Tator tot casserole. Abomination or genius?
What's not to love?
Roast chicken.
Good.
Cream of mushroom soup.
Good.
Crispy tater tots.
Good.
Cheesy crust.
Good.
Actually, I should point out that my version differs from the majority of recipes I've found online, which have a filling of ground beef, cheddar cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream. Where are the vegetables? For that matter, it already sounded too similar to the English Cottage Pie with Ground Beef and Mushrooms I was already making for Thanksgiving dinner. So I decided to use a basic Chicken Pot Pie filling. My tater tot casserole with chicken pot pie filling was a hit, just a spoonful was left at the end of the night.
Tater Tot Casserole with Chicken Pot Pie Filling
For an 8-inch-by-8-inch pan, you'll need:
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 cups roast chicken, shredded or diced
1/2 to 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
8-oz can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups frozen tater tots
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Dice the medium onion. In a large sauce pan on medium-high heat, drizzle a bit of olive oil and add the onions.
When the onions have softened, add 1 1/2 cups shredded roast chicken.
Add about 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms.
Then add 1 cup mixed frozen vegetables of your choice.
Stir to make sure everything is mixed.
Then add an 8-oz can of cream of mushroom soup.
Stir to make sure everything is combined again. I didn't add any extra salt as the chicken is already seasoned and the cream of mushroom soup is too, but you can taste the mixture at this point and add whatever you'd like.
Add 1 cup of the frozen tater tots. They basically take the place of cubed potatoes in a regular pot pie.
Mix again and pour everything into an 8-inch-by-8-inch glass pan. Don't worry if the frozen vegetables and tater tots haven't thawed, they will be by the time it comes out of the oven.
Top the mixture with the remaining 1 cup of frozen tater tots.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the tater tots are crisp and golden to your liking. About 15 minutes before they're ready, add some shredded cheddar cheese (mine were technically slices, but whatever works) on top if you wish.
Creamy pot pie with a crispy tater tot crust. What's not to love?
Enjoy!
New recipes at this Thanksgiving dinner:
English Cottage Pie with Ground Beef and Mushrooms
Roast Turkey with Rosemary and Sage Salt Rub
Tater Tot Casserole with Chicken Pot Pie Filling
And the turkey leftover recipes:
How to Make Turkey Stock
Turkey Alphabet Soup
Turkey Pot Pie with Puff Pastry
Turkey Quinoa Vegetable Soup
*****
1 year ago today, Ask Wandering Chopsticks 15.
2 years ago today, Happy Thanksgiving!
3 years ago today, Charlie's Trio Cafe - Alhambra.
4 years ago today, Tagine - Beverly Hills.
Yum! I love the idea of tater tot topping! And a great use of left over chicken or turkey.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say don't worry if the vegetables and tater tots haven't melted, I think you meant thawed. But great recipe!
ReplyDeleteNikki,
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't love tater tots?
a,
Yes. Thank you. Fixed.