Variations on the Theme of Tater Tots in the time of COVID

Tater Tot Shepherd Pie

We are all cooking more these days since going out to eat is difficult and since we are spending more time at home.  I am not the greatest cook but I do like to experiment.  I even took a class in cooking with out a recipe.  

One of my family's favorite casseroles is Shepherd Pie.  I started out making it  from a basic recipe. After a while I decided to put my own spin on it. Some people make the pie with lamb but I always use ground beef.  I usually use red or yellow potatoes but this time I used tater tots.   Fresh corn is in season and really good this year so I used fresh corn.

Here is my recipe:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef 80/20
1 medium onion diced finely
2 ears of fresh corn
2 fresh carrots diced finely
1 envelope of brown gravy mix
2 tsps fresh rosemary diced finely
1 tsp fresh thyme diced finely

salt and pepper to taste
If you use potatoes 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes
Tater tots about 1-1 1/2 pounds.  The amount you use depends on how dense you want the potato layer.

1.  Brown the ground beef.
2.  Add onions and carrots to ground beef and mix.
3.  Remove the corn from the ear add to ground beef.
4.  Add spices, salt and pepper to taste.
5.  Add the packet of brown gravy and cook until the beef is browned well.
6.  Pour beef in baking pan.
7.  Place tater tots on top of ground beef
8.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until the tater tots are brown and crispy.

Before I wrap up, here is some interesting Tot Trivia.  Tater tots were developed int the Ore-Ida labs and hit the market in 1953.  The Name means little potato, Tatter for potato and Tot for a little child. Americans eat over 70 million tater tots  year.  February 2 is National Tater Tots day.  
  
I am working on a Tater tot frittata.  If it comes out ok, I will share it with you. Until then eat some Tater tots.  They are so good.

Traditional Shepherd P