Sunday, June 14, 2015

Bacon Hash and Broiled Eggs

Yummy note: Bacon... yes, whenever I say that word, I think everybody I know, their ears, eyes, and nose perks up... oh, not to forget the cat too. The bacon aroma just fills the house. Not sure what it is about the bacon, but it seems it has some magical power. Speaking of that, the blog I was assigned to for this Secret Recipe Club, mentioned a kitchen witch. I have never heard of this custom, but I like it, and could totally use a kitchen witch with good luck in my kitchen to help prevent any thing from burning, boiling over or spilling!! So back to the bacon, I got this amazing bacon hash and broiled eggs recipe from Rhonda at the the Kitchen Witch blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club. Thanks to my hubby for helping me scout out this hash recipe for this month, I think it is a keeper recipe on our list :) It had delicious flavor, not to mention you use bacon fat to saute potatoes in; yes, bacon fat,yes, grease, that is what gives this dish its depth of flavor. I was a bit intimidated at first, as I've never made a hash from scratch, as I usually just by frozen or pre-diced potatoes. I learned my lesson, not again, just use real potatoes, so much better and crispy.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my husband and I did! 




Ingredients: 
1 pound bacon, diced
2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
4 eggs
2 ounces grated cheese, optional
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: 
In a large oven/broiler-safe skillet, I used my cast iron skillet, as bacon turns out wonderfully crispy usually in this pan. Over medium heat, cook bacon until the fat starts to render. Once you have a nice coating of that bacon fat/grease coating your pan, add the diced potatoes and onions. Cover pan and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and onions start to caramelize, making sure to check and stir frequently so they don't stick on the bottom of the pan. Oh, that is also the next best part here, too...caramelized onions with crispy bacon..yum... Be careful though, that pan and grease is hot! Remove lid and turn heat up some and cook until all of the bacon and potatoes are crispy and browned. Salt and pepper to season. Next, if you are using the same pan, blot the pan a bit and remove excess bacon grease. Or if using smaller broiler safe dishes, use a slotted spoon to drain, and transfer the bacon hash into 4 individual dishes. Crack one egg on top each bacon hash dish and place under the broiler for approximately 3 minutes or until the whites are done. Sprinkle some cheese on top, if desired, and return to the broiler to melt.



Just a few ingredients for this homemade hash! 

Try and dice potatoes evenly. Yeah, easier said than done, haha. ;) 

Add potatoes to the partly rendered bacon and continue to saute. 

Drain some of the bacon fat if too much before broiling the egg. 

Crack an egg on top of the bacon hash and broil egg until set. 

Cut into the egg and enjoy your hash.
If you are not a broiled egg fan, you can eat the hash as it is, or serve with a side of scrambled eggs as well. 

Yummy note: So I got lost (in a good way) a few times on the Kitchen Witch blog meandering through her beautiful pictures. Someday, I want to capture images like Rhonda does. :) Rhonda has some amazing shots, not only of food on her site, but art. You should really visit her photography site and see what other things Rhonda likes to shoot, besides yummy food ;) Speaking of yummy food, if bacon hash doesn't look like your thing, she has plenty of other options! Other recipes that caught my eye from Rhonda was this brisket, -this looks simple and delicious that I might have to try making this one when I need to feed a crowd the next gathering. The other top one was this venison lo mein. I really need to try and make this at home again; the last time I tried the noodles became mush. She had a good tip that I will share, and she said to just use regular or leftover spaghetti noodles for this dish! Well, duh, why didn't I think of trying to use those, instead of those mushy sticky noodles I attempted to try before. Make sure to visit the Kitchen Witch for other great tips and tricks like this from Rhonda.




Monday, June 1, 2015

Egg and cheese quesadillas

Yummy note: This idea started with my youngest kiddo always asking for food almost instantly from coming home from morning preschool. While it is still mid-morning, he gets confused on whether it is still breakfast time or lunch. I tried to tell him, it doesn't really matter what you eat as long as it is good for you. Hey, I'm all about my kids eating well and trying to get them to try something new. Which seems like an everyday battle. So, who is to say, you can't have pizza for breakfast, eggs can be for lunch, or pancakes for supper?!  it's ok, kids...(as I get a crazy look from them) there is no one telling you that you can't. So this is where lunch meets breakfast.



Egg and Cheese Quesadillas

Ingredients: 
2 eggs, beaten
4 flour tortillas
1/2 c. cheese, shredded (any kind of cheese will work)
*Use a combination of any of the ingredients below to customize your quesadilla. 

*Optional ingredients/add-ins: 
Deli ham, julienned 
Bacon
Sausage 
Diced avocado 
Spinach 
Finely diced green pepper
Finely diced onion
Mushrooms 
Black beans 
Salsa 
Sour cream 
Cilantro 


Directions: 
In a small bowl, crack the two eggs into it and whisk. If desired, add in milk or water at this point, it doesn't really matter if you do or not, either way is fine, but only add like a tablespoon if you do. In a medium sized frying pan, spray with non-stick spray or a few tablespoons of butter/oil. When the pan is hot, pour the eggs and other optional ingredients* into the pan at this point. Reserve your shredded cheese to the end. Cook on medium heat, scraping the pan occasionally, until the eggs are scrambled and just set. Season with the salt and pepper. Place the egg mixture to the side and place a tortilla in the fry pan and start to assemble the quesadilla. For a larger quesadilla (full circle) - place egg mixture back on top of the entire tortilla and top with cheese and lay the second tortilla on top of the mixture. For a smaller quesadilla (half circle) - place egg mixture on half of the tortilla and top with desired amount of cheese and fold it over to make a half circle quesadilla. Fry until golden brown, flip quesadilla halfway through the cooking time to ensure both sides are nice and crispy and the cheese has melted. Cut into wedges and serve. Can serve with sour cream or salsa on the side or top with cilantro. 

This dish is easily adaptable to many different combinations! You just need a few basic ingredients to start it off.
Make sure to flip your quesadilla halfway to ensure cheese has melted thoroughly and a tortilla shell has a nice golden brown.

Cut into wedges and serve.