# Help with my throw together casserole please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 29, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-my-throw-together-casserole-please/981851 "2023-03-29T18:09:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-my-throw-together-casserole-please/981851/1 "2023-03-29T18:09:05Z")
I’m trying to avoid a trip to the grocery store and work with the ingredients I have in the kitchen. Anyway it’s real simple. In a casserole dish I was gonna throw, frozen tots, fajita strips (flank steak), peppers and onions, enchilada sauce, and cheese. Then just let it bake until everything is cooked through. The only thing I’m not sure about is if I should cook the fajita strips first, or just throw them in there raw. Probably going to saute the peppers and onions first anyway. Your thoughts are appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-my-throw-together-casserole-please/981851/2 "2023-03-29T18:23:18Z")
I’d brown the meat, onions, and peppers first, and thaw the tots so it doesn’t take forever. More likely to just finish it in the pan than baking. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-my-throw-together-casserole-please/981851/3 "2023-03-29T18:24:07Z")
What Tripolar said while I was logging in to say it ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-my-throw-together-casserole-please/981851/4 "2023-03-29T21:27:44Z")
Tripolar and Dorkvader’s approach gets my vote as well. I’d probably do a two-time approach to the cheese as well, some grated and mixed in, and then more right before you’re ready to serve on top with a quick broil for bubbly goodness. I might also add a cornstarch slurry to help thicken depending on how much starch I’d expect to get out of the tots, but that’s a personal choice when it comes to consistency. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-my-throw-together-casserole-please/981851/5 "2023-03-29T22:16:01Z")
Thanks guys. It didn’t even dawn on me to thaw the tots. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-my-throw-together-casserole-please/981851/6 "2023-04-06T13:10:35Z")
My thought is to make the tots separately, then use them as a bed over which you place the other, separately-cooked ingredients. But I see that I’m late to this thread. So all I can say is: How did it turn out? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-my-throw-together-casserole-please/981851/7 "2023-04-06T14:59:09Z")
It turned out pretty tasty. My only criticism is the meat was a little more done than I would have liked. But still tasty.