Sunny Side Up on Potatoes

I was home alone because the other half was in San Francisco conferencing. I woke up very late and wanted to treat myself to a wonderful breakfast or brunch. Nothing better than eggs, potatoes and bacon. As much as I like fried potatoes but hash brown is my favorite.

So, while my bacon was getting perfectly crispy in the oven, I grated some potatoes. Chopped some onion and tomatoes. Made a bed of hash brown, placed a perfect sunny side up egg on it, add the tomato and crispy bacon pieces, sprinkle chopped cilantro, season with salt and pepper and you have your breakfast ready in 30min. Oh, what a treat!

Oh, that perfect morsel- bacon, tomato, hash brown with little bit of the runny yolk.

Warning- I don't use oil in making any of it. Oops! I use bacon fat :)

To make this wonderful breakfast/brunch, you need (for 1 serving, can easily be scaled up):

1 medium size Russet potato, grated using a box grater
1 small yellow onion or half a medium onion, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1 egg
2-3 strips of thick cut bacon or as many as you like
salt and pepper for seasoning
Chopped cilantro or parsley

How:

Line a baking tray with foil and place the baking strips an inch apart from each other. Place it in a cold oven and turn it on to 400°F. Putting the  bacon in a cold oven and then turning it on is the key to perfectly crispy bacon. The bacon should be perfect in about 17-20 min. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. The time depends on how long your oven takes to reach the temperature. Take the bacon strips out of the baking tray and drain on paper towels. Let it cool.

While the bacon is getting perfectly crisped in the oven, grate the potato, chop the onion, tomato and some cilantro. Put the grated potato in cold water to prevent them from turning brown. When ready to cook, put the shredded potato in a cheesecloth and wring out all excess water. The more its dry the more it will be crispy. Although here, I didn't make them crispy (enough crispiness from bacon). But you can.

Put about a tablespoon of bacon fat from the baking tray on to a small pan on medium heat. Add the onion. Fry for a min and then add the shredded potatoes. If you want them crispy, then lay them in a single layer and don't disturb. Let it crisp up on one side for 2 min and then turn over like a pancake.  If you want mushy, like I have here, fry the shredded potato with onion stirring them until they are brown. Season with salt and pepper. Place the potato on a plate.

Add a teaspoon of bacon fat to the same pan on medium heat. Crack a fresh egg on to the pan. Be careful not to get any shells in there (I need not say that!). Cook till the white part is no longer slimy. Place the egg on top of the potato you plated earlier.

Add the crispy bacon (I just break it into small pieces), chopped fresh tomato, cilantro. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

Breakfast In a Cup

I don't know about you, but everyday morning is a rush time. And time is almost always cut short from breakfast! No time to sit down and have breakfast. Do you also want breakfast to go? This is the perfect recipe. Have it in your car, at the bus stop, train station anywhere. Also, the best part is: make it ahead, refrigerate or freeze, pop it in the microwave for a min and a satisfying breakfast ready in no time.

It has eggs, sausage and cheese in a tortilla cup. Satisfying and fulfilling breakfast!

Also, I'll let you in a little secret- I like this so much, I don't just eat it for breakfast. I love it as an afternoon snacks. Put some ketchup or hot sauce on it and enjoy :)

Doesn't this look pretty?

You can see all the sausage and egg in there. I used spicy italian sausage. If you are in no mood to eat spicy sausage in the morning, no problem, switch with breakfast sausage or even chicken or ham.

You need (for 12 cups):

9 eggs

1½ cup ground sausage (I used spicy italian sausage. You may use breakfast sausage, ground chicken, turkey or even ham)

6 tortillas (I used uncooked flour tortilla. You may use cooked flour tortilla, corn tortilla- for gluten free options)

⅓ chopped cilantro (You may skip this or use parsley or wilted spinach)

½ cup chopped scallions

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used a mix of Cheddar and Jack)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking oil spray 

How:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Brown the sausage in a skillet on medium heat. Drain the excess fat on a paper towel and let it cool. If using breakfast sausage links, brown them and cut into small pieces.

In the meantime, whisk the eggs with scallions, cilantro with salt and pepper and keep aside.

Cut the flour tortillas into halves.

Start the assembly. Oil spray a 12 muffin pan. Place one half of the tortilla or two quarters or three pieces (whichever works for you) in the muffin cup overlapping such that the bottom of the cup is covered. Press the tortillas gently in to the cups. The edges of the tortilla should stick up higher than the muffin cup sides. Oil spray the inside of the tortilla cup.

Equally distribute the sausage in all the cups. Add the egg mixture over the sausage. Top it with cheese.

Bake for 20 min until the eggs are firm. Check with a toothpick.

If you want to store them for later, cool them and put in a large (gallon) freezer bag and store in your refrigerator for the next few days. Put it in the microwave for a min to warm them up.


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