Shamrocks, and Tater Tot Casserole

We celebrated a birthday in our house on St. Patrick's Day.   

The tradition is that the birthday child, or in this case adult, is allowed to choose their favourite meal for dinner on their birthday.  So we decked out the kitchen in shamrock swag and made Tater Tot Casserole.

Creamy, spicy ground beef, green beans, frozen tater tots, and shredded cheese.  This is simple comfort food, and it was devoured in record time.  The potato topping and GREEN beans made it work as a St. Patrick's Day meal which was an added bonus.

Tater Tot Casserole

1 pound lean ground beef.

1 onion, diced

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tbsp Montreal Steak Spice (if you can't find it, there's a DIY recipe here)

1 can of cream of mushroom soup, OR this Basic White Sauce, if you prefer to avoid canned soups

1 tbsp ketchup

Dash of hot sauce (optional)

1 can of green beans, or fresh steamed green beans

1 bag of  frozen Tater Tots

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.  In a large pan, scramble fry ground beef with onion until the meat is cooked and the onions are soft.  Depending on how lean your ground beef is, you may want to drain some of the fat from the pan.  I usually buy extra lean ground beef and don't bother with draining the fat from the meat.  Add garlic and seasoning, stir and cook for another minute or so.

Stir in the basic white sauce OR cream of mushroom soup, along with the ketchup and hot sauce, if using.  Heat through while stirring occasionally.  Transfer to casserole dish.  If using canned green beans, drain first and pour over meat mixture.  I like to use fresh green beans which I've cut into bite sized pieces and steamed until crisp-tender.

Add a layer of frozen Tater Tots over the green beans, and top with shredded cheese.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked and the cheese is melted.

And this was the requested dessert.  Stay tuned.

*Update*

The recipe is up for the Coconut Banana Chia Chocolate Snack Cake

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