Broccoli, Beef & Tater Tot Hotdish

Hello, Midwesterner Here.

Tips for making this better and not making a big mess:

No Cheese, milk, or cornstarch. This is the number 1 tip since the cheese
a) Boiled over the pan
b) Ruins the taste of the traditional hot dish
c) Boiled into the oven

Instead, bake the broccoli, add corn, peas, and carrots with the beef and onion, add plain cheese if you want a cheesy taste, otherwise, try using a nice canned soup and some extra spices (onion soup mix or otherwise).

The end result after following the directions for this dish one for one is a cheesy mess in the oven and on the stovetop and a soggy bland dinner. Just because the midwest is white doesn't mean we need to settle for bland food.

Very helpful if you are on a diet though, due to the lack of edible-ness.

I really wanted to like this recipe but it was one dimensional. I even made my tater tots from scratch. Maybe adding some cayenne to the meat and some fresh garlic to the dish would help.

This casserole is very good and pretty easy, but it does need time to cook. I made a large salad while the casserole baked. I used olive oil spray and sprinkled the top with pepper and seasoned salt. I used two 12-ounce bags of veggie tots (one broccoli-cheese and one cauliflower-bacon), and both worked well. It makes a lot.

Substituted ground turkey for hamburger and added extra broccoli.

I made this last night for dinner. I'm usually not big on casseroles but I figured my kids would like this. And they did! It was a HUGE hit with the kids. My husband and I thought it was pretty good but the ground beef flavor was kinda bland so when I make it again I might try and spice the meat up some more. I'm not sure what was missing from it but it needed something more.