You Liked These As An Appetizer, Now Love Them As A Casserole!

If you would like to turn this into a more substantial entrée, just add protein to it. Ground beef, or ground sausage, browned and well-drained of grease could be folded into the dip ingredients and spread over the tater tots. Shredded chicken or pork would be scrumptious!

If you want to make the dip portion the day before, to save time the day of your party, you can easily do that. Just refrigerate it and bake it right before you are ready to serve. This recipe makes a big 9×13 casserole. If you don’t need that much, cut all ingredient quantities in half, use an 8×8 casserole dish and cook for the same amount of time as listed in this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese, softened to room temperature.

1 cup sour cream

2 cups Mexican Cheddar Jack (blend) Shredded Cheese, divided

1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

6 Jalapeno peppers, deseeded and diced

1-2 lb. bag of tater tots

6 green onions, thinly sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a casserole dish with tater tots. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes.

While the tater tots are baking, cook bacon, blot fat away, and crumble into small pieces. Dice the peppers and slice the onions.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, 1½ cups of Cheddar jack cheese, bacon (save a little bit for the topping), diced Jalapeno peppers, and most of the sliced onions (save a few for the top). Stir to thoroughly combine ingredients.

Spread the jalapeno mixture over the top of the tater tots.

Top with remaining ½ cup of cheese. Sprinkle the extra bacon pieces and onion slices over the top.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes.

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Quick Tip: If you don’t want this casserole too spicy, make sure that you remove all of the seeds from the jalapeno peppers before dicing them. Also, wearing rubber gloves is recommended when working with hot peppers. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling them, as caustic oils can remain on your skin and burn your eyes if you forget and touch your eyes with unwashed hands.

Recipe and image courtesy of Alea at Premeditated Leftovers

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