SATURDAY MORNING SKILLET

During the week, breakfast feels like a luxury meal. A meal I can never afford. My early mornings are usually reserved for sleep or a significant amount of coffee. I never want to wake up, make a mess in the kitchen and then leave the house. Most of us are out the door by 7 a.m. without a meal in our belly. There is never time for "the most important meal of the day." Then Saturday pops up, and breakfast feels essential. My stomach is an alarm clock, groaning in starvation, insisting that coffee alone will not suffice. Suddenly my kitchen is begging to get greasy. Why go out for breakfast when Saturday was made for pajamas and bed head? Get a little greasy in the kitchen with this breakfast skillet that has melted American cheese, salty fried bacon, diced potatoes, and onion.

Skillets are one of my favorite breakfast menu items that's traditionally served in a skillet still sizzling. I didn't have a miniature skillet, but all the elements are present. A pile of delicious ingredients just like a salad but— heavier in every way. I made ours with fluffy scrambled eggs, a potato hash, crumbled bacon and a slice of American cheese. A breakfast that keeps you full through lunch.

What you need:

1-2 lbs small to medium russet potatoes, diced and boiled
½- 1lb of thick-cut maple bacon
1 green bell pepper diced
1 red bell pepper diced
½ onion diced
6 eggs (your preference, use up to 8)
Sliced American cheese 6-8 slices
Salt and pepper
 

****Make sure you have time this morning, this is a recipe that requires at least an hour to prepare and cook.

First I washed and diced the potatoes. I put them in a pot of water, salted the pot and boiled the potatoes until tender. About 15 minutes. The fork should prick the potato easily.

While the potatoes boiled I began prepping the rest of the vegetables.

P.S. My bell peppers sat on a counter too long and were looking a little wrinkly. The green one has even begun to change color. These bell peppers are still okay to eat. The vegetable isn't rotting. As long as the pepper is still sealed, and not visibly rotting you should be fine. You should know, I am not a certified doctor or dietician. I ate my wrinkly bell peppers and have lived to tell the tale many times. Their appearance changes during the cooking process and chances are you won't even notice.

My veggies are prepped and I realized I should have been frying the bacon. I was thinking about using three burners for breakfast. Then I realized I should fry the onion and potatoes in the bacon grease.
 

Fry the bacon in a cast-iron skillet. The best way to cook bacon is to flip it only once and remove the bacon a little earlier than you want to. I usually burn my first batch, but I did not today. (Pro- Status) I like to pull the bacon a little sooner than I want because it continues to fry while it cools.

Once the potatoes are tender, drain them in the sink. The bacon should drain on a cooling rack. I removed excess oil from the cast-iron skillet until there is an even layer coating my pan. I threw in the bell pepper and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper, and then added the potatoes.

I tried to smooth an even layer in the pan and then seasoned lightly a second time with salt and pepper. Next, I grabbed the eggs and heated a medium-large frying pan with cooking spray.

Everyone has their way of making eggs, so I am interested to hear how you choose to cook yours. I decided scrambled was easiest and quickest for everyone at my table. I cracked 6 eggs, splashed ⅓ cup milk into the cup of eggs and whisked frantically. Then I poured the egg mixture into the frying pan and seasoned with more salt and pepper.

Turn the potato mixture to flip everything over and get things heated evenly. As the eggs firm up and get scrambled, I got the cheese out and started laying the slices on top of the potato mixture.

Finish scrambling the eggs, remove from heat, and prepare to plate. I started with scrambled eggs, then added the potato mixture with cheese and finally topped with crumbled bacon.

I chose to keep the bacon out of the mix because bacon tends to get wilted after mixing with the other toppings. This way the bacon maintains its crunch that I love so much.

After my first trial run, I think next time I would like even more toppings. I was missing green onion, salsa, maybe some sliced mushrooms. If I wasn't trying to please children I might have poached my eggs instead. There are many ways to alter this recipe and give it your own personal touch. Let me know in the comments how you decide to indulge in this recipe.