Pandemic recipe-sharing: This tater tot casserole has everything you could want

Our plea for new recipes to try during the pandemic was heard loud and clear. Thank you to the readers who reached out to share their favorites. We’ll share their recipes in the coming weeks, and hopefully just a few months, until the pandemic is under control.

The first offering comes from Mara Aditajs and her Colonial Shepherd’s Pie. She notes the name of the recipe comes from the tater tots in the casserole, because “We all know Tater Tots were invented by the Yanks!” she said via email.

Indeed.

Mashed potatoes can be a pain to make if you’re mashing by hand, so this recipe goes the easy and delicious route with the tots. Aditajs’ recipe is based on a recipe from Food.com. Aditajs’ version hasn’t changed in years.

She credits “The Frugal Gourmet” on PBS for teaching her how to cook.

“I don’t consider myself an original recipe cook, but a good basic family cook,” Aditajs said. “I scour cook books and now the Internet for great recipes that I know my family will like.”

Now let’s turn to that casserole. It’s not difficult to make and it’s delicious. What more could you want in some winter-time comfort food? Aditajs and her family call it the “grandaddy of casseroles” because it has almost every ingredient from every common casserole rolled into one.

And the leftovers, she promises, are delicious.

Thank you for your the submission, Mara! If you have your own recipe to share, check the note at the bottom of the story. For now, let’s get to the good stuff.

Colonial Shepherd’s Pie

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Ingredients:

▪ 1 pound ground beef

▪ 1 pound ground lamb

▪ 1⁄4 cup vegetable or olive oil

▪ 1 packet Lipton Onion Soup mix

▪ 1 large yellow onion, diced

▪ 3 cloves garlic, minced

▪ 2 cans cream of celery soup

▪ 16-ounce package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

▪ 2 tablespoons tomato paste

▪ One 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms, undrained

▪ 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

▪ 2 cups shredded cheese blend, Italian

▪ 32-ounce bag tater tots

Directions

▪ Preheat oven to 350°F and liberally spray a 4-quart glass casserole dish with cooking spray.

▪ In a large saute pan, brown ground beef and lamb on medium high heat in oil. Add diced onion. Cook until meat is no longer pink and onions are translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for two minutes, careful not to let garlic burn. Turn off heat and drain pan of grease.

▪ Add onion soup mix, celery soup, mixed vegetables, mushrooms, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce to pan. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and heat until just simmering.

▪ Pour contents from pan into casserole dish.

▪ Cover with 1 cup of shredded cheese.

▪ Distribute all of the tater tots over the entire casserole.

▪ Sprinkle the remaining cup of shredded cheese over the top.

▪ Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour or until golden & bubbly.

▪ Allow casserole to set up for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Submit your recipe

You can send your recipe to jpatrick@sacbee.com. Please tell us a little story about what you’ve been making and why it’s such a hit.

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 11:23 AM.