Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole

I've been accepting a lot of food challenges lately.  The tater tot casserole challenge happened New Years Eve when Brian Tweeted a picture of his friend's New Year's Resolutions and one was "eating more tots".  The following Twitter conversation happened: 

And I've been looking for tater tot casserole recipes ever since.  The challenge was really the fact that I hate casseroles when they use Cream of Anything Soup.  And, no, it't not because I think I am healthier than you, I just think that Cream of Anything Soup is disgusting. It's all chunky and not soup like at all when it comes out of the can.  This is the main reason why Jamie and I don't eat a lot of casseroles.  I was in the grocery store one Sunday when I realized that you can have a casserole with the Cream of Anything Soup if you sub in Manwich. 

What you need: 

1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef) cooked and crumbled

1 large can of Manwich

1 16 oz bag of frozen tater tots

shredded cheese

What you do: 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and then brown the ground turkey (or beef), drain and stir in the Manwich sauce.  Pour the whole thing in a 9x13 casserole pan

2. Sprinkle the Manwich mixture with a nice layer of cheese.

3. Layer the Tots over the cheese.  I felt so OCD lining those tots up in little rows, but I swear it made cutting into the casserole so much easier.

4.  Top the Tater Tots with more cheese:

5. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered, until the tater tots are cooked through. 

Jamie and I loved this because Tater Tots are always awesome, but definitely a fun twist on the tried and true tater tot casserole!  It definitely needs a better name-- leave your suggestions in the comments.