It seems the world, or at least, the Golden Triangle, has officially switched into “Christmas mode.” Everywhere I go and everything I do, I hear Christmas music playing and see twinkling lights up on housetops.

My diet, however, cannot remain in Christmas mode for the whole month. My husband and I cannot live on sugar plums and sugar cookies and sugar everything. My metabolism can’t keep up. I’m sorry. I’ve tried.

In my old age (23 years), my doctor advises against much sugar consumption. But my doctor would probably also advise against this recipe: Taco Tater Tot Casserole.

Between Christmas parades, Festivals of Trees, Wassail Fest and other events, I was scrolling on TikTok (the most in-between things activity) and saw a home cook named Jess (her TikTok handle is @applesauceandadhd) aggressively making this casserole.

When I say aggressively, I mean Jess was yelling at the camera the entire time. But she seemed to be using ingredients a real person would use in their casserole, rather than fancy ingredients. She also just seemed to have strong feelings about tots, which mesmerized me.

When Jess’s video about Taco Tater Tot Casserole was over, I thought a dangerous thought that seems to be inherent in Sipe women: I could do that.

It’s a phrase that either leads to near-miracles or disasters.

So let me set the scene of what my husband, Hunter, walked into a few hours later: A blonde woman stands in front of her stove over a pan filled with ground beef, black beans and taco seasoning. She appears to be arranging tater tots on top of her concoction, as though it is a pie.

Another woman is screaming at her from an unidentifiable source, describing the importance of seasonings and tater tot placement on a loop. In the background, “Silent Night” is playing over a speaker. (If you don’t have a kitchen speaker, I highly recommend it. You can’t hear your mistakes. But also, be advised that I am not liable if you don’t hear your mistakes.)

The woman is also singing a separate Christmas song while the other song is playing. It’s the song “I Pray on Christmas.” She appears to be asking higher powers for the success of her taco mix and tater tots.

I don’t blame my husband for slowly backing out of the room when he saw me in this festive, frantic state. But soon, I had lured him back to the kitchen with the scent of freshly baked tater tots and tacos.

When we tasted the Taco Tater Tot Casserole, I would say it fell closer to the “near-miracle” category than the “disaster” category.

Especially since my husband later went on to tell me it was one of his favorite things I had ever made.

And if that’s not a Christmas miracle, I don’t know what is.

So sing a little holiday tune, imagine I’m yelling this recipe at you and enjoy your mid-December taco break. You won’t regret it.

TACO TATER TOT CASSEROLE

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
3 tablespoons garlic (I used jarred, adjust and add less if using fresh)
1 packet taco seasoning (about 1 ounce)
1 cup jarred salsa
1 can black beans (strained and rinsed)
1 bag (12 ounces) frozen corn
1 bag (2 pounds) tater tots
1 1/2 cups taco style shredded cheese
Sour cream, pico de gallo and other desired toppings, for serving

Directions
■ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large, deep oven-safe skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef. Once browned, drain. Add garlic, either jarred or fresh. Add 1/2 cup of water and taco seasoning (according to package directions). Allow to cook until water and seasonings are absorbed.
■ Add jarred salsa, black beans and frozen corn. Cook for about 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning level. If more seasoning is desired, add at this time. Then, add about a 3/4 cup of taco style cheese blend. Allow to melt.
■ Once cheese is melted, remove from heat. Top with tater tots, arranged in concentric circles. (Topping the same pan with tater tots leads to a crispy, yet still soft casserole consistency from the potatoes. If you’re going to go for extra crispy tots, you can also bake them on a separate baking sheet before you just throw them on top and eat as is. I can’t control your decisions, here.)
■ Transfer skillet to oven, allowing casserole to bake until tater tots are golden brown (about 20-25 minutes). Remove from oven and top with remaining shredded cheese, allowing the heat to melt the cheese.
■ Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo and any other desired toppings.

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