Taco Tater Tot Bake ****

I. am. in. love.  Deeply.  This recipe went way beyond what I expected.  My kids had THIRDS.  That's right, even the scrawny one who rarely even finishes one helping.  Granted, they were small helpings, since I assumed they wouldn't eat much, and they had just finished swimming and were famished...  But still, they raved about this.  They've already requested that I make it again next week.  The only change I made was to use ground turkey, as usual.  I'm a tater-tot-aholic, so I was fairly certain I'd like this one from the get-go.  I just had no idea how much.  It has a longer cook time than I like on a weeknight, but you could cook the ground beef and mix up everything but the tots the night before.  That would save a lot of time.  All I'd have to do when I got home from work was throw in the tots and toss that bad boy in the oven.  I absolutely this recipe!

TACO TATER TOT BAKE

(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ BlogChef)

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion (diced)

1 garlic clove (minced)

1 small can black olives (sliced)

1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

1 (16 ounce) bag frozen corn

1 (4 ounce) can green chilies (diced and drained)

1 (12 ounce) can black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 (16 ounce) bag shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 (16 ounce) package frozen tater tots

1 (10.5 ounce fluid ounce) can enchilada sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat a skillet to medium high heat. Add ground beef, garlic, and onion and cook while breaking the meat apart with a spoon or spatula until the ground beef is completely browned. Drain off any excess fat. Add taco seasoning mix, green chilies, frozen corn, and black beans to the ground beef. Cook until heated through.

In a large bowl combine ground beef mixture, 3/4 of the Mexican cheese blend, and all of the tater tots. Stir well to combine.

Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish and lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tots.

Place into the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. During the last few minutes of baking, top the casserole with the remaining Mexican cheese blend and the sliced black olives. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

(Makes 6 Servings)