Reunion Casserole with Asiago Tater Tots

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? – March 11, 2011

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of it, please click here.

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of the Reunion Casserole recipe ONLY, please click here.

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of the Asiago Tater Tots recipe ONLY, please click here.

Reunion Casserole recipe originally published by Simple and Delicious – December/January 2011

Asiago Tater Tots recipe originally published by Every Day with Rachael Ray – February 2011

At some point, I realized that I need to make more meals instead of single dishes.  Part of the issue is that I have a couple of stand-by side dishes that I always go back to.  Not that they are bad, just unimaginative.  The other is that I’m making a lot of casseroles.  Casseroles have everything in one dish which is sort of the appeal.

Then I came upon this recipe for the Asiago Tater Tots.  I love a good tot (who doesn’t), but it isn’t like you can make a meal out of them.  Well I actually had a boyfriend who would make entire bags of them and eat them out of a bowl with an oversized spoon… but he was an idiot, so that doesn’t count.

So I had to find a recipe that would work with the tots.  I could have gone the hamburger/hot dog route but when I read this recipe, it reminded me of a fancy sloppy joe, with pasta for the carbs instead of bread.  I knew it would be a hit.

© You Want Me to Cook?
Reunion Casserole with Asiago Tater Tots

Visually, I’m disappointed with the meal.  It is so brown.  Separately, I can’t complain.  The casserole looks hearty and yummy.  It could have a little more color, but it still smelled fantastic.  The tater tots turned out even better than I thought they ever would.  Golden brown and crisp, I couldn’t wait to eat them.

Sausage, Rice & Beans

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – January 5, 2011

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of it, please click here.

Recipe originally published in Pillsbury, December 2010.

I am always looking for alternatives to pasta.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE pasta, but sometimes I just want something a little different.  At first, I thought this was going to make a nice side, but figured the beans and sausage gave it a little more of a meal quality.  Still, I wasn’t sure, so I made it the same day I made another dish “just in case”.  What I stumbled on was a perfect casserole dish, similar to a “bowl” dish with potatoes, meat and cheese, but healthier.

My finished product: © You Want Me to Cook?

Picture published with recipe: © Pillsbury

The dishes looked the same, although mine had a little more liquid to it.  I probably could have let it cook longer, but I got impatient.  Still, I think that added something to the dish.  It wasn’t dry.  It was more like a sauce with sausage.  The taste was incredible.  The garlic kielbasa with the beans combined well with the creamy sweet corn.  Yes, we ate this as a meal, not as a side.