smothered tater tots w/ pulled pork

I recently got a Crock-Pot (to my mother’s chagrin) and have been cooking up some things in it to try and see what it can do.

I remember BEGGING my mom for a Crock-Pot when I was like 8 years old. I read about it in a Ramona Quimby book and thought it was like “the coolest thing ever!”

Long story short, I never did get one because my mother was absolutely APALLED at the fact that people cooked their family meals in a ceramic pot for 8 hours while they did other things.

“Where is the love”, she would say.

Sigh.

That’s me madre for ya.

Well, now that I have a Crock-Pot, throwing the ingredients in there while I tend to errands is one of my favorite parts about it!

Take today for example—While my pork cooked for 7 hours I managed to:


Do my laundry-

Paint my nails-

Celebrate National Ice-Cream Day-

And, before I knew it the pork was finished!


Exciting stuff, man. :)

These smothered tots are a dish that I first had a couple months ago during a happy hour after work.

Crispy tater tots layered with BBQ pulled pork and then smothered with cheese.

Man, it is so good!

The secret to having the perfect smothered tots is to make extra sure that the tater tots are really crispy. This dish needs to have texture and crunch, so make sure of that.

Give it a try and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!  :)

BBQ Pulled Pork--Adapted from Taylors at Home

• Pork Tenderloin or shoulder “butt” roast
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup Dr. Pepper
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• BBQ sauce (I used Honey BBQ)

1. Place sliced onion, garlic, Dr. Pepper and water in the crock pot.

2. Put the pork in next and pour the worcestershire sauce and about 1/2 cup bbq sauce on top. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

3. Drain the extra liquid and discard the fat. Shred the pork with two forks and add more bbq sauce to your desired consistency.

Smothered Tots

• BBQ Pulled Pork
• Really crispy Tater Tots (homemade or store bought)
• Shredded Cheddar and Provolone cheeses
• Sour Cream
• Scallions

1. Cook tots and when ready place them on the bottom  of a plate.

2. Pile on the pulled pork and cheeses. Finish with a dollop of sour cream and  scallions.

3. Enjoy!