About a month ago a friend told me about a bar in Honolulu that served nachos made with tater tots instead of tortilla chips. “You can eat those, can’t you?” he asked.

Of course, there’s never a simple answer to that question when you have Celiac, but my interest was piqued and I decided to make a version at home. I never anticipated blogging about them because really, how good could they be? Wouldn’t I have heard of them before?

I guess not. I’m now wondering how I made it thirty plus years without tater tot nachos, or totchos, in my life. Perhaps the food blogs that I frequent are too healthy? I decided that even though this isn’t my normal type of post/recipe, it was my civic duty to help spread the word. It took me a couple weeks to remember to pick up the ingredients and take photos, but here they are, in all of their cheesy, beefy glory.

Tater tots are baked until super crispy and then topped with seasoned beef, cheese sauce, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, green onion and crumbled bacon. And although I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, you’re probably going to want to go with that prepared cheese sauce you buy from the supermarket for these. It’s pure junk food heaven.

If you’re able to show more restraint than I am, you can also go with this slightly healthier version that Julie posted, coincidentally, the week after I’d had eaten totchos for the first time. I’m psyched that the word is spreading.

Tater Tot Nachos Supreme aka Totchos Supreme

Note: I wrote the recipe to make extra of the ground beef, since I like to use the leftovers for tacos. If you’re not interested in making extra seasoned beef, you can reduce those ingredients (onion, garlic, beef and spices) by half.

Yield: 4 as a main course or 8 appetizer-sized servings

Ingredients: * 32-ounce bag gluten-free frozen tater tots (get the extra crispy variety if you can find them)

* 3-4 slices bacon

* 1/2 onion, finely chopped

* 3 cloves garlic, minced

* 1 lb very lean ground beef

* 1 Tablespoon chili powder

* 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

* 1/2 teaspoon paprika

* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

* 1/4 teaspoon oregano

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

* ~15-ounce jar gluten-free salsa con queso/cheese sauce, heated in the microwave

* salsa

* guacamole

* sour cream

* several green onions, finely chopped