Tater Tot Casserole Recipe

It's so gross, it's good!

The first time I made this dish for my husband, he took one look at it and announced, "No way". You see, unlike myself, Tim was raised in a household serving decidedly classier fare than the country cooking I grew up on. Once when I asked him what's his favorite type of chili dog, he answered that he had never eaten one. Oh, the horror! Needless to say, I had to undo that one quick.

While I was eating pinto beans cooked in fat back and cornbread baked in bacon drippings, he was enjoying a healthy balanced meal that included a salad that wasn't crafted out of Jell-O. Therefore, I just had to introduce him to the grand behemoth of cheap, country-style cooking-- the tater tot casserole, which blends together a whole mess of Southern church cookbook-styled ingredients from Velveeta cheese to cream of mushroom soup all laid out in pure oven-baked glory.

So, did he eat his tots you ask? Oh, yes he did. Over the course of several days, Tim polished off nearly all of it, making me one very happy wife and his mother totally mortified. Yes, I have ruined him.

Tater Tot Casserole

Serves 8

This easy-to-assemble dish contains a bevy heavily processed canned and/or frozen goodies, so feel free to take your time eating it since arguably it will never spoil.

2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 (15-ounce) can mixed vegetables with half the liquid drained off
1 (11-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (11-ounce) can cream of celery soup
1 (8-ounce) package of Velveeta Cheese, cut into cubes
1 (1-pound) bag frozen tater tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef and drain off any fat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Spread beef and onion into a large casserole dish. In another bowl mix together canned vegetables, soups and cheese. Spread mixture over beef mixture and top with tater tots.

Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until your casserole is bubbly and the tots are browned.

Originally published in "White Trash Gatherings: From-Scratch Cooking for Down-Home Entertaining" by yours truly and Ten Speed Press, 2006.

©2011 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Pin It Now!

Pot Roast with Bacon, Garlic and Rosemary

So meaty.

I am definitely a meat and potatoes kinda girl, especially when the temperature drops. I'm also one for quick and easy preparation as well as budget-friendly cooking since now I have my hands full with this little guy.

Hank likes meat, too.

Last night I set out to make something hearty, soul-satisfying, and most of all easy, so I came up with this little one-pot wonder-- Rustic-Style Beef Pot Roast with Bacon, Garlic and Rosemary.

Mise en place

Begin by searing your meat and cooking bacon. Discard half the drippings.

Next, saute onions and garlic.

Deglaze aromatics with a nice dry red wine, scraping up the bits off the bottom of the pan.

Add stock, water, tomatoes and rosemary.

Return meat and bacon to pot. Cook for about 2 hours.

Reduce sauce, add a slurry, slice and plate it up!

Rustic-Style Beef Pot Roast with Bacon, Garlic and Rosemary
Serves 4-6

This saucy pot roast is simply bursting with rich flavors. It gets its "rustic" stylings from rough chopping the aromatics (onions and garlic) and incorporating whole sprigs of rosemary that are tossed right into the sauce making this an easy to prepare weeknight dinner.

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef bottom round roast, trimmed of excessive fat
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 slices of bacon, diced
2 medium onions, sliced
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 cup good quality dry red wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup water
1 (14-ounce) can of Italian cherry tomatoes (such as Rienzi brand)
2 sprigs rosemary
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

Preheat a large dutch oven or cast iron pan to medium-high. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper on all sides (going easy on the salt due to the use of canned chicken stock). Add olive oil to pan and sear beef well on all sides. Remove to a plate.

Add bacon to pan and saute until crispy. Then remove to a plate. Pour off half the pan drippings and discard. Add onions and saute 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another 5 minutes. Deglaze pan with red wine, being sure to scrape up all the goody bits off the bottom. Next, add chicken stock, water, tomatoes and rosemary.  Finally, add bacon and beef back to pan. Add a little bit more water if necessary, so you can cover beef entirely. 

Bring sauce and meat back up to a boil for two minutes uncovered. Then lower heat, cover and simmer for about two hours or until nice and tender. Periodically, remove surface grease and fat with a spoon and discard.

Remove meat to a cutting board and let rest. Crank up the heat on your sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove rosemary sprigs.

Mix together cornstarch and cold water to make a "slurry". Add slurry to simmering sauce and bring up to a gentle boil. Simmer for about another 8-10 minutes or until thickened.

Slice beef and plate. Pour sauce over beef and garnish with a rosemary sprig. Save any additional sauce for bread dipping or as a gravy for potatoes, polenta, rice etc....

Note: this recipe is really great served with mashed potatoes or a simple risotto!

©2011 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission Pin It Now!

A Little Chat with Chef Ming Tsai

Ming in action at the Barbados, Food, Wine & Rum Fest

Had the opportunity to chat with one of my culinary heroes, Chef Ming Tsai, at the Barbados Food, Wine & Rum Fest  Did a little feature for the Richmond Times Dispatch featuring the Chef's thoughts on the importance of dining together as a family, musings on his cookbook, "Simply Ming One-Pot Meals" as well as some of his favorite signature East Meets West-styled recipes.

Check it here: Celebrity Chef Talks Food

Me and the man himself.

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