Monday, December 17, 2018

Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tots

Normally I am not one to sing the praises of convenience foods, but recently I have begun to embrace Tater Tots. I never thought I would find myself saying this because I was scarred as a child when my mother served me a vile casserole of smoked sausage and tots. I’m sure there were other things in this ‘70s hot dish that was prevalent at the time, but even though I liked smoked sausage and Tater Tots individually, the combination always reminded me of what I’d turn into my dog’s food bowl in the evening, so for a long time I was put off of both.

Recently a coupon for a free bag drew me back to them and one evening, too tired to do anything else, I warmed some up to go with a rotisserie chicken. I was quite pleasantly surprised! I loved the crunchy exterior along with the creamy potato interior. I have to admit, they are back in my favor. So when I saw this recipe scattered all over Pinterest, I knew I had to give it a try. I altered the recipe a bit for ease. The original version required small cubes of cheese that I found a bit cumbersome to wrap in bacon. I just used slices of cheddar from the deli that I cut in half, and then into strips, and I found they rolled quite nicely with the bacon. While you may be tempted, don’t go overboard with the brown sugar. Trust me when I tell you this. I decided that more would be better, when in this case it wasn’t. I ended up having to throw out my
Silpat because that stuff cooked and burned, and made one heck of a mess.

These would be wonderful as a snack, or a nice addition to a brunch buffet. I imagine they would be tasty dipped into ranch, marinara, or any of your favorite dipping sauces. Me? I just ate them as is and enjoyed every delicious mouthful.
Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tots

2 cups frozen Tater Tots, thawed
4-5 slices sharp cheddar cheese, halved, cut into strips
4 slices bacon, quartered
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
Chopped parsley, for garnish, if desired (I didn’t desire it.)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a
baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.

Wrap each tater tot and cheese slice in a piece of bacon. Dredge each tater tot in the brown sugar, pressing to coat.
Place tots, seam side down, onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

If you prefer meat wrapped with meat, you will love this recipe!



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5 comments:

Gina said...

This looks like it would be delightful for our Christmas Eve Snackatizer spread!

Linda said...

Gosh Pattie, leave it to you to make one of our favorite foods even better - lol! We have a shameful addiction to tater tots. Never thought about wrapping them in bacon and cheese - oh my!

bj said...

Well, here you come again to my rescue...all the grands want finger food for Christmas Eve and these will be LOVED.
Thanks.....xoxo

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Oh my gosh, my husband would love these. He wishes we'd have tater tots once a week - LOL. Not happening.

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

These sound really good, Pattie. I have a recipe for bacon wrapped water chestnuts, but the tater tots would be a fun change.