If this doesn’t qualify as the junk food trifecta, I’m really not sure what will.  But I promise it’s awesome!  I first saw this on a Travel Channel Show.  Those shows make me so hungry.  On pizza travel day it was especially bad.  I wasted no time pulling some pizza dough out of fridge for this deliciously disgusting junk food pie!  And it took even less convincing to get my husband to run to the store for tater tots and pepperoni.  So good…Junk food on top of junk food, on top of junk food, covered in cheese.  I recommend pairing this dish with Sam Adams Octoberfest Beer.

I’m about to give you links to a few recipes for sauce, dough and chili but if you don’t feel like making everything from scratch, your local mega mart sells pre-made dough, cans of chili and pizza sauce.  Or, if you really don’t want to even go that far, just buy a freezer pepperoni pizza and proceed accordingly.

Chili Cheese Tater Tot Pepperoni Pizza

Pizza dough (recipe follows)
Pizza sauce (recipe follows)
Chili (recipe follows)
Tater tots – cooked according to package instructions
Pepperoni
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
a little corn meal for dusting peel

Cook tater tots according to package instructions.  With a griddle, pizza stone or other pan on the bottom rack of the oven, increase oven heat to 450 degrees.   Roll pizza dough into a round.   Dust pizza peel or pan with no lip with a little corn meal (this will act of a sort of ball bearing for the dough to slide on).  Place dough on corn meal, top with sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.  Slide pizza onto hot pan/griddle/stone.  Cook for around 12 minutes or until done.  Remove from oven.  Top pizza with tater tots, chili and remaining cheese.  Return to oven and cook until cheese is melted.  Remove, cut, cool (optional) and grub!

Neapolitan Style Pizza Dough

1/2 cup (3 oz.) gluten (“00”) flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon yeast
2 ¾ cup (15 oz) all purpose flour
1 3/4 cup water

Using a paddle attachment on stand mixer at low speed, combine gluten flour, salt, yeast, water and 1 ¼ cup (6.5 ounces) flour until thoroughly combined (2-3 minutes). Mixture will look lumpy. Let mixture rest about 10 minutes.

Switch to dough hook and knead in remaining 1 1/2 cup (8.5 oz) all purpose flour. Let knead on low speed 6-10 minutes or until dough comes together and starts creeping up the dough hook.

The dough will be sticky. Tuck and roll into a ball and place into the bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and let rest and rise in a warm place for around one hour. If not using the dough right away, place into a Ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator. (This dough is actually better after a day or so in the refrigerator.) Dough keeps well in fridge or freezer indefinitely. Make sure to proof your dough until room temperature before using.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with a pizza stone or a baking sheet on the lowest rack in the oven. (I use a cast iron griddle.)

Using your hands, stretch dough until very thin – almost see-through in the middle. Sprinkle a pizza peel (I inherited this awesome peel from Great Uncle Earl) or pizza pan with a little corn meal. The corn meal will act as ball bearings between the pizza peel and dough when you slide your pizza onto your pizza stone or hot pan. Place pizza on peel or pan with no sides, top with sauce, cheese and desired toppings. Carefully slide pizza onto pizza stone or pan. Cook for 12-15 minutes (longer if using more toppings).

Sauce:

3 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme
pinch of freshly minced rosemary
1 can organic tomato sauce

Mix all ingredients together and let rest.

Togo’s Chili Cheater Recipe

1 can no bean chili
2 cans stewed, diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
¼ teaspoon red pepper flake
¼ teaspoon garlic powder

In a large pot on medium heat, combine all ingredients and cook until hot.  Turn heat to low and simmer for as long as you like, stirring occasionally.

Eat Well!

~Trish