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Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Upside Down Tater Totchos with Homemade Guacamole

This is an original recipe from Recipes Are Guidelines! I made this one up myself. It came about one night when I was preparing to make Tater Tot Casserole and realized I only had tater tots, onions, and ground beef. I decided to make nachos instead but realized I didn't have any chips. So I combined the two with nacho ingredients on the bottom, tater tots and cheese on top, and dubbed it Upside Down Tater Totchos. Yum.

If you have a lot of vegetables you need to use up - whether fresh, frozen, or canned - this is a great recipe to dump them into. You'll see me do just that! You'll also see how incredibly simple it is to make your own guacamole. In fact, it only uses two ingredients!


Final Star Rating
Taste: **** (4 stars - I've impressed myself)
Texture: **** (4 stars - I've impressed myself)
Easy to Make: **** (4 stars - I've impressed myself)
Overall Rating: **** (4 stars - I've impressed myself)


Upside Down Tater Totchos with Homemade Guacamole
Serves 8 

Totchos
2 tbsp chili-pepper infused olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef (or any ground meat)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning
16 oz (2 cups) black bean and corn salsa (or your favorite salsa)
1 (15 oz) can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
1 pint halved cherry tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can no salt added beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can chopped olives, drained and rinsed
1 (8 oz) pkg 2% shredded cheese
1 (2lb) bag tater tots
Optional: additional cheese for topping

Homemade Guacamole
3 ripe avocados
1 cup salsa


  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray 11x7 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. 
  2. To make the totcho base, drizzle flavored olive oil into skillet. Add ground beef, onion, and green pepper. Brown meat over medium-high heat until cooked through. 
  3. Add salsa, garlic powder, and Mrs. Dash. Stir well to combine. Add corn, tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes. Stir again. 
  4. Drain and rinse the beans and olives. Add to skillet and stir gently as skillet will be full. Let simmer on stovetop over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
  5. Remove skillet from heat and pour contents into prepared baking dish. Spread evenly into pan. Sprinkle with cheese. 
  6. Add tater tots on top of totchos, and spread tots out into even layer. These are your "chips."
  7. Put into preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until tots are browned and crispy. 
  8. While the totchos are baking, make your very simple, homemade guacamole: cut avocados in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seed and remove the skin. Put avocado in bowl with 1 cup salsa. Smash avocados and salsa together with a fork, stirring as you go. Cover guacamole and refrigerate until ready to use. 
  9. When totchos have 5 minutes left on timer, remove from oven, and sprinkle with cheese (if desired). Put back in oven to bake and melt cheese for remaining 5 minutes. 
  10. When done baking, let totchos cool on counter for 5-10 minutes. Slice into 8 squares, top with homemade guacamole, and enjoy!

Source: This is an original from Recipes Are Guidelines.

I completely forgot to add the guacamole. 


Notes for Next Time: This is one of those recipes where you can dump any vegetables (fresh, frozen, or canned) you are looking to use up. As you can see, it has a TON of vegetables in my recipe, which makes this a high fiber meal. It's also high fat and high carb. Because of the meat, cheese, AND beans, this is also a protein-loaded meal. Basically, this recipe is high in everything. I'm a dietitian. 

The nice thing about this recipe is the versatility. You can use any kind of meat you have available. Leftover chicken or turkey or even hamburgers can save you a step! You can use any kind of salsa you enjoy eating. As I've mentioned before, black bean and corn salsa is my favorite, and primarily my only salsa. 

Who knew making your own guacamole could be so simple? I am certain I am not the only person to figure out the "cheater's way" for a quick guac, but I'm going to pretend I did. 

Another nice thing about this recipe: you just pour everything into a skillet, stir it around for a bit, then pour everything into a baking dish. Simple! I don't eat this one very often because it makes such a huge quantity, but I look forward to eating it when I do! I hope you do as well. But don't touch these ones because they're mine. 



Check out how I made this recipe and homemade guacamole below 👇

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