Texas Tater Casserole

One of our family's favorite recipes is Texas Tater Casserole. I originally found this recipe in the Betty Crocker Favorite Casseroles recipe booklet from September 1999, #154. A slight variation of the booklet's recipe can also be found online at the Betty Crocker website by clicking HERE.

This casserole is yummy and pretty easy to make.

Cook ground beef, chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a skillet until beef is brown. The original recipe calls for chopped celery. I usually just leave that ingredient out. But when I made this casserole last night, I used chopped red bell pepper instead of the celery. By the way, I didn't measure the onions, bell pepper or garlic. But that's okay.

After draining the fat from the ground beef mixture, add cheddar cheese soup, corn, picante sauce, chili powder, and pepper. 

Stir to combine.

Spoon mixture into baking dish.

Top with your favorite tater tots and bake in a 375° oven for 40 minutes. The original recipe calls for a 16 ounce bag of tater tots, but I use a 32 ounce bag.

When the timer goes off, take the casserole out of the oven,

and sprinkle with Pepper Jack cheese. I also didn't measure the cheese. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, but you can add as much as you like.

Place the casserole back in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbly.

Remove from oven and enjoy!

Texas Tater Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 red bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1 can (11 ounces) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained (I use Green Giant Steam Crisp Mexicorn)
1/2 cup picante sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (32 ounces) frozen potato nuggets (I use Ore-Ida Tater Tots)
1/2 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese (of course, you can use as much cheese as you like)

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook ground beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic in large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Stir occasionally and cook until beef is brown. Drain.

Stir soup, corn, picante sauce, chili powder, and pepper into beef mixture. Spoon into ungreased 13" x 9" casserole dish. Top with frozen potato nuggets.

Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

6 servings

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker Favorite Casseroles Recipe Booklet September 1999, #154.

Thanks for reading!

© 2016 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Chicken Spaghetti Olé

This recipe has become a new family favorite. It's called Chicken Spaghetti Olé. Actually, maybe I should call it Chicken Vermicelli Olé because I use vermicelli instead of spaghetti when I make this dish. I've also changed a couple other ingredients from the original recipe too. It's pretty simple to make and delicious. I hope you enjoy it!



As I mentioned, I've changed a couple of the ingredients in this recipe. Instead of using a 10-oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chiles called for in the original recipe, I use a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes and a 7 oz. can of diced green chiles.



I also don't include the celery called for in the original recipe. Instead I just sauté chopped onion and bell peppers.



This is what the dish looks like after adding all of the ingredients except for the vermicelli and chicken.



At this point, add the vermicelli and chicken into the sauce.



Here we are. All of the ingredients have been combined.



Spoon the combined ingredients into a greased baking dish and put it into a preheated 350° oven.



Here it is! Out of the oven and ready to enjoy!




RECIPE

Chicken Spaghetti Olé

Ingredients

6 ounces uncooked vermicelli
1 tablespoon butter
1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 can (7 ounces) diced green chiles
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 package (8 ounces) process cheese spread loaf, cut into cubes (Velveeta)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 cups diced cooked chicken
Sliced jalapeno chilies, if desired

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Cook and drain vermicelli as directed on package.

2. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook bell pepper and onion in butter, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in tomatoes, diced green chiles, tomato sauce, cheese, salt and pepper; reduce heat to low. Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.

3. Stir in chicken and vermicelli. Spoon into baking dish. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until bubbly around edges. Top with chiles. 6 servings.

Adapted from Betty Crocker's Chicken Spaghetti Olé originally found in Betty Crocker’s Favorite Casseroles Booklet September 1999 .

This recipe is also online. To see the original recipe for Betty Crocker's Chicken Spaghetti Olé, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved