When I read Joy Neal Kidney’s post Ruby Neal’s Tater Tot Casserole I got it in my head that I had to make it. I live in the south eastern United State in the southern state of Georgia. Until I read Joy’s blog post I had never even heard of a Tater Tot Casserole (in some parts of the U. S. a casserole is known as a Hot Dish.)

I am a fan of Tater Tots and usually have a bag in my freezer but I was out of them. I made a trip to my favorite Public grocery store and went straight to the frozen potato section of the store. Much to my surprise the shelves where the Tater Tots should be were empty except for a few bags of Star Tater Tots. There was another shopper staring at the empty shelves. We had a short discussion about the situation. In the end he bought a bag of the Star Tots. I decided to go back another day for the original log shaped Tots.

The next afternoon I returned to the store, went back to the frozen potatoes and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw there were still out of Tater Tots! As I was pushing my shopping cart to another aisle a helpful Publix employee asked me if I found everything I needed. I told her they were out of Tater Tots.

She was surprised to hear that. She said “I work in a different department but I will find someone who can check to see if we have any in stock.”

About that time another employee who worked in the freezer department was walking by. She asked him to see if there were any Tater Tots available. He went with me to the empty shelves and did a search on his phone. He looked at me and said “We have a shipment coming tomorrow afternoon.”

I was still standing in front of the freezer when the first employee came up to check on things. We started talking about Tater Tot casseroles and I told her I wasn’t sure if the Star Tater Tots would be good.

A third Publix employee overheard our conversation and walked up to us to join us in staring at the empty freezer shelves. She said “I made a Tater Tot Casserole with the Star Tots and it was good.”

I made the casserole the next night. I made a few tweaks to the recipe from Joy’s post. Many thanks to Joy for the inspiration for this post and to Joy’s grandma Ruby Neal for the inspiration for this recipe.

Wandering Dawgs Tater Tot Casserole

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, shopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup beef stock
• 1 – 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• Tater Tots

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350. Brown ground beef in large skillet, stir in onion, garlic, and carrot about 5 minutes, Drain excess fat, reserving about 2 tablespoons. Stir in flour for a couple of minutes, then gradually stir in milk and beef stock. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Cook until sauce starts to thicken. If too thick, add a little more beef stock. Stir in frozen peas and frozen corn. Pour into 9×9 inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Arrange Tater Tots to cover the top of the casserole. Cook in preheated oven 25 -30 minutes until bubbly and Tots are golden brown.

Henry and I both gave the dish two thumbs up! I think the stars made it more festive and fun.

Publix advertises their stores as “Publix: Where Shopping is a Pleasure.” I’ve always had excellent customer service at this store but having three employees helping me went above and beyond customer service.

Shared with John’s Cellpic Sunday