★★ Tater Tot Chili Cheese Hotdish

Tater Tot Chili Cheese Hotdish

Want something hearty and filling and something that will feed the whole family? Then you have to give my tater tot chili cheese hot dish a try! It’s a simple chili topped with cheddar cheese and tater tots. It all comes together in one pan and serves a crowd!

 #Tater #Tot #Chili #Cheese #Hotdish

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons EACH: olive oil AND tomato paste
• 1 pound lean ground beef (90%)
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, chopped
• 1-3 jalapeños, seed removed + minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons EACH: chili powder AND ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped
• ¼ cup hot sauce (such as Louisiana)
• 1 (15-ounce) can chili beans, undrained
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 (30-ounce) bag crowns or tater tots
• Chopped scallions + sour cream for serving

Directions:

1. PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF.  
2. BROWN: Heat a large, oven-safe skillet or 3-4 quart dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil and the ground beef and using a wooden spoon crumble the beef until it cooks; about 4-5 minutes. Season with a big pinch of salt and black pepper. 
3. CHILI: Lower the heat to medium, add the onions, poblanos, and jalapeños and continue to cook until the veggies soften about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika and continue to cook for a few seconds so the spices heat through. Add the tomato paste, chipotle peppers, hot sauce, and chili beans and allow the chili to start bubbling before lowering the heat to low and letting it simmer for 10 minutes. If the chili starts drying out too much, add up to ¼ cup of water.
4. BAKE: If you’ve got an oven-safe skillet you can bake the hotdish directly in the skillet/dutch oven. If not, I suggest transferring the chili mixture to a large oven-safe baking dish. Top with the cheese and line up the tater tots as desired. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until the tater tots cook through. Serve with chopped scallions and sour cream!

Notes:

For the chili powder you can use something like ancho, chipotle, a mild chili powder, or a Mexican chili powder blend. All will work here!
As far as the tater tots are concerned, how many you will end up using depends on the size of your pan! You may or may not need all of them. You just need to make an even layer across the dish. But seriously, more tater tots is never a bad thing

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