Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!

I know, I haven't posted in ages.  But I am now!  Woohoo!

Last semester ended great, with straight A's again.  I loved all of my cooking classes - they were a blast!  Classes start up again next week, and I am taking a whopping 18 credits.  Lots of cooking!

One of the best things to come out of last semester was a newfound love for corned beef, coutesy of my American Regional Cuisine class.  I had never tried it before preparing it in class, and it has become a new favorite.  AND it doesn't clash with my total hatred for leftovers...can you say corned beef hash??!

Corned beef hash has become my go-to breakfast.  I was craving it this morning,  but had no corned beef.  

What's a girl to do??!

I came up with a delicious solution...leftover beef tenderloin from Christmas dinner!  (No, I didn't have two week old beef sitting in the fridge...I was going to throw it away - it was mostly scraps, and we were going out of town for a week, but I just can't bear to throw food away, so I tossed it in the freezer!)  I gave it a quick thaw, tossed it with some pickling spices for a hint of corned beefiness, and I was ready to go!

The Cast:
Potatoes (boiled until tender, then cubed)
Onion
Leftover beef (tossed with pickling spice)
Oil

Eggs

Bacon grease (you keep a jar of it in your fridge to fry eggs, right?)

Heat up your oil until it is nice and hot 'n shimmery in a big pan.  (Yeah, I used a wok...I got it for Christmas and want to use it for EVERYTHING!)

Once your pan is hot 'n ready, toss in the potatoes and onions and give them a stir to get them nice and coated with oil.  Make sure you have enough oil to really cover them - you don't want it to stick!!

Once your potatoes and onions are all mixed around, toss in the meat and give it a stir.  Press down to a nice, even level, then LEAVE IT ALONE!  You want it to get nice and crispy on the bottom, so don't stir it around.  I usually set the timer then walk away, because I just can't resist the temptation to stir.  Start with 5 minutes, then stir them around to see how they are - you want them to start to brown and get nice and crispy.

While you are resisting temptation to stir your hash, get your eggs ready to go.

Melt a bit of bacon grease in a nonstick skillet.  (I suppose you could use butter or nonstick spray, but...BACON!  Need I say more??!)

Toss in a couple of eggs (gently, of course) and fry those babies up however you like them.  My house goes for over easy or sunny side up, but I won't judge you if you want to cook them another way.  

Plate up your beautiful hash and top them with your eggs.  A bit of salt and peper, and maybe a little squirt of ketchup (if you're into that kind of thing), and you have pure breakfast perfection!!

Go make yourself a big old plate of hash...then enjoy your nap afterwards!!  Isn't that what Sunday is for??!!

Sweet dreams!!