Cheesy Tater Tot Pie

This Cheesy Tater Tot Pie is an easy dinner solution for busy families - with just 5 ingredients, it'll come together in a breeze! And for real.....when is tater tots + cheese a bad thing?? That's what I thought. 😉

When I was little, Mom used to make a casserole with sliced potatoes, a layer of cheesy ground beef, and then topped it with a green bean/cream of mushroom topping. I loved that stuff....us four kids would always fight over who got the most topping. Who knew that green beans + mushroom soup could be the topic of family feud?! 🙂 Now it seems like any time I want to whip up a pan of that casserole, I'm out of potatoes. Well one day, I didn't have any potatoes but realized I did have those crispy potato rounds in the freezer.....you know what I'm talking about....those flattened out round tater tots (like the Potato Oles from Taco Johns, but from the Hy-Vee freezer instead ha!).

Anyway, I used the same concept from the casserole Mom used to make and transformed it into a pie. I love the crispy potato rounds that circle the outside of the pie, the meaty filling, and that same green bean/mushroom soup topping us kids always loved.

Now my kiddo on the other hand, doesn't like green beans. I just don't get it....she will eat Cheerios dipped in yellow mustard and eat cold sauerkraut from the jar, but not green beans. This is just strange to me. But hey I'm a clueless first time parent, so maybe this is normal? 😉

Hopefully she will grow out of her aversion to green beans, because this recipe isn't one I'm willing to say good-bye to! Then again, you've gotta keep the hubby happy and this simple Cheesy Tater Tot Pie does just the trick!

Ingredients
-2 c frozen potato rounds (flat, round style tater tots)
-1 lb ground beef
-1 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided
-1 (14.5 oz) can french-style green beans, drained
-1 (10.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Brown the ground beef and drain the grease.
3. Stir in ½ c cheddar cheese until the cheese is melted and mixed in well; set aside.
4. Spread the potato rounds out in the bottom of a pie plate and up the sides (you may or may not use all 2 cups of potatoes depending on your dish). It doesn't need to be perfect as you'll have a chance to spread them out after the first bake.
5. Bake the potato rounds for 10 minutes.
6. Flatten the potatoes out using the bottom of a glass or measuring cup.
7. Spoon the ground beef mixture into the "crust" and spread out.
8. In a mixing bowl, combine the drained green beans and cream of mushroom soup mix. Spread over the ground beef mixture.
9. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and the cheese is melted.