In 1984, Dave was in Del Rio, Texas at Laughlin Air Force Base in Pilot Training. I had my first full time job out of college working for FEMA at the State Capitol in Salem, Oregon. It was also my first apartment, and I finally had some money to afford groceries. One weekend, my grandparents and my father came to my apartment where I made them dinner. At the time, this Tater Tot Casserole recipe was one of my favorites. My grandmother, Edna, was in my kitchen with me and she said, “These are all good ingredients.” I haven’t made this in a long time, but when I saw the recipe in my file, I thought that this would be nice to have in my blog. See my October 2021 Newsletter for the origin of the Tater Tot. This may seem like a meal just for children, but grownups like it as well!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the mushrooms on a cutting board and remove the stems. With a paper towel, wipe off the dirt. I recommend not using water as that makes the mushrooms soggy.
Mince the garlic and thyme. Chop the onion and slice the mushrooms. Set aside.
Place a Dutch oven or an oven ready heavy pan on the stove. Over medium high heat, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme.
Sauté until the mushrooms are soft and the onions translucent.
Add the green beans. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Put the vegetables on a plate and set aside.
In the pan, add a little olive oil and the ground meat. Season with salt and pepper. I like to use a potato masher to easily break up the meat into small pieces while it cooks. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook the meat until slightly browned. You don’t want it to be well cooked as this will go into the oven later.
Turn off the heat on the stove. Add the vegetable mixture to the meat and stir well.
Add one cup of beef consume or stock and Worcestershire sauce
Stir well, pour into a bowl and set aside.
In the Dutch oven pan, place one layer of Tater Tots.
Pour in the vegetable/meat mixture.
Add the cream and stir.
Layer the cheese.
Place another layer of Tater Tots on top of the cheese.
If you are not ready to eat, just cover until later. If you are getting ready to eat, place the casserole without a cover in the oven.
Bake for one hour or until the potatoes are golden brown and the cheese underneath is melted.
When plating up, garnish with a scoop of sour cream and a sprig of thyme. Since this is a one pot meal, I like to serve this with a simple salad. Serves 6.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the mushrooms on a cutting board and remove the stems. With a paper towel, wipe off the dirt. I recommend not using water as that makes the mushrooms soggy.
Mince the garlic and thyme. Chop the onion and slice the mushrooms. Set aside.
Place a Dutch oven or an oven ready heavy pan on the stove. Over medium high heat, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme.
Sauté until the mushrooms are soft and the onions translucent.
Add the green beans. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Put the vegetables on a plate and set aside.
In the pan, add a little olive oil and the ground meat. Season with salt and pepper. I like to use a potato masher to easily break up the meat into small pieces while it cooks. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook the meat until slightly browned. You don’t want it to be well cooked as this will go into the oven later.
Turn off the heat on the stove. Add the vegetable mixture to the meat and stir well.
Add one cup of beef consume or stock and Worcestershire sauce
Stir well, pour into a bowl and set aside.
In the Dutch oven pan, place one layer of Tater Tots.
Pour in the vegetable/meat mixture.
Add the cream and stir.
Layer the cheese.
Place another layer of Tater Tots on top of the cheese.
If you are not ready to eat, just cover until later. If you are getting ready to eat, place the casserole without a cover in the oven.
Bake for one hour or until the potatoes are golden brown and the cheese underneath is melted.
When plating up, garnish with a scoop of sour cream and a sprig of thyme. Since this is a one pot meal, I like to serve this with a simple salad. Serves 6.