Delicious Coupon Casserole

Sunday mornings, I awake at my leisure and slowly make my way downstairs where I am greeted with the Sunday paper at my front door.  It always seems to arrive in a protective bag as if it were some cherished Christmas present for grownups.  And in a way, I guess that it is due to the coupon inserts contained therein.   I always am disappointed however at all the coupons for worthless, nutritionally void crap, and always shake my head at the disgusting food industry of America.  But then I find the occasional coupon for items that are not highly processed or full of salt and/or sugar; things that I can use to create wonderful dishes at home with.  But occasionally I keep a couple coupons for foods that I know will lead to high blood pressure.  Today’s recipe uses coupons of this nature.

The coupons in question:

• $0.75 off Jimmy Dean Sausage (1 pound tube)
• $1.00 off two bags OreIda Tater Tots (you’ll need one bag for this recipe)
• $0.50 off two cans Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup (you’ll need one can for this recipe)

You’ll also need:

• Half of a large onion (or one small onion) chopped.
• Shredded cheddar cheese to top.

Cooking with Coupons:

Brown the sausage in a skillet with the chopped onion.  Browning gives you more flavor in the casserole and adds a nice occasional crunch.

Browning

When done, place into a casserole dish with half a bag of frozen tater tots.  Add 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup (cream of chicken will do too) and gently stir around to combine.  Top with cheddar cheese, then cover to bake.

Mixed together

Bake in a 400˚ oven for 40 minutes.  You can remove the cover for the last 10 minutes of baking time if you’d like the cheese to be firm and slightly chewy.

I’m not going to make any claims that this dish is heart-healthy or that it will fit in with your diet and weight loss plans, but I will tell you that it is rather delicious and makes for an excellent left over lunch.  The sodium content is quite high though, so make sure you have access to plenty of water for the rest of the night because your body is going to need it.

Serves 3-4

Recipe by Jothan Yeager