This good old family favorite has it’s roots in the Midwest where it is often found at church potlucks. When I was in college, this was a popular dish to make in college apartments since it came together so easily (sometimes using a whole box of Velveeta style cheese to make it extra gooey). This version goes a little further, borrowing some flavors from beef stroganoff and green bean casserole to make a robust, delicious and filling meal for your whole family. Of coarse you can substitute different meat, different soup, and different vegetables but I think this combination has the best flavors.
Lightly grease an 8×12 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside. You could also use a 9×13, this will make more room for tater tots on top, but the casserole will be more spread out and it could dry out a little.
Melt the butter in a skillet and then add the ground beef over medium high heat. Don’t rush it, you want to get some good browning on the ground beef for added flavor.
When the ground beef is about half done, add the onions and cook them with the beef until soft.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Turn off the burner and stir in the Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the soup and sour cream and stir it all together thoroughly.
Put this mixture into the casserole dish and spread it out evenly.
Top with the green beans and season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle 3/4s of the cheddar cheese over the beans.
Finally, top with the tater tots in an even layer and close together. You’ll probably have some leftover.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the tater tots are golden brown. If you’d like to get the tater tots a little browner, you can put it under the broiler but only for a couple minutes otherwise you’ll burn them.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and and put back into the oven for ~5 minutes.
You can make this ahead and refrigerate it. Cover the dish in the refrigerator, and bake it at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
If you would like to freeze it, cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. When you want to bake it, remove the plastic and foil and bake at 400 degrees for ~60 minutes.
