Tater Tot Casserole

Tater Tot Casserole. Once upon a time, there was a little girl who adored church potlucks. She really couldn’t decide which she loved best, hugs from snuggly grandmas, or their comforting dishes that sat upon the potluck table. One dish always stood out in the crowd, okay, maybe two. The first was blackberry crumble bars. I… er… she was old enough to bake and wanted so badly to ask for the recipe but somehow it felt inappropriate to do so at a funeral.

The other was Tater Tot Casserole. Although anyone can throw together some tots and cream of mystery soup, homemade is always the very best.

 Tater Tot Casserole 

• 1 medium diced onion
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 pound ground chicken, turkey, or beef
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse pepper
• 1/2 cup flour
• 32 ounces chicken stock
• 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon chicken flavor (optional)
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
• One 32 ounce package of tater tots
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat and drizzle a large pan with olive oil. Add onions to the pan. Cook onions in olive oil until golden brown (caramelized). Add celery & cook for about another minute. Remove veggies from the pan and set aside.

Add and cook ground meat. If using beef, you may want to drain extra grease out. Season with salt & pepper. I find ground turkey more flavorful than beef – healthier too. We need all the health we can get because like I said, this dish is quite sinful.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

If using ground beef, remove most of the excess grease, leaving a few tablespoons of it in the pan.

Place the sauteed veggies back into the pan. Sprinkle flour over meat & veggies.

Stir flour into the mixture and cook for a few minutes while continuing to stir so that flour cooks (otherwise your sauce will taste like raw flour).

After flour is cooked, add the chicken (or beef) stock and chicken Better Than Bouillon. Continue to stir.  Over time, the sauce will thicken. If desired, stir in sour cream.

Add fresh or frozen peas & carrots to your liking.

Fill the bottom of a 9X13 dish with meat sauce. Place tater tots in an orderly fashion (or not) on top of sauce.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until tater tots are golden brown & the sauce is bubbly.

Do three hail Marys, take communion, complete one Zumba class, and then add grated real cheddar cheese over tots. I highly recommend buying ungrated cheese and grating it yourself. Pre-grated cheese is coated in cornstarch and, because of this, is not as creamy.

Bake again until cheese is melted and your Tater Tot Casserole is hot & bubbly and sign up to take Zumba class regularly.

Consider yourself snuggled by a grandma, then go eat an apple. I’m sorry. You’re welcome. I’m sorry.