Recipe: One Pan Bacon Cheddar Tots

Bacon Cheddar Tots cooked on just one pan in the oven— yes, please!

My family applauded this dish! It’s so easy to make but is such a delicious treat. Make it for your Memorial Day gathering, family movie night, or take it to an outdoor party.

Serve this as an indulgent meal or a side dish at a party! It's quick and easy, and you will only have to clean one pan!

Ingredients:

• One package of bacon (around 16 oz.)
• One package of tater tots (around 30 oz.)
• 1 to 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• Sour Cream, Ranch Dressing, Hot Sauce, or Buffalo Sauce for dipping
• Green Onion or Parsley for serving
• Salt and seasonings to taste

Directions:

1. Put the bacon on an oven safe pan. You can use a nonstick pan or put foil on a baking sheet or in a glass baking dish.
2. Use kitchen scissors to cut the bacon into smaller pieces to keep it from curling as it cooks.
3. Cook the bacon in the oven at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or until your bacon is almost as crispy as you like. It will go back into the oven to crisp up more later.
4. When the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan and let it drain on a paper towel.
5. Place the tater tots on the pan. They will cook in the bacon grease, but you can drain any excess grease.
6. Bake the tots according to their package's directions.
7. Once the tots have baked, remove them from the oven. Top them with shredded cheddar cheese. Use anywhere from 1 to 2 cups of cheese depending on how cheesy you want the tots.
8. Then place the cooked bacon on top of the tots. You can tear the bacon into smaller pieces to make sure there's some in each bite.
9. Stick the bacon cheddar tots back into the oven until the cheese has melted and the bacon has crisped a bit more. You can broil them, but be sure to stand by and watch so the food doesn't burn.
10. Remove the tots from the oven and top with chopped green onion, dried chives, or parsley. Salt and season to taste.
11. Serve with sour cream, ranch, hot sauce, or even buffalo sauce!

Order these ingredients and more from EasyBins. Get free delivery and $15 off your order with code MARLA15 at checkout.

It’s an easy dish, but the recipe link will let you in on all the details. And it will have the ingredients ready to add to your cart!

Recipe link: Bacon Cheddar Tots

Video of me making the tots: Instagram Reel

Recipe: Sassy Stanton Pasta Salad

🥓Sassy Stanton Pasta Salad

Remember the recepe before this (chicken salad) when we used half a packet of ranch dip? Now we’ll use the other half of the packet. This pasta salad is baby approved— she yelled for more bites!

What you’ll need:

•Gluten free penne (or any 8 to 10 oz. pasta of choice)

•5 tbsp real bacon bits (in the salad topping section of the grocery store)

•1/2 of a 1.0 oz. packet Hidden Valley Ranch DIP mix (will use 0.5 oz)

•1/4 cup mayo

•1/4 cup sour cream

•1 tbsp milk

•1/2 cup of veggie 1

•1/2 cup of veggie 2

•Veggie ideas: chopped white mushrooms, finely shredded carrots, chopped zucchini, finely chopped eggplant, diced red onion

Let’s make it:

1. Boil pasta according to the box directions to cook to al dente. Once cooked, drain and rinse the pasta with cool water to stop the cooking process.

2. Mix mayo, sour cream, and dip mix. Add milk a little at a time to get desired consistency.

3. Mix in the bacon bits and veggies, then mix in the pasta.

Put in the fridge for at least 8 hours for the flavors to develop and for the veggies to soften a bit. Make this at night to have lunches ready to go the next day!

Recipe: Sassy Stanton Chicken Salad

 🥓Sassy Stanton Chicken Salad

We have a chain restaurant in our town that specializes in chicken salad. I had one of their varieties and knew I had to figure out how to recreate it. Here’s my take on their “sassy” chicken salad.

What you’ll need:

•1.25 lb of chicken (weight before cooking)

•5 tbsp real bacon bits (in the salad topping section of your store)

•1/2 of a 1 oz. packet of Hidden Valley Ranch DIP mix (will use 0.5 oz)

•1/2 cup mayo

•1/2 cup sour cream

•1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

•1 to 2 tbsp milk

•Bread or crackers

I like Canyon Bakery Gluten Free Country White Bread

Let’s make it:

1. Boil and then shred cooled chicken in a food processor. You could also use rotisserie chicken, leftover grilled chicken, or canned chicken if you’re in a hurry.

2. Mix mayo, sour cream, and dip mix. Add milk a little at a time to get desired consistency.

3. Mix in the bacon bits and cheese.

4. Then mix in the chicken.

Let this sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours to give the flavor time to develop! Make this on Sunday night to have lunches ready to go for a few days. Serve with your favorite bread, croissant, or crackers!

Hope this chicken salad makes your taste buds feel sassy! 😋

In the next recipe (spoiler: pasta salad), I’ll show you how to use the other half of the ranch dip packet!

If you're in an EasyBins delivery area, shop the recipe and get $5 off with code MARLA5 at checkout.