SRC – Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole from Cheese Curd in Paradise

The Secret Recipe Club is coming to an end, you guys.  This is both very sad and a huge relief to me, as I have had so much fun exploring other blogs, but also felt a lot of pressure to meet the timeline.  There will be one more seasonal post at the end of this month, and one more regular post in November.  I was assigned Cheese Curd in Paradise this month, written by Ashley.

I actually couldn’t find a bio page on this blog, sorry Ashley!  But I could discern that Ashley lives in Wisconsin, has a son, and loves comfort food!  I found a ton of yummy looking stuff while scrolling through the archives.

The first thing a saw was a bunch of yummy looking dip recipes, like Creamy Spinach and Radish, Warm Bacon and Caramelized Onion, Crockpot Spinach and Artichoke, and Cheddar Bacon Ranch.

I also saw tons of casseroles, like Meatball Sub, Stroganoff, and Potato Chip Topped Tuna Noodle.

And slowcooker recipes, like Creamy Tex-Mex Chicken, and Swedish Meatballs.

And pasta recipes, like Homemade Beef-a-Roni, Bacon Cheeseburger Gnocchi Skillet, Creamy Chicken Pesto Gnocchi Skillet, BLT Tortellini Skillet, and Ham and Cheese Gnocchi Skillet (loving these skillet meals).

And some special occasion recipes, like Maple and Shallot Spaghetti Squash, Roast Duck with Wild Rice and Sausage Stuffing, Rack of Lamb with Caramelized Shallot and Thyme Crust, and Seared Scallops with Prosecco Herb Beurre Blanc.

I didn’t even get to the desserts, y’all!

In the end, I was torn between this Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole and this Chicken Bacon Ranch Tater Tot Casserole.  So I decided to combine them!  By which I mean, use ranch seasoning instead of the seasoning mix in the slow cooker casserole.

It is hard to take good photos of casseroles, y’all, especially in the slow cooker.  But the slow cooker was what I loved about this.  Throw frozen tater tots, raw chicken, cooked bacon, onions, cheese, ranch seasoning, and milk into the insert and forget about it until dinner time.  Perfect.  I did feel like it was missing a bit of a creamy element, but I don’t know how sour cream would do in the slow cooker.

For ease an comfort, this just can’t be beat!  Enjoy!

Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole
adapted from Cheese Curd in Paradise
serves 6-8

32oz bag frozen tater tots
8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups of cheddar cheese, grated
ranch seasoning packet (I used about half the packet)
1 cup milk (I use whole)

Layer the slow cooker with 1/3 tater tots, 1/3 bacon, 1/3 chicken, 1 tsp (or more, up to you) ranch seasoning, 1/3 onion, and 1/3 cheese.

Repeat twice more, finishing with the layer of cheese.  Pour the milk over the top of the casserole.

Cook on low for 4-6 hours (chicken should be 165 degrees).

NOTE – my slow cooker insert is quite large, so I did 2 layers instead of 3.

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Five Years Ago – Chili