The Obsessive Chef's Homemade Tater Tots

I'd like to take a moment to give a HUGE round of applause to Stephen over at The Obsessive Chef.  YAY Stephen!  Stephen worked diligently to create a homemade tater tot recipe.  He knew of my love for them and we once discussed making your own.  The only recipes I had seen called for deep frying the tots and we were trying to figure out a way to bake them, making them a tad bit healthier.  After one minor set back, he came up with this recipe.  Let me just say, Chris and I are die hard tot fans and we both agreed, we could eat these every day!  They were fantastic!  I think I got mine a tad bit too brown in spots, but I was completely satisfied with the outcome.  My next challenge is going to be making them with actual potatoes instead of the Simply Potatoes.  Stephen gave me a few pointers on doing just that, but I wanted to stay as close to his recipe as I could because I wanted to see if it really worked.  Now that I have a feel for how to form them and how to cook them, I'll be more likely to experiment by making some slight changes.  I can't wait!!  Thanks again Stephen..you are the tot master!!

The Obsessive Chef's Homemade Tater Tots
Slightly adapted from Stephen, The Obsessive Chef
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
3 cups Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns
1 egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 Tablespoons panko bread crumbs (optional)

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together.  Form into tots...you would think this would be an easy task, but it can get a bit messy.  I used a small ice cream scoop to form my tots, Stephen used napkin rings.  You are just going to have to decide what works best from your kitchen.  Once the tots are formed, let them rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 425.  Place a non-stick cookie sheet in the oven for 3-5 minutes, remove.  Spray the cookie sheet with non-stick spray and place the tots on it.  Place the cookie sheet in the oven and let bake for 5 minutes.  Remove the cookie sheet and flip the tots over.  Place back into the oven  and let bake another 5 minutes.  Flip the tots one more time and turn the broiler on.  Broil for 5-8 minutes or until the tots are brown and crispy.  Enjoy! (you can check out Stephen's instructions for just broiling these bad boys, either way will work just fine!)