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So, you know how I always rave about and post pictures of The Bug eating all kinds of things that so many parents battle with their kids to get them to eat. Well, there are a few things that he fights me on, and honestly, I am not above sneaking them in sometimes…
Now don’t get me wrong – I think it is SUPER important to continually introduce and reintroduce a wide variety of healthy foods to your little ones. Try over and over and over until it becomes familiar, not disgusting, and eventually delicious. But one thing I cannot get The Bug to eat is zucchini. So enter the Zucchini Tater Tots.
On Friday, The Bug mentioned to you that I was the co-host for Featured Friday over at Momma’s Meals, where the sweet and lovely Tammi introduced me and made her awesome crockpot version of my Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Sandwiches. Well, I’ll tell you about the tots in a minute, but first, let me tell you about Tammi. We “met” through #SundaySupper, and as Stay-at-Home moms to little ones who took up food blogging to indulge our love of cooking and maintain our sense of individuality, we have a lot in common. She has an adorable little girl, and guess what?! She has Baby #2 on the way, as well. Just like me, Tammi loves to share her family-friendly recipes, and some of her random thoughts on mommyhood, including her brave honesty about her journey with postpartum depression. Make sure you stop by and say Hi over at Momma’s Meals.
And eat them he did! I almost couldn’t get him to stop eating the tots to finish his Worcestershire Blue Cheese Volcano Burger! Wow – potatoes and zucchini over beef and oozing cheese?!?!
Tammi’s recipe calls for using Simply Potatoes shredded potatoes and bread crumbs, but since I had some potatoes in the house that needed to be used up, and wanted to make them gluten free, I made a few tweaks to the recipe, using shredded potatoes and cornmeal. Also, I give a bit of a range for the salt – I used 1/2 t kosher salt, and the hubby and I thought it could have used just a touch more. I was afraid of over-salting because sometimes the addition of cheddar cheese can make a dish too salty.
We enjoyed these Zucchini Tater Tots dipped in some Worcestershire ketchup, but they would also be fabulous with some Balsamic ketchup, too. I love zucchini and balsamic vinegar together! Oh what the heck, just whip out the Heniz!
Speaking of super cool momma food blogs, little ol’ me was nominated for voiceBoks Top 10 Food Blogs of 2013 written by mamas. I’m a late entry, so I really need your help – meaning your VOTES! I hate being a nag, but this would be HUGE for me, so I’d LOVE LOVE LOVE for you to head over to their site and give me a vote. Actually, one vote everyday would be nice 
Just click the little Thumbs Up – it’s as easy as a Facebook Like. Thanks!!
So the question of the day – tots or fries?
- 1 c shredded potatoes (I didn’t peel mine, but you can do as you wish)
- 1 small zucchini, shredded
- ¼ c cornmeal
- ¼ c shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used Cabot Sharp Light Cheddar)
- ½-1 t kosher salt (I used ½ t, but felt it could have used a bit more)
- freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ t onion powder
- 1 egg
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray or olive oil.
- Gather the shredded potatoes and zucchini into a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Place the potatoes and zucchini in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Your hads are probably the best tool for the job.
- Scoop the mixture into the prepared muffin pan (I used a small cookie scoop), and press them down a bit. You should get about 20 tots.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Enjoy!
This recipe was shared with: Thursday’s Treasures, #glutenfreefridays #29
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Enjoy!
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Ok first of all. I LOVE this heart shaped bowl. It is so cute! I cannot wait to try these zucchini tots. I just made cauliflower tots over the weekend and loved them! I share a healthy lunch idea with my Facebook following every day. I am going to share this link with them today. I Love zucchini and I can’t wait to try these! I have been attempting to hide veggies into my 16 month old’s food. Letting them dip things in ketchup will always help our situations:)
Thanks! I love my Fiestaware! And thanks for sharing – these are a great little bite.
Thanks for the kind words Momma, you too sweet!! I’m so glad your little guy loved them! I never could get Miss Madison to eat them, your making me want to try again though!! Never give up right!! Congrats on the nomination and I’m headed over to vote now!!
Love the bowl too!!!
Hmm, maybe another try will get her to eat them. Someone also gave a god idea of trying parmesan in place of the cheddar. I want to give that a try!
These looks so yummy. I know I’m going to use this recipe over and over again…especially this summer when the zucchini start taking over my garden!
Definitely a great way to use up some squash when it is coming out of our ears!
I love both zucchini and tater tots! I can’t wait to make these!
Enjoy! They are a great spin on the classic tot!
My daughter hates zucchini too. She will devour it in meatloat though. I will be trying these on her soon. So funny she will eat sushi, brussels sprouts, etc but there is just something about the zucchini.
I like to shred it into pasta sauce, too. The Bug will eat broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, salmon, scallops, but forget zucchini and leafy greens, unless I chop them into eggs.
I love, love, love this recipe Brianne! SO yum!
Thanks Dorothy! Gotta make the tots healthier to save room for dessert!
I bet they would freeze well also. Can’t wait to try. Thank you.
Yes! Good idea to make a bigger batch to have on hand!
Just clicked in through Thursday’s Treasures…love them and sharing on my Facebook page today!
Thanks Ann! Perfect for kids! (even big ones, like me)
Could you substitute something for the cornmeal? We don’t usually buy cornmeal! But these sound great! My kids might actually eat zucchini this way!
The original recipe called for breadcrumbs. I just subbed cornmeal to make it gluten free. I bet ground oats would work, too. Enjoy!
These look great! I love tator tots and zucchini. What a great way to put them together. Definitely trying these soon.
Thanks! I love both too, so this was a great combo!
WOWza! These look amazing!!! Thanks for kicking off a great party this week! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest!
Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!
We have a giveaway this week! GFF will be live on Thursday night at 7:05 eastern! Let’s get this party started!!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Oh yay! Looking forward to the giveaway! Thanks for hosting!