Tater Tot Pizza

Last year, kind of as a joke, and kind of seriously, I decided to make a masterpiece known as Tater Tot Pizza.  I love tater tots, and so do my friends.  I can't believe it has taken me so long to actually share the recipe, but since it is winter and totally sports season, I thought why not now?  The thing with this pizza is that there are a lot of separate steps, but you can totally make the ingredients ahead of time and combine them all once you are ready to bake your pizza.



Ingredients for Tater Tot Pizza, serves 4 hungry dudes/dudettes:

-1 bag of frozen tater tots (I love Ore Ida)
-1/2 pound of ground beef, optional
-2 medium white onions, sliced thinly
-1/2 can of tomato sauce, or more if you like
-1 jalapeno, sliced
-Cheddar cheese, shredded (however cheesy you like)
-Ketchup or Hot Sauce as a condiment
-Pizza dough, click here for recipe

Begin by making your dough.  While dough is rising, begin to caramelize the onions.  Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tablespoon canola oil and 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter.  Once butter begins to foam, add the onions all at once.  Turn the heat down to medium-low.  Toss the onions every 2-3 minutes, and continue to cook over medium-low heat.  Salt and pepper to taste.  The onions will take about 25-30 minutes.  Set aside.

While the onions are going, cook the ground beef in another pan until cooked through.  Season with salt and pepper, and drain any excess grease.  Set aside.

You can also be baking the tater tots according to their package directions until just golden.  You will be baking them again, so they will get extra golden in the oven the second time around.

Preheat, your oven to 500 degrees F, and place a baking stone on the top rack.  Meanwhile, roll out the dough to a large square that will fit on the baking stone.  I like to transfer the rolled out dough to parchment paper so I can slide it easily onto the baking stone.  Spread tomato sauce on the dough.  Next spread the caramelized onions, then sprinkle ground beef, cheddar cheese, and toss on jalapenos.  Finally add the tater tots on top.  Slide onto hot baking stone, and put back into oven on the top rack.  Cook until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden, about 18 minutes.  Serve with ketchup and hot sauce.  Oh, and beer.