#246 – Tater Taco Casserole & Apple Pecan Pie with Vanilla Sauce

Tater Taco Casserole

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 oz. can diced green chilies
• 1 packaged taco seasoning mix
• 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 12 oz. package frozen corn
• 3 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 28 oz. package frozen tater tots
• 10 oz. can red enchilada sauce
• Toppings: olives, cilantro, sour cream tomatoes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. For extra crispy tater tots, bake tater tots for about 10 minutes while preparing the beef mixture, otherwise prepare as follows. In a large skillet, brown beef and onion; adding garlic towards the end of the browning process; cook for an additional minute and drain if needed. Add the green chilies, taco seasoning, black beans, corn, and 2 cups of cheese. Stir together to combine. Pour meat mixture into the baking dish and top with tater tots. Pour enchilada sauce on top of casserole as evenly as you can. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until tater tots are nice and crispy. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and place back in the oven for 2-3 minutes or until cheese has melted. Top with desired toppings when serving.

Apple Pecan Pie with Vanilla Sauce

• 1 cup apple sauce
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp. corn starch
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 9” pie shell

Crumble Ingredients

• 4 Tbsps. butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon and nutmeg, each

Vanilla Sauce Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tsp. corn starch
• 1 cup cream and milk, each
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly mix pie ingredients together and pour into shell. For crumble, work butter into other ingredients until it forms clumps. Place on top of pie filling. Bake for 50 minutes or until pie is set. Prepare vanilla sauce by whisking egg yolks, vanilla extract and corn starch together. Combine cream, milk and sugar; heat to a simmer. Whisk hot cream/milk into egg mixture in a ten stream. Cook in a double boiler until thickened. Do not let mixture boil or sauce may curdle. Spoon over pie and serve.