Tator Tot Casserole

*I wrote this post on Tuesday and forgot to upload it!

I'm not sure where all of you live, but the Michigan weather has been moodier than usual this year.  We had a two whole weeks (in March) of temps in the 70's and 80's! We all knew it wouldn't last. We all said things like, "Watch it will snow in April," well here we are, that day we spoke of. Today we were lucky if it reached 40 degrees, but it was also so windy and the wind was bitingly cold.  In addition, my workplace was freezing. I wore long sleeves to accommodate for the cold weather, but I was cold all day.  Needless to say, around 2:30 I started dreaming of comfort food.

I'm pretty sure that my husband once told me that he had never had tator tot casserole.  I know I've never made it.  It's sort of one of those indulgences like biscuits and gravy that I avoid at all costs, mostly because I can never just eat a little. I want a plate full and then I want seconds! And then I want to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day!

I reviewed several recipes online and came up with the following (kind of a compilation of many). I also added a lot more veggies than I think it traditionally contains. Why? Well because that's how I roll!

Tator Tot Casserole

(photo credit)

1 - 10 oz can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

1 cup 2% milk (skim would save you some calories!)

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup frozen green beans

1/2 cup green pepper

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 cup mushrooms, chopped (I LOVE mushrooms so I used a lot - you could cut this in half)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp season salt (Lawry's, Old Bay, Adoba, any will do)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup low fat cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

1 lb frozen tator tots (about 45 tots)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Coat a 9x9 pan with cooking spray and set aside. Whisk together the cream of mushroom soup and milk and set aside.

3. Coat a skillet with cooking spray and add the onion, garlic, green pepper, frozen green beans, and frozen corn.  Saute, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften (about 5 minutes) and vegetables begin to warm up. They may still be cold (remember they'll cook in the oven later).

4. Stir in the ground beef and brown.  

5. When beef is mostly browned, add the mushrooms and continue to brown meat.

6. Add basil, thyme, and season salt - stir to coat. Also add salt and pepper, to taste.

7.  Transfer meat mixture to the prepare casserole dish and top with 1/4 cup shredded cheese.

8. Arrange tator tots on top.

9. Bake 45-60 minutes - until the tots are nice and golden brown!

10. In the last 2-3 minutes of baking, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese over the top.

Serving size? Well I divided my 9x9 casserole dish into 9 servings.  I found 1 1/2 servings to be enough to satisfy my comfort food craving ... then I went to zumba! 

Serving Size: 1/9the of recipe: 442 calories / 16 carbs / 33g fat / 19 g protein

The Review?
I absolutely loved this and did eat little nibbles of it whenever I could over the next couple days. Other than the season salt and a a little pepper, I didn't add any more salt so it did need a little sprinkle at the table.  I definitely prefer the taste of frozen veggies to canned, but canned would work if that's what you have on hand.  I think this one is a keeper!