This is a casserole that my husband really appreciates, and I love to make it when I have a little extra time to prepare it. My daughter Kailey loves to cook and this is also one of her specialties. It is worth sourcing good quality ingredients and making this from scratch so you will be able to enjoy this meal and still feel great. I like to plan ahead and make a large batch of mashed potatoes the day before I make this casserole and use the leftovers to make the tater puffs. I also make a chicken in the crock pot or in a stock pot a day or two before so I have nutrient dense chicken stock.

Tater Puff Casserole

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Ingredients

  

• 1 pound pasture raised hamburger
• 1/2 organic onion Fresh green onions are excellent to add as well
• 1/4 cup fresh organic mushrooms 2 Tbsp. dried mushrooms can be substituted
• 2 cloves organic garlic
• 2 cups organic cooked green beans
• 1/2 cup organic flour I use arrowroot powder because of food allergies, but any flour will work. Most recipes would use an all purpose flour.
• 1 cup organic chicken broth
• 1 cup pastured organic cream
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• For the Tater Puffs
• 3 cups cold organic mashed potatoes (leftover work great)
• 2 pastured eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tbsp garlic optional
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp onion powder optional
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. parsley optional
• pastured lard for frying

Instructions

 

• Start browning the hamburger and then chop the onion and prepare the fresh garlic. Add the onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and mushrooms to the hamburger and finish cooking. Do not strain the grease. If your hamburger is very lean you will want to add about 1/4 cup of fat (pastured butter works nice). Then add the flour and give it a good whisk. Have your cream and chicken stock measured and ready while the hamburger is browning, and after the flour is incorporated, add it to the pan. Basically you are making your cream of mushroom soup that most of us used to buy in a can. After you add the liquid ingredients, you will want to bring this all up to a boil and stir until it thickens. Once you have your mixture thick, go ahead and add the cooked green beans (if using canned you don't need to cook them). If you are good at multitasking start preparing your tater puffs while your hamburger is frying. Once it is thick you can pour this in a medium sized casserole dish.
• To make the tater puffs, get your fat heating first. I use a large stainless steel (nickel free) pot with a long candy thermometer to fry. Be sure to monitor the temperature closely to make sure it stays in the safe range if you use this method. Combine the mashed potatoes, eggs, flour, and preferred seasonings. This should form a nice ball. If it's too sticky add a little more flour and if it doesn't stick you could add a little water. I use my pampered chef medium scoop (but any size should work) to scoop out the potato mix, give it a little press, then drop it into the hot grease. I have a friend (Abby Turner) that sells Pampered Chef if you are in need. 🙂 You could also use your hands to form the balls. After the tater puffs are cooked, at about 375 degrees, for about 3 to 5 minutes, they can be removed and placed on a plate to cool. Salt is sprinkled on top right away.
• Finally add the tater puffs to the top of the casserole and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Sometimes we will add some cheese (whatever I have made), but often we do it without and it tastes great.