Interlude: Cowboy Casserole

 

I really had no idea how to plate this meal so it would look logical, let alone be logical, but here we are. I've photographed an entire casserole, but I did not eat an entire casserole; about 1/4 of this casserole is plenty for me. This is cowboy casserole (recipe from Dill and Thyme) with a sort of Southwest salad using leftover southwest ranch as the dressing for romaine, cherry tomatoes, red onion, black olives, and avocado.

The casserole is a variation on tater tot casserole; I did not understand why it was so complicated (there was a ton of add this, then cook for 4-5 minutes, then add that, and cook for 4-5 minutes, and then you bake it for 40 minutes, so it took a really long time to make). If I make it again I would try to simplify it. But it was pretty tasty! I don't know where one would get pea protein crumbles, so I used TVP, and I measured an appropriate amount of water so I wouldn't need to drain it. Even though I cut the recipe in half, I still opened two cans of beans (pinto and kidney) because, well, I decided I deserved not to have to choose. (There will be beans in my near future, but I regret nothing.)

The tater tots, meanwhile, did not brown, probably because I followed the directions--they were never going to brown covered in foil and baking at 350. I cranked the oven up to 425 at the end and had the foil off, but it still ended up kind of on the light side. Oh, well. It was still tasty!