Chili-Cheese-Potato Tot Casserole

Prep: 10 min., Cook: 10 min., Bake: 1 hr. The chili starter contains beans, chili powder, cumin, garlic, onion, and oregano, packing lots of flavor and keeping the ingredients list short.

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2  pounds  lean ground beef
• 1  onion, chopped
• 2  (15 1/2-oz.) cans chili starter
• 1  (14 1/2-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1  (11-oz.) can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, rinsed and drained
• 1  (8-oz.) package reduced-fat shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend
• 1  (32-oz.) package frozen potato tots
• 1/4  cup  pickled sliced jalapeño peppers or 2 fresh jalapeño peppers, sliced

Preparation

1. Cook ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain well, and return to skillet. Stir in chili starter, tomatoes, and corn.

2. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with cheese; top evenly with tots.

3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until tots are golden. Top with jalapeño slices.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Bush's Chili Magic Chili Starter Traditional Recipe and Ore-Ida Tater Tots. To kick up the flavor, substitute 1 (14 1/2-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes with jalapeños for petite diced tomatoes.