Southwest Tater Tot Casserole

I should have known that once I got the ol' blog up and running again and was enjoying writing posts that life would happen and get in the way.  At least I'm getting this post in under the two month mark from the last one!  I feel like we've just been swamped, although a good chunk of it was fun.  In the last two months my husband and I have taken a trip to Louisville, KY for a music festival and spent a weekend in NYC to see one of our favorite people get married.  Then I fractured my ankle hiking and came down with a cold.  Plus throw in there all the day-to-day stuff like working and managing kid activities and attending said kid activities, and life is just busy.  

Basically this meme is my life...

Anyway, my oldest is in Milwaukee, WI this weekend for a choral festival, so while he's gone I was trying to come up with meals he doesn't particularly like that the rest of us do.  This Southwest Tater Tot Casserole was the first one to pop in my head.  

In the summer of 2019 we were going to housesit for some friends in the Seattle area while they went on the trip of a lifetime to China.  My youngest and I made a road trip out of it on the way there and stopped in Boise to visit my lifelong BFF and her family for a few days.  We've been friends since our ages were single digits which is pretty incredible because we are both solidly in our 40s now.  We of course had a blast with them, and I loved that our kids played together like they've known each other forever.  Our last night at their house she made this for dinner.  I absolutely love tater tot casserole and have literally been eating it since I was a kid, and my kids love it, too, so Miles and I were super excited to try this version.  Once we were back home I made it for my family and was shocked when Will didn't like it.  What the heck, man?!  So now I make it if Will isn't going to be here for dinner, although sometimes he has to suck it up and have it because it's what I want to make for dinner.

The website where the recipe originally came from isn't up anymore, so luckily I had printed off the recipe at some point.  I've changed it up a little from the recipe I printed to adjust to how my family likes it.

Southwest Tater Tot Casserole

1 package ground turkey (I buy mine at Costco in packages of four)

1 can corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 packet taco seasoning

1 large can green enchilada sauce, heat level of your choice (we like medium heat)

1-2 cups shredded cheese of your choice (Mexican blend, colby jack, cheddar, pepper jack...whatever)

1 bag frozen tater tots

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425.  Brown ground turkey in an ovenproof skillet sprayed with nonstick spray, seasoned with salt and pepper.  

Once the turkey is no longer pink, add in corn, black beans, taco seasoning, and 1/2 to 2/3 of the can of enchilada sauce.  Sitr to combine and let simmer on medium heat for 10-12 minutes so the flavors combine.  This will also help the enchilada sauce cook down a little.  If it looks or gets too dry, add in more enchilada sauce.

Turn off the burner and top the mixture with shredded cheese.  Arrange tater tots on top of cheese.

Move the skillet into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and tots are crispy.

Note: if you don't have an ovenproof skillet, you can use a 9x13 or 11x7 casserole dish.  Spray dish with nonstick spray and transfer skillet mixture to the casserole dish before topping with cheese.  Top with cheese then tater tots and bake as directed.

Jefferson is keeping a close eye on the skillet mixture.

Topping with tots. My husband makes fun of my symmetrical tot placement, but how else are you supposed to do it?  Throw on tots all willy-nilly?!

Tater Tot Casserole

this is one of my most favorite meals ever!!! My mom went to a sewing expo not far from my house last week. I invited her for dinner one night, but she said she was just going to head home. The next day she asked what we were having. :) I had originally planned on making this that night, but I got those ahi tuna steaks at Trader Joe's and switched things up. So I told her I'd make it one night this week and she could come for dinner then. She comes over once a week and stays with the kids so I can go grocery shopping alone. Isn't she a saint?! My mom's awesome. So, she's going to come over this afternoon and then just stay for dinner. I love this casserole because it's easy to throw together and so super tasty. Seriously, it's been one of my favorites since I was little.

Tater Tot Casserole
1 lb ground beef
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
Cheddar cheese--sliced or shredded
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Tater Tots

In an 11x7 pan, crumble or spread ground beef. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder on top of beef. Cover with sliced or shredded Cheddar cheese (NOT American cheese...real cheddar). Spread can of cream of mushroom soup over the cheese layer (this can be tricky business if you've used shredded cheese). Top with tater tots. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, uncovering for last 30 minutes. Or bake at 375 for one hour, uncovering for last 30 minutes.

*****

Mmmmm. Yum. I can't wait for dinner. I like to eat mine with ketchup. I usually use shredded cheese because that's what I always have on hand, but it's much easier with slices. Actually I have a big block of cheddar cheese in the fridge, so maybe I'll slice some of that up to use instead of the shredded. We'll have some kind of vegetable on the side--maybe green beans.

Tater Tot Casserole

It occurred to me a couple weeks ago that we haven't had this in FOREVER. Like, seriously forever. I don't even know if it's on the blog, it's been that long. This is one of the casseroles my mom would make when I was little and my folks weren't that well off. Kind of poor people food, but it's awfully good. She refused to make it for a long time, and I remembered it in college or shortly after I graduated, and I've been making it ever since. We were going to have it last night, but we ended up running to Walmart, and by the time we'd get home it was going to be too late to start it, so we just got one of their take and bake pizzas instead. Incidently, their pizzas aren't that bad, and they're pretty reasonably priced.

Tater Tot Casserole
1 lb ground beef
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
Cheddar cheese--sliced or shredded
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Tater Tots

In an 11x7 pan, crumble or spread ground beef. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder on top of beef. Cover with sliced or shredded Cheddar cheese (NOT American cheese...real cheddar). Spread can of cream of mushroom soup over the cheese layer (this can be tricky business if you've used shredded cheese). Top with tater tots. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, uncovering for last 30 minutes. Or bake at 375 for one hour, uncovering for last 30 minutes.

*****

You can use regular onion instead of onion powder, I just hate chopping up onions and opt for the easy way out. My mom always slices up cheese when she makes this, but I usually have shredded on hand and go with that. Slices are definitely easier than the shredded.

Personally I like a little ketchup on my plate to dip it in, but not everyone goes for that.