Sometimes, you just need comfort food, and this is certainly that! What’s more, you can prepare your filling ahead of time and heat it up for a quick dinner on a busy weeknight! In the end, you’ll end up with a tasty (everyone went for seconds, and there were no leftovers), nutritionally balanced meal with many different textures and flavours combined cohesively into one amalgamation of goodness.
As with a lot of our recipes, this is extremely customizable. We used ground turkey, but beef, pork, chicken, venison, or even mutton/lamb would be well suited for this…and then you get to pick any veggies your heart desires. Lastly, for serving, you can either eat the casserole as is, or you can top it with a swirl of ketchup, BBQ sauce, or whatever other sauce you want! Go wild!
If you’re looking for a totally different take on this concept with different flavours (and a little more effort), try our Alpine Tater Tot Casserole!
Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Ground Meat
- 4 Strips of Bacon
- Onion
- Garlic
- Veggies of your choice. We used:
- Mushroom
- Bell Pepper
- Zucchini
- Peas
- Corn
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Tbsp Flour
- Milk
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Method:
- Dice all of your vegetables (including the onion and garlic).
- Melt a little butter in a large pan, and then add your onions. Sautee until they start to become opaque.
- As your onions sautee, slice your bacon into thin strips, and then add them to your onions.
- After a few minutes, when your bacon fat begins to render, add in your other veggies, and stir to combine. Let cook for about 5 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 425, and spray a casserole dish with a little oil.
- Add your ground meat, and cook until it’s completely browned, and the liquid in the bottom of the pan has cooked off.
- Sprinkle your flour atop your meat and veggies, and stir to fully combine.
- Pour in some milk, and allow to begin to thicken as it simmers. Add in your cheese now too.
- When your cheese has melted, and your meat and veggies are nicely coated with a thick milk/cheese sauce, scoop evenly into your casserole dish.
- Layer tater tots atop your meat and veggies.
- Transfer your casserole to the oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes to cook your tater tots and get them crispy.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
