Cowboy Casserole

This dish was SO good! I had a bag of tatertots and a pound of ground beef to use up, and I have been wanting to make this for a while now… I was surfing Pinterest for a recipe, and after looking at a few, it just didn’t seem like the dish I was hoping for in my mind… I don’t know, I guess I thought with the word “cowboy” it was going to have a bit more flavor. So, I recreated this dish, and it did NOT disappoint! YUM!

Cowboy Casserole

Ingredients
• 1 bag of tater tots (or cubed potatoes)
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1 onion (diced)
• ¾ green bell pepper (diced)
• ½ tsp garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ can of corn (drained)
• 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes (semi drained)
• ½ can black beans (rinsed & drained)
• ½ c milk
• ¼ c sour cream
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 diced jalapeño (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Lay out the tater tots on a cookie sheet to defrost for an hour or so until thawed.
2. In a large skillet cook the onion until slightly translucent. Add green pepper and garlic. Then add in the ground beef and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain the meat mixture and place into a bowl and set aside.
3. In a small bowl combine the soup, milk, sour cream, and tomatoes. Whisk until smooth. Add to hamburger mixture and stir to combine. Add corn, black beans, and 1 cup (handful) of shredded cheese. If using jalapeños, add them now too. Add salt & pepper to taste. Gently mix to combine.
4. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
5. Layer half of the tater tots on the bottom, pour the hamburger mixture over the top and then layer with the other half tater tots. Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese
6. Bake at 375F for 25 – 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. Garnish with green onions on top, and serve.

Since my toddlers are in the “boycott veggies” stage of childhood, I am 100% behind hiding veggies in cheesy goodness. I’m constituting the tater tots as a veggie too, since they are made from potatoes. 😉 Bright side of it, is my kids will at least try just about anything if I say its super cheesy (insert heart eyes…). I hope you’ll give this a try, and let me know what you think!