Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, and Tater Tot Crockpot Bake ***

We just love this one!  I made it for the first time several years ago, but after all the satisfied grins around the table tonight, I figured it deserved another shout out.  It is just so good!  Definitely don't use the salt, though.  Between the little bit of salt on the tater tots and the bacon, it's plenty salty enough.  Anything more would be overkill.  It's amazing how tender the chicken stays.  Dh and I normally are not fans at all of white meat chicken, but it's so tender and flavorful in here.  Plus, it has tater tots.  Add tater tots to just about anything, and I'd be willing to at least try it.  I love me some tater tots!  Lol!

CHEESY CHICKEN, BACON, AND TATER TOT BAKE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Food.com)

1 (32 ounce) bag tater tots
3 oz bacon bits
5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups grated colby cheese
1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack pepper cheese
3/4 cup milk
salt and pepper

Grease the bottom of the crock pot.
Layer 1/2 the tater tots on the bottom of the pot.
Sprinkle with 1/2 of bacon bits.
Combine the two cheeses, and sprinkle 1/3 of it over the bacon and tots.
Top cheese with the chicken breasts.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
Top chicken with another 1/3 of cheese.
Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 of the jar of bacon bits.
Add remainder of the tater tots.
Top with final 1/3 of the cheese.
Pour milk over the top.
Set crock pot to high and cook 3-4 hours.
* Amy's notes: I leave out the salt completely and only use 2 cups of shredded Colby-Jack blend cheese.

Previous Reviews:
7/11/11 ~ I took my lunch late today, and I wanted to find something I could throw together quickly that didn't take long to cook. I didn't want anything stovetop, since it's hotter than Hades around here right now. It took ages to cool off the house after I cooked stovetop last night. Ugh. And with my new oven still waiting to be delivered and dh's new grill not quite ready to go, that left the good old crockpot. I found this one on Food.com and knew immediately that my family would love it. I made a couple changes. I used the b/s chicken tender strips, so that it wouldn't take forever to cook. I also just used a 2-cup bag of shredded Colby-Jack blend cheese. I really don't see a need for the additional cup of cheese. That was plenty, in my opinion. I left out the salt, since I figured the bacon would give it plenty. I was right. It didn't need any additional salt.  Long story short, it's a winner! Everyone loved it. Dh and I put hot sauce on ours, but the kids had theirs as-is. Next time, I'm either going to cut up the chicken before cooking or used cooked shredded chicken. We're not huge fans of chicken breasts, so I think having it shredded would work better for us. This has inspired me to try my Brat 'N' Tot Casserole as a crockpot dish, though. The tater tots were fully cooked and held up beautifully in the crock.

Undone Stuffed Pepper Casserole ***

It's been a while since I've made this, but it was calling to me, for some reason.  I was afraid the boys wouldn't go for it this time, since they're anti-green peppers at the moment, but they LOVED it.  It helped that my peppers were diced pretty small, so they didn't notice them as much.  I've been down in my back lately, so I'm trying to cut down cooking time as much as possible.  To make it a little easier on me, I came home on my lunch break and threw the 2 lbs of ground turkey (I double the recipe) into the crockpot with a big bag of frozen onion and 3-pepper blend and cooked on high for 4 hours.  Then when I got home, I just had to cook the rice, mix it all together, and throw it in the oven.  LOVED it.  I hate browning ground beef and ground turkey anyway, so that made it even better on me.  It really is a pretty hearty meal, though.  I cooked it for 30 minutes, after which it was fine, but then I got distracted and ended up letting it sit in the oven an extra 10 minutes or so.  The cheese was all crusty on top, and it was so good!  I think I'm going to keep doing it that way.  Now I'm wondering why I took so long to make it again, lol.

UNDONE STUFFED PEPPER CASSEROLE
(mrsrader86 via Kraft Food and Family Magazine)

1 lb ground beef
2 green peppers, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked long grain white rice
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1-1/2 cups Italian Five Cheese Blend, divided

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown meat with peppers and garlic in large skillet, drain. Stir in rice, spaghetti sauce, and 3/4 cup of cheese.
Spoon into 2 qt. casserole; top with remaining cheese.
Bake 25 minutes.
*Amy's notes: I always double and put it in a 9x13.

Previous reviews:
6/7/10 ~ I am in love! I got, "Good, it was great!" from DS1 and "It was so great!" from DS2. Dh had to work late, so he hasn't tried it yet. So far, though, it's a winner with the rest of us! I subbed ground turkey, Fiesta Blend cheese, brown rice, and a garlic pepper spice blend (for the garlic cloves). All substitutions were a success. I did, however, make mine in a 9x13 rather than my 2 qt dish, just so that the cheese would be more evenly distributed. I will make this one again and again. It's taking everything I have not to go in there and eat dh's helpings too, lol. Seriously, though, this is a wonderfully easy and tasty dish. Definitely a keeper.