Comfort Food - Tator Tot Casserole

Well we are finally moved and have mostly settled into our new home.  I. Hate. Moving.  It makes me crazy.  Not just the normal crazy.  Certifiable, over the edge, impossible to live with CRAZY.  Needless to say nothing else gets done until I am settle and most things are where they belong.  Most importantly, the kitchen needs to be unpacked and functional before I can even begin to consider settling down.  And this is why there have been no posts for over a month.  Plus if I had posted anything during this time it would have proven just how crazy I am and those who have wanted to have me committed for years would have had proof they needed to FINALLY do so. Anyway.....moving on....

One thing that is always welcome is comfort food.  Quite often though comfort food is so full of mouth watering, deliciously heavy ingredients we hesitate to make it.  So, I decided that I needed, okay wanted, something that was warm and comforting but made a little lighter so that I could actually do more than sit around after eating. 

By using 98% fat free cream of chicken soup (yes I used canned soup, it happens, get over it) you have almost half the calories, and quarter of the fat  and less sodium than if you used the original version.  Using light sour cream cuts the calories by a third and the fat in half.  If you use fat free sour cream the calories are less than half and no fat at all.  Using ground turkey breast instead of ground beef (15%) cuts half the calories and the fat is cut from 17 grams of fat (7 grams saturated fat) per serving to 1.5 grams of fat (no saturated fat) per serving.  Then there is the cheese.  Well sorry folks I don't use low fat cheese.  Hate the taste, doesn't melt properly and just generally not worth it.  If you want to cut down on the amount of cheese that works but I have my limits and low fat cheese just not worth it in my opinion.  If it helps you can use Parmesan for part of the cheese, it adds a lot of flavor and you can use considerably less.  have fun with it, enjoy, relax....be comforted.  Life is crazy but dinner can be easy and relaxing. 

Paired this with a salad or a nice big serving of broccoli and life is good.

Turkey Tator Tot Casserole

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey or chicken

1 cup chopped red onion

1 can 98% fat free cream chicken soup

1 cup light or fat free sour cream

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 lbs bag tator tots

3 green onions, chopped       

Preheat oven to 400.  Pray 9x13 baking pan with nonstick spray.

Brown the  turkey in a skillet with a little canola oil.  Season lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  When turkey is cooked about halfway through add the chopped onions and continue cooking.  Pour into the bottom of the prepared 9x13 pan.

In a bowl combine the cream of chicken soup and  sour cream.  Pour mixture over meat and gently spread to cover the meat.  Sprinkle half of the cheese of the sour cream mixture. 

Cover the cheese with Tator tots. Cover as completely as possible so that you have almost none of the cheese layer showing through.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and green onions.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.