charlys-room: In The Slowcooker: Cheesy Chicken Tater Casserole

With winter weather coming on now...I am on the hunt for some tasty new slow cooker meals to serve my family on chilly nights. Last week I was reading my friend Gina's blog when I saw that she has posted a link to a recipe that was on her meal plan....Cheesy Chicken Tatertot Casserole. I was intrigued...plus it had 4 main ingredients that most families like...chicken, cheese, bacon & tatertots. Sounds good, right?

I made it for my family and everybody liked it and it disappeared fast. And I even heard, "What smells so good?" as people came through the door....that is always a good sign! Although the original recipe was for a very basic cheese, chicken, tatertot & bacon mixture, I also added in sliced mushrooms, green onion and leeks to add some veggie to the dish and also because I know my family likes those veggies.

So here we go...

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, cut in bite size pieces
1 large bag of tatertots
2-3 cups of shredded cheese {I used a bag of Mexican cheese mix}
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup of milk
Optional:
1 cup diced green onion
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
1 leek, sliced {white & light green parts only}

Directions:
1. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Pour into half of tatertots. Sprinkle half mushrooms, leeks, green onions, bacon and cheese.
3. Layer chicken over veggies, bacon and cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add remaining tatertots, mushrooms, leeks and cheese. Sprinkle with remaining bacon and green onion. Pour 3/4 cup milk over casserole. {Don't worry if casserole comes right to the top of the dish...it shrinks down while cooking.}
5. Cover casserole and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-7 hours.

I served this yummy casserole with carrots and a salad...and everyone left the table with happy tummies! Thank you so much for the inspiration Gina!

This dish would be awesome to make up the night before and cook in the slowcooker on a work day to come home to at suppertime. Or to throw in on a busy Saturday or Sunday when you are away for the day with the kids' activities like hockey, football, soccer, etc.

Don't you love when you a try a new recipe and it goes over well? {Trust me...I have had my share of recipe fails too!}

What is your family's crockpot/slowcooker meal?

Here is another of our other favourite slowcooker meals:

Taco Soup