Tasty, Relatively Quick & Easy, But Not Particularly Healthy

Tater Tot & Ham Casserole

1 Tbs soft margarine
1/2 bag frozen tater tots (store brand or generic is fine - I like the kind that are already lightly seasoned)
1 1/2 to 2 cups of cubed, leftover ham
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (again, generic label is fine)
1 can Cream of Celery soup (ditto -- next time I might try Campbell's nacho cheese instead for extra flavor)
1/2 soup can of milk
1 cup finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/2 small can of french-fried onions
pepper & salt to taste


Set oven to pre-heat at 425 degrees.
Swipe margarine around the sides and bottom of a 9 x 9 x 2 glass or Corningware baking dish.
Dump tater tots and ham cubes into baking dish.
Mix soups and milk in non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add a couple grinds of pepper & sea salt to taste.
Stir in shredded cheese. Keep stirring until cheese has melted/blended into soup mixture.
Pour soup/cheese into baking dish with tater tots and ham. Poke things around until all the nooks and crannies are filled.

Bake for 40 minutes. Add french fried onions to the top (garnish), bake another five minutes until browned and bubbling.

I made this tonight for supper because the scalloped potatoes and ham my Hubby asked for would have required a not so quick trip to the grocery for a boxed potato kit plus cooking time, or at least two hours from scratch (peeling & slicing the potatoes by hand, etc.) Didn't really have a recipe, but it turned out well-enough that Hubby said I should write down what I did so I can make it again sometime, except maybe not so sloppy (I'd used a full soup can of milk -- ooops.) Most of the the above amounts are estimates, as I tend to cook by the 'pinch, dash & handful' method.

Hope someone out there finds this useful!