04. Tator Tot Taco Casserole with Variation

Well after being busy with kids end of school activities I've finally had some time to try a new recipe. Actually I volunteered to bring a casserole to an event and then I realized I don't have any casserole recipes! So I hit the internet looking for something that sounded good. Normally I wouldn't have chosen something with tator tots in it, but my daughter begged me to. Apparently she had eaten a similar casserole at a friends house and loved it. So after some searching I found something quick and easy.

1 lb. ground beef
1 sm. pkg. frozen tator tots
1 can cheese soup
1 can corn
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

Brown ground beef. Put in taco seasoning and stir well. Add cheese soup and corn to beef and stir well. Put beef mixture in baking dish. Cover with tator tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until tator tots are browned. Add grated cheese on top for extra cheesiness!

Now for some variations...

I replaced the tator tots with crushed up Nacho Doritos and I think it was even better than the tator tots.

I haven't done this yet, but next time I will be replacing the corn with black beans. You can do this with any vegetable.

Top with sour cream, this was really good. I also thought it might taste good wrapped in a tortilla.

Now obviously this isn't the most healthy meal, but it is quick, easy, and cheap. You can also make the beef mixture ahead of time and pop it in the oven when ready. I may be playing around with more variations to make this a healthy meal.

If you have any ideas please comment and let me know!

Until next time...

03. Cheeseburger Pie

We had this at my work and I asked the cook for the recipe. It was pretty good. So this recipe is is from a wonderful lady named Dana :)

1 pound ground beef/turkey browned and drained - I used beef
Salt, pepper, garlic, onion (add 1 teaspoon beef bullion if using turkey) - I used garlic powder and one small onion
2 Tablespoon flour - stir into meat until moistened
1 medium can tomato sauce
Bring to boil over medium heat for one minute then allow to simmer on low
Topping (will cover 8x8 dish) (9x13 will need 2 pounds meat and 2 cups flour, milk)
1 cup self rising flour
1/2 stick butter cut into flour
Stir in 1 cup milk just until moistened
Pour meat mixture into greased casserole dish.
Layer with American cheese slices.
Use spatula to pour batter on top of cheese and gently spread to edges.
Bake at 375-400 until brown and bubble. May take about 30 minutes or more.

Verdict: We liked it. We also cooked a can of corn and put it in a bowl and then put the Cheeseburger Pie on top of it. Next time we'll change or try a few different things. Like we'll have more of the topping next time AND we'll probably try a different type of sliced cheese. But overall, pretty good!