Ham & Cheese Tater Tot Poutine

Fresh cheese curds and ham are served over top of crispy tater tots and then 

smothered in a turkey gravy in this easy to make Ham & Cheese Tater Tot Poutine...

Let's chat poutine for a minute, shall we? Some of you all may recall that my obsession with this delicious Canadian dish actually began for me in Orlando, Florida of all places. While I was attending the Food & Wine Conference there this past July, we were treated to an amazing poutine bar for lunch during one day of the conference. I bounced around from station to station falling in love just a little more with each cheesy, gravy laden bite. All poutine dishes have at least three basic ingredients- cheese curds, gravy, and french fries. Once you have those three things covered, the tasty variations and possibilities for poutine are endless.

Once I came home from my Food & Wine Conference experience, I desperately wanted to recreate and experiment with some versions of poutine myself at home. The only issue was that cheese curds are sort of hard to come by in West Virginia. Cheese curds are usually a product of local dairy farms, and dairy farms are few and far between in my state. That is why when I was invited to attend the Ohio Dairy Adventure in September I jumped on that chance! With visits to two local dairy farms and a stop at Pearl Valley Cheese on the trip's agenda, I was sure to get my hands on some fresh cheese curds. And once I found some, you had better believe that I stocked up on them. ;)

Once of the first things that I made with my cheese curds after returning home from my visit to Ohio's dairy country was this Ham & Cheese Tater Tot Poutine. Fresh cheese curds and ham are served over top of crispy tater tots and then smothered in a turkey gravy. This is the perfect busy weeknight or lazy weekend comfort food, folks...

Simple Ham & Potato Chowder

This hearty & flavorful Simple Ham & Potato Chowder is a delicious way to use up leftover ham...

Can you all believe that Easter is less than a week away? Pretty soon we will all be sitting around the table enjoying an Easter ham dinner with our families. :) 

If your all's family happens to be anything like mine, we always bake a huge ham and then divvy up the leftovers to take home. But let's be real- there are only so many ham sandwiches and fried ham steaks you can eat in a week. Am I right?

That is where my recipe for this Simple Ham & Potato Chowder comes in handy.  And when I say that this recipe is simple, I mean it is really simple. 

You just need 5 ingredients (including a little leftover Easter ham) and 35 minutes to make a pot of this hearty and flavorful chowder happen in your kitchen...