WOBAT: White Trash Shepherd's Pie

This is my friend, Chris, from respiratory school.  (We'll get to food in a minute.)  I chose this pic for three reasons. One, because I knew Chris would laugh at having his beach photo splashed on the internet. Two, it's my entry in Sal's, over at Sal's Virtual Tapas Bar's, (joking) reference a few weeks ago to Weekend Beefcake Blogging.  Three, that makes this post a double whammy of weekend blogging: food porn and porn porn, which makes ME laugh.

A few days ago at work, Chris brought in this casserole, that he'd made himself, for his lunch. I gave him so much trouble over this being decidedly unsophisticated. Tater tots?  But here's the rub. Even though I teased him all afternoon, it smelled very homey and delicious.  Then when I made it last night, Gene and both really liked it.  It's simple, quick, and actually pretty good. Kids will love it.  It reminds me of both the French's Fried Onions green bean casserole, that almost everyone I know has on the Thanksgiving table, and traditional Shepherd's Pie. 

I could have called it Chris's Hamburger, Green Bean, and Tater Tot Casserole but that's too accurate and serious. For WOBAT:  Weekend Obnoxious But Amazingly Tasty blogging,  I renamed it to "White Trash Shepherd's Pie" which is basically what it is: ground meat, vegetables, sauce, topped with potatoes. 

To join the round-up on Monday with your own WOBAT find or creation, please send your entries and links to me at:

Marie9949 (at symbol) sbcglobal (dot) net

by 6pm Sunday, Midwest USA time.

Anyone reading this who doesn't have a food blog but wants to enter, just send me the recipe and a photo of the dish and I'll post it on my blog and in the round-up for you.

Chris's Hamburger, Green Bean, and Tater Tot casserole

(By the way, I wonder how many hits I'm going to get off google on the phrase "tater tot" from Perez Hilton fans looking for photos of Britney Spears' baby?)

White Trash Shepherd's Pie

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown/Saute':

1 lb. Extra Lean Ground beef

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 rib celery, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 clove garlic, minced

Add:

1 tsp All purpose seasoning salt or Cavender's Greek Seasoning

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup

1/3 cup milk

1 can Green Beans (or mixed veggies would work well)

Mix thoroughly and place in greased 8"x8" casserole dish.

Top with 1/2 bag tater tots.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and tots are browned and crisp.

Serves 4.

Comments

[Alanna]

I remember this at ** every ** church potluck. So much for "food porn"! And oh you wait to see how your spam / search hits change, esp w presumably w FarmGirl on your blogroll!

[Kalyn]

You'll probably be getting requests for his phone number to go along with the recipe.

[sher]

And you know that Perez Hilton is THRILLED that you mentioned him. Wow, I had no idea Chris was that hot! DAMYUM. I don't like green bean casserole, so I'll think of the dish as a Shepard's Pie.

[ann]

omg i LOVE greenbean casserole! and this version sounds so freakin' awesome, i must try! but i'll wait til fall, sounds like perfect hibernating food!

[Glenna]

Alanna--dang it! And I thought I was getting something new on everyone--maybe it's a Midwest thing...??

Kalyn--Sssshh. He reads this blog and I don't need him getting the big head. He already calls himself Captain Respiratory Man. :-)

Sher-- See above. :-) But yeah, Chris is a cutie, both inside and outside.

Ann-- Yay! A convert! Okay, I forgot to say this in the post but I didn't want to heat up the house by using the oven so I did this in the toaster oven. It worked great. I'm starting to do almost anything in the toaster oven. Except bread if you misjudge the baking rise height. That gets a little ugly so let's speak of it no more.

[Sal DeTraglia]

God! That was a lazy three weeks for me. Sorry for the delay, but when I vacation...my brain takes it very seriously.

First, let me say "Thanks" for keeping the spirit of beefcake blogging alive. I'm it pained you muchly to search for, scrutinize, and ultimately post that photo of Mr. Chris. But, hey...the important things in life often require sacrifices.

Also, let me tell you a story. I was at my parent's house in Chicago during the past three weeks. My mother has a wicker basket sitting on the kitchen countertop in one of the corners where she accumulates photocopies of recipes for seven to twelve years before filing them away. I noticed an oddly familiar printout sitting on the top of her heap. It was your post about "Grilled Peaches and Balsamic Vinegar with Chevre."

The world is a very tiny place.

Mangia!
Sal

[Glenna]

Sal--ohhhhhh if you only knew Chris. My husband refers to him as "the shirtless wonder" because it doesn't take much of a suggestion for him to derobe. And hmmm...it's really not a chore to look at him. :-)))))

Oh thank you so much for sharing that story about your mom. You really made my day! That was sweet of you to tell me!

Kind of freaky, though, huh? Another in the list of "what a small world".