I Love Me Some Tater Tot Casserole

...but I don't like how it tears up my gut or how bad it is for you. So I came up with my own version of classic tater tot casserole that is a little bit better for my digestive system and a little healthier to boot.

Traditional tater tot casserole has condensed cream of mushroom soup and evaporated milk. Now, I love milk based products they just don't love me. I'm lactose intolerant. That on top of Jeff trying to lose weight right now, I decided to give the traditional recipe a spin. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, made a gravy for the sauce and added some frozen mixed veggies. And guess what...it was SO YUMMY! I have to say I think I may actually like it better than traditional tater tot casserole and its much cheaper too and easier on the salt content. Have you seen what those jars of condensed cream of mushroom soup cost? I usually buy the "Healthy Request" variety. Which is always much more expensive than the regular salt and fat laden version.

So I'll save you the suspense and give you the recipe...

Kristi's Tater Tot Casserole Total Cost: under $4.50 with the cheese, under $4.00 without

1 lb lean ground turkey (I used the 93% lean stuff), $1.98
1/2 a medium onion chopped, nominal (I just bought a 5lb bag of onions for $1.00!!!)
2 cloves garlic chopped, nominal
6 tbsp flour, nominal
2 pkts Sodium Free Chicken Bouillon (I use Herbox), $0.32
1 1/2 C Water, nominal
1 lb potato tots, $1.00 (I bought a 2 lb bag for $2.00 at the commissary)
2 C frozen mixed veggies, $0.50 (this is about half a bag of mixed veggies)
1/2 C shredded 2% cheese (optional), $0.37
Your choice of seasonings, I used Lawry's Seasoned Salt, Garlic Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Thyme and Parsley Flake. I don't measure so don't ask how much I used., nominal

Preheat your oven to 425F

Add a tbsp of olive oil to a skillet and heat on medium. Add your onions and garlic and cook until translucent. Add your ground turkey breast and seasonings and crumble while you cook it.

Once the turkey is almost done, add your flour and chicken bouillon. Cook for a couple of minutes to cook your flour.

Add your frozen mixed veggies and water. Cook until sauce thickens.

Once the sauce thickens add it to your 9x13 baking dish.

Place your potato tots on top of the turkey mixture. Make sure the potato tots are in a single layer.

Place in the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes take out the casserole, sprinkle with cheese and put it back into the oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Let the casserole cool for about 10 minutes prior to serving.

ENJOY!

Note: If you are gluten free/soy free/dairy free, then this recipe can of course be made with gluten free all purpose flour and chicken stock and would be fabulous over brown rice. After you are done cooking the turkey mixture on the stove top, then just take that "turkey gravy" and serve it over brown rice. YUM!