Tater Tot Taco Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen Mexican-style corn or regular corn
1 (12 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (12 ounce) bag shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (16 ounce) package frozen tater tots
1 (12 fluid ounce) can enchilada sauce

Servings: 6
Directions:

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until completely browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, taco seasoning mix, frozen Mexican-style corn, and black beans to the ground beef; cook and stir another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
Combine the ground beef mixture in a large bowl with about 3/4 of the Mexican cheese blend and the tater tots; stir to combine.
Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish; lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tot layer.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining Mexican cheese over the casserole and return to oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 minutes more.

**This is how I found this recipe but I changed it. I made it more like the original tater tot casserole I posted before. I used a 2-quart casserole dish instead. I did not combine the tater tots in with the meat mixture. What I did was put a little sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish, then the meat and cheese mixture, then more sauce, next the tater tots, then more sauce with cheese on top. It turned out really good. We liked this a lot. It was a really good recipe find for me. Will be making it again soon.

Tater Tot Casserole

     Tater tot casserole is a dinner that my sister introduced to me.  I had never even heard of it.  Now I make it about twice a month for my family.  They love it. It is a versatile dish. I don't use a recipe myself but I will attempt to make a recipe for you to use.

2 pounds ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
half of an onion, diced
a bag of tater tots
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese


Look at the package of tater tots and set your oven to the time it says. Usually 400-425 degrees. Now brown the ground beef in a skillet with half of a diced onion. Drain the fat. Then mix the soups with the browned ground beef. Pour into a casserole pan. Next take the tater tots and lay them out over the meat mixture in the pan. Put them in the oven for as long as it says on the tater tot package. Around 25 minutes then check to make sure the tater tots are cooked thoroughly. If not, then keep it in the oven until the tater tots are done. When they are, sprinkle the cheese over the top and put it back in for a couple of mins until cheese is melted.


**This dish is versatile because you can change the recipe to your liking. You can do any combination of cream styled soups. I have also tried cream of celery soup. You could even add vegetables like celery, carrots, green beans, or anything you'd like. Just mix the vegetable with the meat and soup mixture. You can use frozen, fresh, or canned. You will have to defrost frozen vegetables though. Also instead of ground beef, you can use ground turkey, ground chicken, or even ground sausage. You can even use different kinds of cheeses. I have used sliced cheese a lot when I didn't have cheddar cheese on hand. 


     Comment and post what kind of tater tot casserole combinations you have tried. I would like to hear your experiences.