Mexican Tater Tot Casserole

I'm always excited when a new recipe is a "keeper"! I found this on Allrecipes.com, and changed it around to suit our taste. I'm a vegetarian, so I realize that you may be puzzled by the ingredient called "Crumbles". They're a meatless alternative that looks a lot like browned ground beef. They really just add texture and they take on the flavor of whatever you put them into. If you're interested, check them out in the frozen food section - they come in a bag that's equal to a pound of browned ground beef.I use Crumbles for everything you would put browned ground beef into- nachos, homemade veggie soup, spaghetti, chili, lasagna. One Super Bowl Sunday, I made a big pot of chili with them and Trevor's friends each scarfed down two bowls! Hmmm...maybe that's due to the bottle of beer I use in my chili, LOL.

Anyway, this is easy, fast and yummy (but it's not health food, LOL). I served it with a plop of lowfat sour cream on the side. Just thought I'd share...

Mexican Tater Tot Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 pound Crumbles
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 (16 ounce) bag frozen style corn
• 1 (12 ounce) can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (12 ounce) bag shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen tater tots
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can green enchilada sauce

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Add the onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, frozen corn, and black beans to the crumbles in a pan; cook and stir about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Combine the crumbles mixture in a large bowl with about 3/4 of the Mexican cheese blend and the tater tots; stir to combine.

4. Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish; lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tot layer.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining Mexican cheese over the casserole and return to oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 minutes more.

You can sub in a pound of browned ground beef, but you really do owe it to yourself to give Crumbles a try.
YUM, I LOVE this recipe!! Need to make this again, SOON!