Made by Laurie: I made this during the pandemic, April 19, 2020. With the discovery of a bag of frozen sweet potato puffs in the freezer, I decided to riff on a recipe from the NY times called "Tater Tot Casserole".

I changed a couple of things: (1) I halved the recipe, and baked it in an 11” by 7” Pyrex dish, which was perfect for two meals for the two of us, plus a tiny bit leftover for a lunch; and (2) I used Alexia (brand) “crispy bite-size sweet potato puffs” (which made it fantastic!) instead of Tater Tots, because I already had sweet potato puffs in the freezer, which is the reason for that serendipitous substitution! 

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For a 4+ servings casserole you will need:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped
• pinches of salt and black pepper
• 3/8 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoons chicken broth
• 1 pound ground beef
• 4 1/2 ounces frozen corn 
• 12 ounces frozen sweet potato puffs
• 1/2 cup (or more!) shredded Cheddar cheese

What to do:

1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Create soup mixture: In a large pot, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Add the chopped carrot, celery, and half the onion. Cook and stir until soft. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute. Add half the milk. Cook and stir until thick. Add the remaining milk. Cook and stir until very thick. Stir in chicken broth. Throughout this recipe, add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into an oven-proof bowl and set aside.
3. Create beef mixture: Use the same large pot over medium-high heat. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter, then add the remaining onion. Cook and stir until soft. Add the ground beef and break it up so you can cook it evenly. Stir in the corn. Drain and discard any excess liquid from the beef mixture.
4. Transfer half the beef mixture to a 7" x 11" glass baking dish and spread it out evenly.
5. Pour and spread half the soup mixture on top.
6. Add the remaining beef mixture on top and spread evenly.
7. Pour and spread the remaining soup mixture on top.
8. Cover with potato puffs.
9. Sprinkle with cheese.
10. Bake until the puffs are golden brown and crispy on top, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly. 

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