Wednesday, May 29, 2013

i love tator tots....

Brian is at band practice and since we were gone on a trip for 5 days there is no food in the house. I just got back from running and thought i might have something in the freezer like chili or spaghetti..but all i could find were some frozen extra crispy Ore-Ida Tator Tots. So i zapped them in the microwave for 1:45 and i'm happy. (Maybe if i hadn't gone running i would feel a little bit guilty.)

I am not too embarrassed to say that i love tator tots. (Am i supposed to capitalize the T's?)

The Thug Kitchen probably would kick my ass if he knew. I guess i could have opened a can of white beans instead. We always have some of those.

Sometimes i like to eat like i'm a young single poor twenty-something year old. Fast, easy and unhealthy.

I don't really have much to say but i like changing the blog early when nobody is posting. I'm running out of things to talk about. I've overdone my love/hate relationship with Facebook, menopause, retirement, and stuff i hate. I think sometimes when i am on vacation my brain gets so relaxed i get kind of dull witted. This could be bad if i don't get a job.

I might have to temporarily close for repairs.

11 comments:

jojo cucina cucina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jojo cucina cucina said...

For the first time in a very long time since i started checking stats on this blog i had under 1000 views for the month . Dammit.

Maybe i will take a page out of Thug Kitchen and Suri's blog about the People Who Disappoint Her and keep it super short and just move it more often.


jojo cucina cucina said...

My earlier comment was removed only because i got off my kindlefire and corrected what i was trying to correct earlier....which had to do with the word 'temporarily'.

Amanda said...

I love tater tots. So much. So, so much. One of my favorite things is to go to the McMenamin's here, which has a tot option. They also offer a gluten-free burger bun that tastes like a wet pancake. I live with it for the tot option.

I don't like people who don't like tater tots.

louielouie said...

I also like Tator Tots - it’s a brand name so both Ts are capitalized. However, they need to be crisp so microwaving is no good unless you also pop them in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes. Then, yum.

I like to eat my Tots with Swanson’s buffalo chicken strips. You have to be creative with the cooking times because I think one item asks for a 375 oven and the other 400. Can’t remember which is which. I do however, have the process down and serve the combination whenever there’s nothing else. Sometimes I make fish sticks instead of the chicken strips. I use ketchup on the tops and a mixture of hot dog relish and mayo on the fish. The chicken stands alone.

The only thing better than Tator Tots is Mexifries – Tots with an attitude. Nothing is better than MexiFries with a crisp beef burrito. Taco Time rocks.

louielouie said...

Maybe you should focus on food topics.


I love food. Most all kinds.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Here is my new favorite appetizer. BACON WRAPPED TATOR TOTS

• About 1/3 of a bag of frozen Tater Tots (I used Ore-Ida's Extra Crispy)
• 1 ½ lbs of bacon. Do not buy the thick cut either! (I cut off all the fatty white parts).
• About a ½ cup of brown sugar (kind of depends on your bacon slices)

1 tsp teaspoon Seasoned Salt, like Johnny’s – (the original recipe called for 1 tsp towards 2 TBS of brown sugar so this is still very light salt, but I don’t like that much salt. I just sort of sprinkled it on and then tasted it. The sugar/salt combination is what makes it.)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more if you want more of a kick. (I did not even use ¼ tsp because I don’t like hot stuff. I sprinkled it on and then tasted it to make sure it was how I liked it.)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. )

Take the tator tots out of the freezer and let thaw out for a bit so you don’t break a toothpick trying to spear them. You can also pop them in the microwave for something like 15 seconds. (Depending on the power of your microwave. Don’t thaw them too much!)

In a small bowl combine the sugar, salt and cayenne pepper. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place a raised wire rack on top of the lined sheet. Lay all of the bacon strips on a board. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the bacon strips and kind of pat it in. You don’t need a lot of the sugar, but you want to cover the whole strip. (It will kind of melt into the bacon like a syrup.)

Cut the bacon strip in half. (Not lengthwise!) Place one tater tot on the end each half bacon strip. Roll them all up. Place seam side down. Stick them with a toothpick. (I sometimes soak the toothpicks in water first, but it’s not really necessary). Place on the raised rack. Put in oven.

The raised rack works better because it lets the hot air circulate around all edges. Also, it keeps the tot from sitting in oil once the bacon fat starts to render down.

Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over assembled tater tots. Bake in 450 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until bacon turns crispy, checking after about 15 minutes to turn tater tots if needed.

Because you will have left over tots (unless you are using about 3 lbs of bacon) you might want to just throw the rest of the tots on another pan, stir up some more of the sugar mixture and sprinkle over the the tots and bake them too. Let the kids eat these and save the bacon ones for the adults!

These are so good and will go quickly.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Amanda! i love that you get my Tator Tot post! You too louie!

I might come back here and re-write this recipe in Thug Kitchen language, but i need a glass of wine first. I'm pretty sure Thug Kitchen dude is drinking while posting.

I think we need double ovens JUST for our Tator Tots.

The above recipe is really good. I know MaryAnn you said i should reconsider when i posted earlier about this, but i have to tell you i have not found one person who didn't love these and wish they could eat the whole batch by themselves. What's also nice is that they can be served room temperature. And you don't have to worry about anyone getting sick from them because they sat out too long....for one thing...they won't sit out too long.

I made these for Julie's birthday party celebration and she said the little kids ate most all of them before anything got started. That's where i got the idea of having them just eat the tator tots with the sprinkled sugar. I hate it when kids eat all the food at weddings and parties because they never fucking cook anything for these things.

jojo cucina cucina said...

First of all, why are little kids at parties anyway?

jojo cucina cucina said...

I have an idea for a new post: "See if You Agree"..... but i need to think of some stuff that will make you go....YES....i know EXACTLY what you mean!

jojo cucina cucina said...

13 people viewed Tator Tots posting today but only two of you are here. I want all of the Tator Tot lovers to come here and confess that you too, love Tator Tots!

my husband went to Eastern Washington to visit his mom. I only go half the time he visits, because as the youngest child in his family he does this way more than a normal kid would do, i think. At least more than i i would . But then probably Sally Field/Sybil would visit her mom more than i would visit mine. (Remember that movie?) NOT that my mom is as bad as Sybil's mom, but then ...now that i think about it, didn't that whole Sybil thing turn out to be an over exaggerated hoax like story? I think i need to go Google that.

When i am home alone i love to Google and YouTube and blog and Facebook. Then i like to go watch my DVRs of Jon Stewart. Did y'all see Bill O'Reilly by the way the other day? It's a pretty funny interview. Maybe i will link a YouTube on the next post. I love that Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart like each other. You can tell that they do.