sometimes is gets dull and boring and it seems like good times will never come again. Everyone has been at that place at one time or another. Everyone needs a change or a little pick-me-up once in a while. Everyone needs a bit of inspiration. Each person will find inspiration in different places and by doing different things.

If you feel in need of a little inspiration, take time to consider what things you could do to add a little spice to your life. Is there an old hobby or pastime you love but haven't had time to do in years? If so, consider picking that hobby back up and you'll be surprised at the inspiration that comes with it.

There are many ways to find inspiration, but one of the best can be to take a vacation. Getting away from the day to day challenges of life can be all it takes to be refreshed and filled with new perspective. That is what inspiration does for us - it fills us with a new outlook on life that makes things seem more bearable. What kind of vacation sounds ideal to you right now? If you live in the country then perhaps a week in a busy city might be just the inspiration you need. City dwellers might prefer a retreat to somewhere with peace and quiet. Choose whatever kind of vacation sounds best and start planning. Inspiration will follow as soon as you get to your destination.

If, however, taking a week or two off for a vacation is not possible for you right now, consider a smaller activity or event that might fill you with fresh inspiration. Consider taking an art class or signing up for a membership at a local health club. Get a therapeutic massage or get outside for a long hike in the woods. The bottom line is doing something that sounds both relaxing and fun to you. You will never find inspiration in doing things you cannot stand.

Even picking up a new pleasure book or attempting to cook an extravagant meal can bring people inspiration enough to keep on living. Make a list of all of the goals you have for your life, small and large, and begin to accomplish them. Find inspiration in getting outside of your comfort zone and trying new things. Another way that many people discover inspiration is by taking time and energy to help others. Sometimes being self- focused is the very thing that kills peoples' inspiration. Taking an afternoon to volunteer at a local non-profit agency or helping out your child's school can be easy ways to begin to think outside of yourself. It is amazing what thinking of others before yourself will give you inspiration to do.

There are countless ways to find inspiration. Get creative and try something new today. Your health, livelihood, and relationships will be stronger if you are living a life filled with inspiration and challenging new things.

Finding inspiration has become a passion for author Rachael Cleipher. Discover ways to add inspiration to your own life at www.findinspiration.info

Pizza Tot Casserole

I know what you must be thinking.... "What is she thinking?! Pizza and tater tots... together?" Yes, my friends, pizza and tater tots. This is a great quick recipe to throw together with just a few ingredients. And it's delicious too. This feeds my family of five with a little bit left over.

Ingredients:
¾ lb ground beef
Chopped onion
Green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can tomato soup
½ bag tater tots
1 ½ c. mozzarella cheese
Optional: a few slices of pepperoni and Canadian bacon

Brown beef with onion, garlic and peppers.

Mix in soup. Pour beef mixture into 11 x 7 baking dish.

If you use the pepperoni and Canadian bacon, sprinkle those on top of beef mixture.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Top with tater tots.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes until tots are golden brown.

Welcome!

I decided about a month and a half ago to separate my Domestic Diva blog into just cleaning tips and that sort of thing and to create a blog specifically for cooking. Cooking and cleaning are both huge passions of mine, so I wanted to have a blog for each. A natural reaction when I started this new blog was to ask my best friend, April, to join me, and luckily for me she was very enthusiastic about it. April and I are really excited about this blog and really hope you all will enjoy it as much as we do - and that we will all learn a bit along the way!

We have lots of cooking links over to the side for you to search through - I know I love to have as many cooking sites bookmarked as possible so I have lots of places to get lots of inspiration! :) If you have some great links of your own that you'd love to share with us, please do! Our email address is posted as well, and we'd love any and all comments.

We're still working out a few kinks and will be for the next few days, so bear with us as we get things up and running. Thanks for reading!