Tater Tot Casserole All Growed Up

The other day I found myself with a pound of ground beef and no dinner plans (I forgot to soak beans for tacos the night before and there's no way we're having tacos without beans!). What to do? I didn't want to make spaghetti as we're trying to avoid gluten as much as possible, we just had burgers last week, and I wasn't in the mood to make a boring meatloaf.

When I was in college I had a boyfriend whose mom made tater tot casserole so I invented this loose variation. It was actually pretty darn good. Even sister bear ate several helpings, and she doesn't do casseroles. This one goes in the comfort food category.

There are, in fact, no tater tots to be found in it, but let's not get all technical, okay?

Ingredients

1 pound grass-fed ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
Salt
Pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup cream of chicken soup
1 pound carrots, thinly sliced
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped
5 medium red potatoes, diced small
Fat for frying, I used ghee this time

Directions

1. Put the diced potatoes in a greased baking dish and bake them in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes. You don't have to put them in a single layer, but spread them out evenly. (You're just doing this step to cut down on cooking time later when you fry them.)

2. Brown the ground beef with the onions and garlic. Add salt and pepper. When the beef is brown, turn off the burner and mix in the soup. Spread the beef mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Spread the chopped veggies over the top of the beef mixture.

3. Heat up a skillet nice and hot, add some fat, and fry the potatoes with salt and pepper (and chopped onions, if you want) until they're nice and brown. Don't overcook them , in fact, you should under cook them just slightly. Spread the brown potatoes over the top of the veggie layer.

4. Put the casserole in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Smashed Potatoes

Tank you, yet again, Rachael Ray. And I don't mean that in a Late Night Bacon kind of way. Ingredients 2 Pounds Small Red Potatoes Olive Oil Salt Pepper Directions 1. Boil potatoes until fork tender. Drain. 2. Toss with oil, salt, and pepper. 3. Press flat with the bottom of a glass. 4. Bake in a 400 degree oven about 30 minutes or until desired crispiness is reached.

UNion Rings

Thank you, Rachael Ray.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs
2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced
Salt
3 Large Onions, peeled and halved crosswise
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
3/4 Cup Filtered Water
2 Tbsp Butter

Directions

1.  Mix panko, garlic, and salt.

2.  Place onions flat side down in a skillet.  Add broth and water.  Partially cover and cook over medium-high heat for 20 minutes.

3.  Flip, add some butter on top, top onions with panko mixture and then dot with butter again.  Set skillet on lowest level in the oven and broil until golden.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Red Sauce

We try to avoid gluten around here whenever we can, and this makes a delicious alternative to pasta when you're craving spaghetti.  I like to serve it with rich, meaty spaghetti sauce.  I was shocked the first time I made this that everyone in the family not only ate it, but went back for seconds!

Ingredients

1 Spaghetti Squash, halved and cleaned out
Olive Oil
Minced Garlic (I like the crushed garlic in a jar at Trader Joe's)
Salt
Pepper

Directions

1.  Brush the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper all over the flesh of the squash. 

2.  Set your two squash halves in a pan with the flesh side up and roast in a 400 degree oven for about an hour or until the flesh is tender.

3.  When it's done roasting, use a fork to pull out the strands of "spaghetti." 

Serve with spaghetti sauce.

Crock Pot Refried Beans

These are delicious and so easy! Fajita night just isn't complete without them...

I found this recipe at 100 Days of Real Food and tweaked it just a little bit.

Ingredients

2 Cups Dry Pinto Beans, rinsed
1 Onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 Jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
2 Cups Chicken Stock
4 Cups Filtered Water

Directions

1. Soak beans overnight.

2. In the morning, rinse the beans and add them to your crock pot with all of the ingredients.

3. Cook on high for eight hours.

4. Depending on how much liquid remains, you may need to drain the beans. I've found that you want a little liquid to remain so you can get the right consistency. Mash the beans with a potato masher.

Serve with shredded cheddar on top.

Mom Tips

* These make great leftovers to dip tortilla chips in for lunch the next day.

* Try this with black beans, or try half and half. Black beans are full of nutrition!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

One word: Delicious.

Ingredients

8 Red Potatoes, with skin, quartered
3-4 Cloves Garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp REAL Butter
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream, room temperature
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Tsp salt

Directions

1. Put potatoes AND garlic in pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and immediately turn down to simmer. Cook until tender. Drain and return to pot.

2. Add butter, cream, cheese, and salt to the potatoes and garlic and mash to your preferred texture.

Mom Tip:

* You can make these as garlicky as you want. I like to cut the cloves in half before I put them in the pot.