Tater-Tot Casserole My Way

I found a great recipe last week for tater-tot casserole and it looked great.  As I looked at the ingredient list I realized it would require a lot of shopping and a major part of the list was vegan versions of regular food products.  Some times vegan replacements are just as processed as the junk I try to avoid in the first place.  So I decided that I would make my own version! I took a few ideas and concepts from a few different recipes.  I introduce to a trial version of Rachel's Tater-Tot Casserole!

What you'll need:

1 12oz bag of meat replacement crumbles 

1lb bag of frozen veggies 

1lb bag of Frozen tater-tots

1/3 cup of hot sauce or BBQ sauce

* Shredded Cheese (optional, could be vegan)

Yep thats really it! Just those few ingredients and it only took a a few minutes of prep and then it was in the oven and ready to eat soon!  As far as what I used in the recipe I learned after I made it what would have made it better.  I used a bag of peas, carrots, and corn.  I thought it was a great mix and worked well, but you could use other foods you might enjoy more.  I used Morning Star "Meat" crumbles.  For the tater-tots I used Alexia "Potato Puffs".  They were seasoned with black pepper which I didn't know until looking at the package after I opened it.  That was ok but I guess it wasn't best for the recipe.  I chose that brand of potato because when I looked at some of the other name brands they all had HFCS or Dextrose in them.  I just want potato in tot for but I guess some companies want to add more flavor.  If  you are really strict in your vegan ways then I suggest reading the labels or making your own version or tater-tots! (go on, get risky and try it!)  I used Frank's Hot Sauce for the meat and it was great! It gave the recipe a buffalo flavor and I really enjoyed the spice.

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350

Mix the meat replacement crumbles and veggies in a bowl with the sauce of your choice

Spread that on the bottom of the baking dish (This is your base)

On top add the tater-tots and cheese if you wish

Bake for 25-30 min at 350

I think the recipe was ok, but I am not in love with it.  I want to go back and maybe try it again with some tweaks.  Maybe I shouldn't be going out on a limb and trying my own concoctions :p but maybe you can try it and enjoy it! I used a little bit of sour cream on top when I served it and that was a huge help with the flavor.

Hope you enjoy it :) 

Happy Munching