It's Thanksgiving week, and every year I'm deeply invested in preparing a traditional turkey dinner with all sorts of sides. My children and their spouses have been gradually taking on making side dishes and desserts so I don't spend as much time in the kitchen that morning, but it's still dizzying for them to watch me buzzing about. And to me that's okay, because it's one of those rare times these days when we're all in the same place enjoying good food and good company.
But that's still a few days off. In the meantime we still gotta eat, you know? And what better way than to make a casserole that has enough servings to hold us over until the big day. This one stood out to me for a couple of reasons. First, it has tater tots and cheese... and who doesn't like those? And two, it uses a soft drink (Dr Pepper) as a major ingredient, and that to me just sounds like it's going to be a fun meal. I've used soft drinks for cooking only a couple of times before (here and here) and the results were pretty good, so I figured "why not?"
I did make a couple of minor adjustments to this recipe to bring it up to a full 8 servings in a 9 x 13 dish, which is pretty much the standard I follow for casseroles I post here.
Adapted from This Is Not Diet Food
A hearty dish combining pork, Dr Pepper, and barbecue sauce to give a savory flavor, and topped with tater tots and cheese to round out the taste.
Adapted from This Is Not Diet Food
Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray the inside of a 9 x 13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large skillet, cook the ground pork and onion 7-10 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking the meat into crumbles as it cooks. Drain off excess grease.
Add the Dr Pepper, barbecue sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Continue to cook uncovered at a boil for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, letting the sauce thicken.
Remove the skillet from heat. Add the French fried onions and frozen peas, and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and spread evenly.
Sprinkle half of each cheese evenly over the meat mixture. Arrange tater tots in a single layer over the cheese.
Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until the tater tots are golden brown. Remove from the oven, sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the tater tots, and return to the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Remove and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Servings 8
Serving Size approx 2 cups
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.