Southwestern Tater Tot Casserole

It feels somewhat strange to post a recipe like this after one about the veggies, but comfort food has a place too!  Also, this is a great recipe for tailgating, picnics, anytime you're on the go.  Make it up ahead and heat it at your destination.  All together it takes about 45 - 50 minutes.

You need:

1# Ground Beef
16oz jar of  Salsa
14oz bag of Southwestern Veggie Blend
8oz  Velveeta Cheese cut in small pieces
30oz bag of tater Tots
2 medium size flour tortillas

Grease two 8" square pans with butter
Arrange tortillas on bottom of pan and about 1 inch up the sides
(Cut to fit)
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet, drain off the fat
Add the salsa and the veggies, mix well
Place the Velveeta on the top of the meat mixture
As the mixture warms, stir in the cheese
Stir often until the cheese is totally melted and mixed in
Pour over tortillas into the pans and level with spatula
Arrange tater tots 1 deep over top of mixture
Cook in 350*F oven for 30 mins
Let set for 10 mins before serving

This is a recipe that is great for tailoring to how you like it.
Line the bottom with tortilla strips instead of tortillas
Use turkey or pork instead of beef
Choose your poison of salsa: mild, medium, hot or "OH NO!" LOL
Use whichever veggies (or none) that you like
EXPERIMENT!  HAVE FUN!

To Cook or Not To Cook (The Veggies, that is)

In a Google+ post by Michelle Mangen yesterday about cauliflower, we kicked back and forth a bit about eating this particular veggie.  In her post she linked to an article about the benefits of raw cauliflower. She had commented about not liking raw cauliflower at all, and that led me to look up a few things about cooking, particularly steaming, veggies versus eating them raw.

Livestrong, the blog partner of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, had this interesting article on the nutritional content of steamed vs raw vegitables.

Basal Science Clarified had this article asking "Are Raw Vegetables Healthier Than Cooked Ones?"

After reading them both, I'm of the opinion that while both ways are good for you, I'm going to stick with steaming things like broccoli and cauliflower.  And pouring a little queso on them too!  ;-)

BTW, you can also follow Michelle on Twitter @mmangen