This blog post is in collaboration with Heinens.  As a Heinens Contributor, I am thrilled to bring you delicious content! Thank you for supporting the brands that The Thome Home loves so much! 

I may not be the most athletic girl in town, but I, hands down, could tackle a crowd of people to get my hands on these tater tots.  Tater tots in general are a very nostalgic food, they take me right back to my childhood.  There is something so scrumptious about their crispy round shape, paired with the fluffy creamy inside that together make the perfect pair.  Traditionally, basic tater tots are served alongside ketchup.  In The Thome Home, we tend to take things to an entirely new level.

Let me introduce to you the tater tot you must all start purchasing when you run into your local Heinens.  The sweet potato tater tot! Yep, you heard that right.  Different foods are constantly trending on social media, and I am quite surprised that this sweet tot has not made its big debut as of yet.  I’ll do my part and start the wave with our infamous, ultimate sweet potato tater tots!

Omitting meat as often as possible is important in our home, and these little bites reminded us all so much of a boneless chicken wing!  I love to find new twists on staples that are nutrient-dense and could make an incredible side dish for my family to enjoy.  Did you know, just one baked sweet potato contains enough Vitamin C to meet half of your daily needs! Even better, these orange beauties are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties! This is a side dish you can feel good about eating!

This recipe was such a fun way to add a ton of flare to our basic sweet potato tater tot dinner side.  I whipped up two different versions, because food is my love language – and I could not make up my mind as to what flavor profile I wanted to lean towards.  You simple baked the tater tots in the oven, toss in different seasonings, and dressed in a delicious sauce! Here, I’ll teach you two different recipes.  One, Taco Tuesday Tater Tot – that get drizzled with an avocado sauce.  The second, the Garlic Parmesan that gets dressed with a spicy sriracha yogurt sauce! Guys, these tots will transform your approach to a basic boring potato side.

TACO TUESDAY TATER TOT

1 bag Alexa Sweet Potato Tater Tots

1 Tablespoon taco seasoning

(if you don’t have taco seasoning on hand : 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp chili powder Pinch of cumin)

FOR THE SAUCE:

1/2 cup avocado : 1/2 cup buttermilk : pinch of salt + pepper : 1/4 tsp garlic powder : 1 Tbsp chopped green onion

Blend together until it is a smooth, pourable puree.  If it is too thick, simply add a splash of buttermilk until desired consistency.

For the Alexa brand tater tots, cook according to the package for 20 minutes.  Then, turn down the oven to 350* and cook for an additional 30 minutes.  This ensures that the tots get a nice and crispy exterior!

Remove tater tots from oven, and let cool for one minute.  Add the warm tater tots to a bowl, sprinkle over the taco Tuesday seasoning and gently toss!  Drizzle tots with the avocado sauce and serve immediately!

Garlic Parmesan 

1 bag Alexa Sweet Potato Tater Tots

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese  

Sriricha Sauce 

1 1/2 Tablespoon Sriricha

1/2 cup greek yogurt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Whisk together the sriracha, Greek yogurt + garlic powder.  Set sauce aside –

For the Alexa brand tater tots, cook according to the package for 20 minutes.  Then, turn down the oven to 350* and cook for an additional 30 minutes.  This ensures that the tots get a nice and crispy exterior!

Remove tater tots from oven, and let cool for one minute.  Add the warm tater tots to a bowl, sprinkle over the garlic parmesan cheese mixture and gently toss!  Drizzle tots with the sriracha sauce and serve immediately!

These tater tots turned out so incredible, you guys.  Tiny bites packed with zesty flavors, and scrumptious sauce.  An amazing appetizer, side dish, or swap for the traditional boneless chicken wing!

Don’t forget to tag me when you whip up The Thome Home recipes! @abby_thome

This blog post is in collaboration with Heinens!

 Let’s talk pantry today! Having a well-stocked pantry is an absolutely essential to being able to create delicious and healthy meals on the fly for your family.  Whether you are someone who cooks daily, or a few times a week – if you have the basics already in your pantry it saves you time and lots of money.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve decided on a meal for the night, only to find I was out of a spice, olive oil, and a few key ingredients.  Suddenly, my twenty dollar dish just shot up to fifty.  Every few months I do my best to go over my pantry checklist, and make sure I have one or two of everything our family uses in the kitchen.  That way, meal planning throughout the week consists of produce/meat/cheeses.  Keeping our grocery list minimal!

My brother and sister in law just purchased their very first home a few weeks ago, and even better, it is only a few houses down the street from us.  When thinking of all of the house-warming presents I could give them, the majority of their kitchen/home necessities were already purchased as bridal shower presents.    My brother is an excellent cook, and truly enjoys his time in the kitchen.  Often, I’ll get texts from his wife with pictures of what he has made for dinner, and now I am extra glad I live a few doors down to get to taste all of his creations! I racked my brain for days to try to figure out what would be the best present I could give them to congratulate them on their new home, and my mind kept going back to the kitchen.  The most expensive task for Dan and me when we first moved into our home was stocking our pantry.  Stocking the pantry can cost upward of $200-$300, and that is not even including what you need to fill your fridge.  THAT is the moment that it dawned on me – that stocking their pantry in their new home would be the ultimate surprise/gift ever!

Isn’t it amazing?!

These pantry essentials are going to be a part of an incredible new series on The Thome Home blog, where I will share with you all pantry inspired recipes! 

All of the baskets were found at HomeGoods – make sure to measure the depth of your pantry before you pick out the storage!

From sauces, condiments, grains and canned goods – these newlyweds are truly set for kitchen success!

Here is a simple breakdown of a few of the items every pantry should have on hand!

Grains, assorted pasta shapes, marinara sauce, arborio rice, and parmesan cheese.

Canned goods; shelf life is important for your pantry, and allows you to really stock up on these affordable basics.

I am known as the condiment queen, so in my opinion, every pantry should have an ample amount of condiments to choose from.

Pickles, peppers and salsa are not just for taco night and burgers.  Chopped and added into salads, added to a dressing – there are so many ways to use these!

Next up … the baking supplies!

If you have not tried Heinens Kettle Cooked Chips yet, they are Oh So Good!

Once you have a well-stocked pantry, you will learn very quickly the items that you go through faster than others.

I’ve created two pantry checklists.  One that is blank, print it out and fill it out according to the needs of your family and what you need to stock your pantry with.  I also created our master list of what our family stocks up on every few months.  Use this for inspiration, pull from it, or use it as your master list!

 NEW PANTRY CHECKLIST – PDF

 

pdf pantry checklist

 

I hope you all love these printables, and perhaps you’ll catch me at Heinens using it myself to go through the aisles with!

Tag me in your Heinens adventures @abby_thome