This Ree Drummond Casserole Recipe Is the Best I’ve Ever Had

It answers the call of the hungriest cowboys and cowgirls.

Simply Recipes / Getty Images / Lauren Bair

Back in high school, my number one late-night snack was golden, oven-baked tater tots. Much cooler kids were probably out doing stuff from the movie "Grease," "Dazed and Confused," and "Heathers," but I was happy bowling with friends and listening to U2 CDs at the mall. (Okay, it might have been Enya.) 

After knocking back a few cold ones at the lanes (Coke Slushies spiked with nothing but sugar), we'd drive someone's parents' car back to my house, and talk about life under the glow of the kitchen light while swirling the crispiest tater tots in ketchup with mustard.

Long before the invention of loaded "totchos," tater tot poutine, or grilled cheese stuffed with bite-sized spuds, Team Tater Tot was living for the unadulterated crunch of warm morsels. (Also, trying to get Alex the football player's attention during history class, using nothing more than my mind.) 

Ree Drummond's Cowboy Casserole lets tater tots shine in all their glory, topping a cheesy, beefy, one-skillet dish that sneaks in greens, and answers the call of the hungriest cowboys and cowgirls.

Read More: I Hosted a Tater Tots Tasting Party To Find the Best—We Had a Clear Favorite

Simply Recipes / Lauren Bair

How I Make Ree Drummond’s Cowboy Casserole

Cowboy Casserole comes together lickity-split. Let your frozen tater tots hang out on the counter while you cook your bacon. I added an entire eight-slice package to my pan because zero people were ever like, "Oh, shoot, is that extra bacon? Bummer." I also love cooking it Snoop Dogg-style: Don’t separate the strips—dump the whole stack of bacon into the pan. Keep them moving around with tongs until they get nice and crispy.

Remove the bacon to a paper towel, leaving the grease in the pan; it's the land-based version of reserved pasta water, aka, liquid gold. Since I cook twice the amount of bacon needed, I poured out half of the fat. 

Cook onion and garlic in the bacon fat until soft, then add your ground beef and cook until there aren't any pink bits left. Then, pull the pan off the heat, and stir in the mushroom soup, milk, and salt and pepper, followed by corn and rough-chopped spinach. Sprinkle in shredded cheddar, arrange the tots on top, and finish it off with grated parm and a little extra cracked pepper. 

Simply Recipes / Lauren Bair

After 30 minutes in the oven, rest your golden, bubbly beauty for 10 minutes, and serve with crumbled bacon and peppery chives or fresh green onions. I loved that the tots stay crunchy on top of the stew-like filling, and that a generous bowl felt satisfying without sending you straight to nap time. 

While tot casserole may be dressed for a weekend Costco run instead of the Met Gala, I'll be making this cozy recipe for my friends who will appreciate its great personality. As Ree says, "Comfort food isn't supposed to be glamorous!" "Preash, shishter," I say with a mouthful of tot casserole.

Lean into the tot life by adding a little hot sauce, extra undercover veggies mixed into the filling, a dab of sour cream, or a drizzle of spicy mayo. And, as Enya's hit song "Orinoco Flow" told us to do: Sail away, sail away, sail away… at least until someone asks for another glass of milk.

Get Recipe with Title: Pioneer Woman's Cowboy Casserole

Simply Recipes / Lauren Bair

from Simply Recipes | Recipes and cooking advice for home cooks https://ift.tt/UM75x1t