Breadless Grilled Cheese with a Kick

Good Morning! Are you ready for yet another wonderful Saturday? We’ve been galavanting about – took a much needed and unusually early vacation this year. Traveling is always exciting, but it’s great to be home again.

Have you ever seen those videos showing someone making something that appears to be good to eat? You think to yourself, “Wow – I’d like to try that.” But those videos rarely contain an actual recipe. And if they do, it’s all visual, not something you can click and save for later. Why is that?

Today’s share comes from one of those videos floating about on Face Book. Although it didn’t give ingredients, it wasn’t hard to figure out from the visual aids – tater tots, bacon, cheese and Jalapeno peppers. Of course, there video version was much more attractive than my flatten out grilled cheese. But I’d bet they tasted the same. Here’s one thing I learned – it would be a pain to make more than one. If I were to do this for my family of 3, the tater tot portion alone would take 45 minutes. Of course, I was using frozen tater tots. It might be faster to thaw the tots in the fridge overnight, but I’m not sure. Everything else was a snap. And although I’ve complained a bit, I did rather enjoy Tater Tot Sandwich. What surprised me the most was that even with 5 slices of pickled Jalapeno, it wasn’t overly spicy. This is more filling than it looks. And it’s something you’ll want to serve with a fork. The tots are nice and crisp on the outside, soft inside. The cheese gives everything a creamy goodness, the bacon imparts a smokiness and the pepper bring just a whisper of heat.

Tater Tot Spicy Grilled Cheese (per serving)
Cooking Spray
32 Tater Tots
2 slices Bacon
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
2 slices American Cheese
5 slices Pickled Nacho Jalapeno Peppers

Spray a heavy Belgium Waffle Iron with cooking spray. Set iron to heat at the highest temperature possible.

Lay tater tots out to cover both waffle squares. (Mine was four rows of three tots each). Close the iron, let cook for a few minutes until the tots begin to thaw and soften. Press down on the lid. Once it flattens out, place something heavy (like a cast iron skillet) on top to hold the lid down. This will cause the tots to join together as they cook. After about five or six minutes, check for doneness.

Note: You will want the tots to life out like a slice of pressed toasted bread. If you net there, close lid, continue to apply pressure and cook longer. Mine took about 15 minutes or so total.

Meanwhile, cut 2 slices of bacon in half to form four short slices. Fry bacon crisp in a skillet over medium heat. Set bacon on paper towels to dray. Reserve the bacon grease left in the skillet for another purpose, leaving the pan lightly coated.

Season tots with salt and pepper. Place one tater tot square on a flat work surface. Top the square with a slice of cheese, then bacon, peppers, another slice of cheese and finally the remaining square.

Warm skillet used to fry the bacon over medium heat. Carefully place the Tat Tot Grilled Cheese into the skillet to melt the cheese. Grill for a few minutes, then flip and continue to grill until both slices of cheese have melted nicely.

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Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.