Green Eggs & Dirt

My friend and former roommate Adrienne used to make me this midwest classic for me when we lived together.  Ingredients consisted of canned cream of mushroom soup, some faux meat (she’s not much of a meat eater) and some tots on top.  Brian, being a midwest-born guy, happens to LOVE Tater Tot Casserole. It’s one of the few meals he requests.  And I loved it because I could  keep the ingredients in the pantry and make this when I didn’t have anything planned.  But when I moved us away from processed foods, we were both sad to think Tater Tot Casserole didn’t have much of a place in our life anymore.  So I set on a mini-quest to make a homemade, slightly healthed-up version the old TTC .  While this isn’t perfect and certainly isn’t health food, it’s a good compromise.  TTC is back in our meal plan and that is something to be excited about.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 package tater tots (I actually found organic tots, go figure)
• 2 tablespoons unbleached flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup whole milk or half and half
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• Frozen or canned peas or green beans

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a skillet, brown the ground beef with the chopped onion.
3. In a separate small saucepan, heat the butter over medium high heat until it’s melted.  Then whisk in the flour and let the butter/flour mixture (technically called a roux) cook for about 30 seconds, whisking as it cooks.  Then whisk in the milk and let this come to a simmer. It should thicken up as it heats.
4. When the meat is browned, stir in the chicken broth, spices, worcestershire sauce, and the butter/flour/milk mixture.  Let it simmer for a minute and add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the peas/green beans, whichever you like or have on hand.
5. Pour the meat into a casserole dish and top with frozen tots.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until the tots on top are golden and toasty.