Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole

 

 

My favorite cooking shows to watch when I was growing up were “30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray” and “Semi Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee.”  These ladies taught me to cook meals quicker and to use ready made help to make recipes easier. To this day I still like to incorporate concepts I learned from these cooks.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound of lean ground beef
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 16 ounces of nacho cheese sauce
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas, defrosted if frozen
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, defrosted if frozen
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend or cheddar cheese
• 1 28 ounce bag Ore Ida frozen mini tater tots

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare 13″X 9″ baking dish by greasing with cooking spray. Set aside baking dish. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 F degrees.
2. In a skillet, cook ground beef over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink; drain fat. Add onions and cook an additional 2 minutes.  Stir in cheese sauce.
3. Place meat and cheese mixture in prepared baking dish.  
4. Layer peas and corn on top of meat mixture.
5. Layer shredded cheese on top of peas and corn.
6. Lastly, layer evenly tater tots on top of casserole.
7. 
8. Baked uncovered 50 minutes or until tater tots are crispy and golden brown and mixture is bubbling.