Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole

So, tater tots, not bad for a food that was created by accident huh. That's right, in case you didn't know tater tots was first created by the Griggs brothers up at Ore-Ida out of left over potatoes, now that what I call imagination. Well once it got out, as you might imagine everybody and his mama came up wikth tater tot recipes.

Today there are tater tot recipes from here to Australia mate. Once they hit the south though The Cajun and Creole people got a hold of it and spiced it up a bit. So don't be shy, EAT!

Ingredients

• 1 (10-ounce ) can cream of mushroom or chicken soup
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
• 1/4 cup of chopped green bell pepper
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1/2 pound of smoked sausage, chopped, optional
• 1 tablespoon of fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 pound package of frozen tater tots

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray a 9 x 9 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray; set aside. Whisk together the cream soup and milk until well blended; set aside.

Add olive oil to a large skillet and saute the onion and bell pepper until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ground beef and brown; drain if needed and return to the skillet. Add the minced garlic, cook and stir another minute. Add in the chopped smoked sausage and cook about 3 minutes. Stir in the basil, thyme, Cajun seasoning; taste and add salt and pepper only as needed. Transfer meat mixture to the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the cheddar cheese. Evenly pour the soup mixture over the top. Arrange the tater tots on top and bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until potatoes are nicely browned and crisp. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of shredded cheese on top and return to the oven just until cheese is melted.

Serve immediately with a green vegetable or a mixed garden salad.

Cook's Notes: I used Savoie's 7-links spicy hot smoked sausage this time, so I eliminated the Cajun seasoning but added in 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. Okay to use lower fat products. Double for a 9 x 13 inch casserole.

Variation: Add a layer of vegetables (about 1 cup) thawed if frozen, drained if canned. Good choices are green beans, peas, corn and mixed vegetables. Top with the 1/4 cup cheese, followed by the cream soup mixture and tater tots; bake. To make a breakfast casserole, substitute a 1 pound roll of cooked, crumbled breakfast sausage (like Jimmy Dean) and 4 to 5 slices of cooked crumbled bacon for the ground beef/smoked sausage. Eliminate the meat to make this a side dish.

Beef & Sausage Hash Brown Casserole: Substitute a small bag of frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed, layering half of them in the bottom of the casserole dish. Prepare meat mixture as above and pour over the top, adding the remaining hash browns to the top of the casserole. Bake as above.