Homemade Tater Tots

Here's how I make tater tots at home. It's a great way to use up any leftover baked potatoes, and it's really cheap. I buy 10 lb bags of potatos when they're .99 cents, which is quite often. I usually buy at least 2 bags, to last till they're on sale again. If you buy a lot of potatoes, store them in a cool, dry place. When you first get the potatoes, make sure they are dry. If not, be sure to take them out of the bag, and dry with a towel, or they will probably rot. Make sure the place you store them is comepletely dark, and don't store them near apples.

OK, then.

Tater Tots

cold baked potatoes
flour
salt
oil

Make sure your baked potatoes are cold. Let them sit in the fridge at least over night. It makes them easier to peel and grate. Peal the potatoes. What I like to do is cut them in half, and then peal with a knife. A potato pealer doesn't work when they're baked.

Grate the potatoes with a cheese grater. You want the pieces small, but you don't want a pile of mashed potatoes, either. I grate them with the larger sized holes, then chop up the grated potatoes with a knife to make the pieces smaller without mashing them up.

Sprinkle the grated potatoes with a little bit of flour, and a little salt. About one teaspoon of flour for each medium potato works good. Mix in the flour and salt gently with your fingers.

Make little potato balls and deep fry them in oil, until they're golden brown. It only takes a minute or two.

NOTE You can also make restaurant-style hash browns with leftover baked potatoes. Just fry patties of grated baked potatoes in hot oil.