(Kid approved) Turkey & Potato Casserole

“Beef and Potato Casserole” was a staple dish from my childhood. It consists of cooked ground beef, potato tots, cream of mushroom soup, milk, shredded cheese, frozen broccoli, and French fried onions. I love the simplicity of this recipe. Further, it’s quite tasty. It can almost be described as “comforting”. However, I wanted to revise it to be just a bit more healthy. Because I am now a health conscious mom cooking for my own child. So instead of hamburger beef, I use organic ground turkey. And I sneak in a little more veggies than frozen broccoli. (Um…are French fried onions even considered a vegetable?) The best part? My daughter loves this (kid approved) revised beef and potato casserole!

Recipe for (Kid approved) Turkey & Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

1. Ground Turkey (organic)
2. Olive oil to grease pan for ground turkey
3. 18 oz Package of Potato (tater) tots
4. One cup of shredded cheddar cheese plus more to top
5. 1/2 cup of milk of your choice
6. 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
7. Salt and pepper to season
8. Broccoli (frozen or fresh) 16 oz
9. Spinach (frozen or fresh) 3-8oz
10. 8 oz of French fried onions plus more to top

Optional: You can always use ground hamburger instead of turkey. Also, you can use sliced potatoes instead of tater tots if you want to go less processed. Bear in mind, if your child likes certain veggies, you can always sneak them in. For instance, my baby enjoys peas and carrots. So adding a little bit into the mixture would be a good bonus for her. Other suggestions: Mushrooms, green, red, oryellow peppers, green beans, green onions or anything else you can think of! Also frying the meat with chopped onion and garlic.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line the tater tots along a 9×12 casserole dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. You want to bake them so they start to crisp up slightly.

1. While the tator tots are baking, start to fry the meat Grease frying pan with olive oil.
2. Add ground turkey (seasoning with salt and pepper) until lightly browned.

1. If using frozen broccoli or spinach, defrost according to package instructions. Note: Since I don’t use the microwave, I defrosted the vegetables in the fridge overnight. I then added the defrosted veggies to the turkey mixture at the last couple of minutes of frying).

1. Mix browned turkey, broccoli, spinach in a separate medium size bowl.
2. Then add the milk and two cans of cream of soup, along with cheese and mix thoroughly.
3. Mix in 8 oz of the French fried onions.

1. Next, pour in the turkey and veggie mixture onto the tator tots in the casserole dish.
2. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
3. Finally, take out casserole and sprinkle with additional cheese and French fried onions.
4. Then bake for another 5 minutes.

Let casserole sit after removing from oven for about 5 minutes before serving.

What I Love About this Recipe and You will Too

I love this recipe because it’s nostalgic. And I feel will become a staple for my daughter’s childhood food memory as well.

And the fact that you can hide veggies in it is a definite bonus.

Finally, the fact that my daughter loves this recipe is the best part!

What’s more, I’m sure you can freeze it. But honestly, we have never had leftovers of this recipe for longer than two days!

Remember 2 Savor this recipe for sure!