1. Start by pre-heating the oven to 375° F.
2. Spray the baking dish with a non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
3. Next, take a large skillet and place it over medium-high heat and add the ground beef or sausage to it, use a spatula to crumble and mix it evenly with some chopped onions.
4. After cooking for about 2 minutes, remove it from heat and let it sit aside.
5. Next, take the skillet or pot and add some olive oil, chopped onion, and cook until it starts to get soft and translucent, add some minced garlic, bell peppers, salt, freshly ground black pepper, barbeque sauce or ketchup, and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of flour, stir thoroughly, and cook for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the cream of mushroom soup or some fresh milk, about 1¼ cups and stir them turn off the heat and add the cheddar cheese, ½ cup sour cream, some chopped scallions, and fresh eggs, and stir well.
7. Add half the size of the tater tots into the skillet or pot and mix thoroughly, then carefully transfer this into your baking dish.
8. Once you’ve spread them evenly in the pan add the remaining tater tots on top of in and sprinkle some cheddar cheese to your satisfaction but remember not to overdo it.
9. Next, pop this in the preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes.
10. Then you could go ahead and make a ranch dressing, this step is optional but it adds a unique flavor to the cheesy and crunchy tater tot casserole.
11. To make this ranch dressing, put a ¼ cup of sour cream inside a medium-sized bowl and add 2 tablespoons of milk, pepper, some chopped fresh dill, and chives. Mix them and you’ll use this to drizzle on the casserole when it’s out of the oven along with some scallions, parsley, basil, or any garnishing of your choice.

Making a tater tot casserole is easy to do and if you’d like more ideas concerning this recipe then check out this video recipe