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Tater tots are baked until super crispy and then topped with seasoned beef, cheese sauce, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, green onion and crumbled bacon. It’s pure junk food heaven.

INGREDIENTS:
* 1 large bag gluten-free frozen tater tots (get the extra crispy variety if you can find them)
* 3-4 slices bacon
* 1/2 onion, finely chopped
* 1 lb very lean ground beef
* 1 Tablespoon chili powder
* 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* grated cheddar
* salsa
* guacamole
* sour cream
* several green onions, finely chopped

Prepare the tater tots using the oven method instructions on the package. Err on the side of overbaking because you’ll be adding a lot of wet toppings, and you want the tots to remain as crunchy as possible.

While the tater tots are baking, fry the bacon until crisp in a large frying pan. Remove and set aside to cool. Ladle out all but about 1 Tablespoon of the bacon grease. Add the onion to the frying pan and cook over medium heat until softened. Add the beef and stir to mix. Once the beef is no longer pink, add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate and then cook several additional minutes until the flavors have melded and the meat is cooked through.

Once the tater tots have finished baking, use tongs or a spoon to transfer to a large platter or individual plates. Top with the seasoned beef, cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and green onions. Crumble the bacon over the top and serve immediately.

Beef Stroganoff first appeared in Russian cookbooks in the mid 1800s, presumably named for a prominent member of the Stroganoff family. The dish became popular in the U.S. in the 1950s from servicemen returning from Europe and China after WWII.

If you substitute yogurt for the sour cream, use full fat yogurt, and make sure to take the pan off the heat before stirring it in or it may curdle.

70g butter
500g of top sirloin or tenderloin, cut thin
1/3 cup chopped shallots (can substitute onions)
250g button mushrooms, sliced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp of dry tarragon or 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup of sour cream at room temperature

1 Melt half of butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Increase the heat to high/med-high and add the strips of beef. You want to cook the beef quickly, browning on each side, so the temp needs to be high enough to brown the beef, but not so high as to burn the butter. You may need to work in batches. While cooking the beef, sprinkle with some salt and pepper. When both sides are browned, remove the beef to a bowl and set aside.

2 In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the shallots. Cook the shallots for a minute or two, allowing them to soak up any meat drippings. Remove the shallots to the same bowl as the meat and set aside.

3 In the same pan, melt last of the butter. Increase heat to medium high and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. While cooking, sprinkle the nutmeg and the tarragon on the mushrooms.

4 Reduce the heat to low and add the sour cream to the mushrooms. You may want to add a tablespoon or two of water or stock to thin the sauce (or not). Mix in the sour cream thoroughly. Do not let it come to a simmer or boil or the sour cream may curdle. Stir in the beef and shallots. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice.