You would never have caught me making, let alone actually eating this dish a couple of years ago. I would have claimed it was too busy and I don't eat busy food. I still don't to some extent. I also had a big aversion to ground meat unless it was covered in taco seasoning. Slowly, I've overcome this dislike and will now eat most anything that contains ground beef. However, I thought I would give this recipe a chance, knowing my husband would love it. Anything with a meat, a potato or a combination of the two is a-okay in his book.
This meal is pretty heavy so it didn't take much for me to be full. My husband also says that it must be served with applesauce (like every other dinner in our house is served with).
Seriously, my husband won't stop talking about this. He says it's way better than his mom's tater tot casserole...score one for Rach!
Tater Tot Casserole
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, thawed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 bag (30 oz.) frozen tater tots (crispy crowns)
1. In large skillet, cook onion until soft and translucent. (I actually let mine get a little brown). Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain. Set aside.
2. In small bowl, combine soup, milk and sour cream. Whisk until smooth. Add to meat mixture.
3. Add corn and 1 cup of shredded cheese to meat and soup mixture.
4. Grease 9x13 casserole dish and layer bottom with 1/2 of the tater tots. Cover with meat/soup/cheese/corn mixture above. Layer the rest of the tater tots (other half of the bag) on top of mixture and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy.
**Note: you could make a healthier version by using light or fat free ingredients and also using ground turkey. I choose to use ground beef because I can't justify buying ground turkey when I have a freezer full of ground beef and other random cow parts in my basement.
Enjoy!
