Category: Food

The boys and I drove the 1.5 hours into Bozeman to go to Target. Our mission? Blackout curtains. Yesterday the RV got super hot with the sun. It was in the upper 80’s and no clouds to block the sun. We are only on 30 amp service, so we can only run one air conditioner, and it was struggling to keep up in the sun and the heat. After doing some research, it seemed the blackout curtains would help. We did use them at the house, but mostly for light purposes, not necessarily heat blocking purposes.

The Target was huge, but strangely limited in shoes (Nick needs a new pair already) and matching blackout curtains. I finally found some cream colored ones for the living area/kitchen and liners for the kids room (I have special ones ordered that are cut to size and will form fit their windows).

Right now they are held up by binder clips and thumb tacks. I will have to tackle figuring out a long term solution later. (There are not a lot of studs in these walls to hang curtain rods.)

I used the heat gun to check the before and after temperatures and even the towel I had hung across the window before the curtains helped a lot.

Using the oven or stove really heats up the RV. Luckily we had brought our InstantPot* and air fryer. Unfortunately, the air fryer will trip the electric if I run it on 30 amps with the air on. Even with the microwave off, lights off, and coffee pot unplugged, it still tripped it. The InstantPot works great though! We were feeling like an unhealthy, snacks kind of dinner, so we ran to the store for supplies. I had no idea what I was making, so we kind of made it up on the fly.

I cooked the chicken in the InstantPot with some water and salsa. Once it was done, I shredded it. I then moved everything to the cast iron skillet (I didn’t bring a casserole dish with us). I rubbed butter over the skillet to help it not stick, layered the shredded chicken, then some salsa, red peppers, corn, and finally cheese and tater tots. I baked it until heated through. I sprinkled a little more cheese on top and served with corn/tortilla chips. I wished I would have remembered to buy sour cream to dollop on top! It still hit the spot though.

Chicken and Tater Tot Dip by Sarah Tepe

You will need:

• 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
• Large jar of mild salsa (we like the chunky kind)
• 1 bag frozen tater tots
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 bag frozen corn
• Tortilla/corn chips
• Optional: sour cream
• Misc.: InstantPot, oven safe skillet or casserole dish

Directions:

• Add chicken with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 jar of the salsa to the InstantPot.
• Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
• Release steam.
• Drain if needed and shred chicken (you want it to be bite sized pieces once shredded).
• Layer the chicken on the bottom of a baking dish/casserole dish/large oven safe skillet.
• Next layer corn, diced peppers, shredded cheese, and tater tots.
• Using the oven, bake at 350 until heated through, about 20 minutes.
• Top with more shredded cheese and sour cream, if desired.
• Serve with tortilla chips.

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