Sweet Potato Hash with Baked Eggs and Cheese

I love having sweet potatoes in the house. They're such a healthy vegetable and so tasty. And they're not just for Thanksgiving. But sometimes I just don't know what to do with them besides simply baking, shredding for latkes or adding mini marshmallows. Last night I put on my thinking cap, took a tip from Pat and Gina Neely from Food Network and made their Mother's Day Hash. I used their recipe almost to the letter except I added Sazon Azafron seasoning to the vegetable mix (flavor explosion!!) and sauteed everything in a small amount of bacon fat (why did they leave that out?) and canola oil. I omitted the smoked paprika and parsley which I did not have. Here's my version and lots of pics.

Sweet Potato Hash
Inspired by the Neely's
Serves 4

2 large sweet potatoes peeled and cubed about 1 inch
salt
1T bacon fat
1T canola oil
1/2 large onion chopped 1/4 inch
1 red bell pepper chopped 1/4 inch
1/4 cup scallions chopped (white and green parts)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 package Goya Sazon Azafran
Additional 2T bacon fat and 1-2T canola oil for crisping the potatoes
Kosher salt and pepper

4 fresh large eggs
Additional salt and pepper for seasoning the eggs
4 T shaved parmesan cheese

Lets get cooking with some pictures. I'm loving re-living this meal. In medium sauce pan add cubed sweet potatoes, a generous amount of salt and cold water. Place on high heat until water boils. Lower heat to simmer and cook uncovered about 10 minutes until potatoes are mostly tender. (We'll be sauteeing them later).

Drain cooked potatoes and dry on a kitchen towel or paper towels. While potatoes are cooking, prep your veggies. Now grab a saute pan and add 1T of bacon fat and 1T canola oil. Heat to medium and add your pepper, onions, and scallions. Cook for a few minutes (4-5) to soften, and add the garlic and the Azafron. Cook a few minutes more to let the veggies absorb the seasoning. Remove mixture from saute pan and set aside.

Now it's time to put this hash together. In the same pan that you cooked the pepper mixture, add about 1-2T canola oil and 2 T bacon fat. What we're doing here is crisping up the cooked sweet potatoes. Place a layer of the cubed potatoes in sauce pan. Don't crowd them, You want them to get crispy, not steamed. And gently turn them so they are browned on all sides (or almost all sides). Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper.

We're almost there, so now add back the pepper/onion mixture and add a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper.

Gently mix together and your hash is done and ready to serve. But if you want to take it to a different level, grab a large muffin tin, spritz 4 of the indented tins with cooking spray and divide your hash to fit each halfway up each large crevice. Pre heat oven to 425 degrees.

You see where I'm going with this. Crack an egg over each prepared muffin tin and liberally sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper.

Add some shaved parmesan cheese. And anything else your little heart desires. I could only think of cheesy, sweet potato hash and a semi runny egg.

Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. Let cool a bit before you serve. I dug right in and was happy I did. What a simple dinner. And a great little brunch entree for guests or family.

To me this is comfort food. I'll be re-heating the rest in the microwave for brunch tomorrow after my workout and I'm thinking (hoping) if I don't break the eggs they're going to be great.

Meatloaf with a kick

A few nights ago I was was playing in the kitchen chilling some dough and realized I was starving. I was so hungry and needed to feed myself something that was tasty and rather simple so I could work on one more go-round of my Raspberry Cloud Cakes. I admit, with the WFC approaching faster than ever I have not been eating properly. But I was lucky to have thought ahead and defrosted some chopped sirloin and decided to make my go to dish- MEATLOAF. Sometimes I make a complicated meatloaf but this time it had to be simple. I went through my cupboards and grabbed a packet of Goya Sazon Seasoning (a life saver), remember this little gem? I use it in my shrimp dishes all the time and thought, why not try it with meatloaf. Plus I had some cooked bacon in the fridge. So far, so good. It took me no time to put this little loaf together and a happy gal I was. No chopping involved, but if you have some extra time please add some fresh diced green or red peppers. Here's the recipe:

Sazon Bacon and Sirloin Meatloaf

1 package Sazon seasoning from Goya
1 egg
1 T milk
1 T minced dried onion
1/2 sleeve of crushed Ritz crackers
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 (or more) black pepper
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 lb chopped sirloin
6 slices cooked bacon finely chopped

Here's a picture of the Sazon seasoning, the star of the show:

And here's what I did with this fabulous spice blend:

Mix Sazon, egg, milk, dried onion, salt, pepper, crackers and Worcestershire sauce together with a spoon or fork.

 Now add your chopped bacon.

Mix in the ground sirloin and form into a small loaf and place in greased pan.

Bake 50 minutes and enjoy any way your little heart desires. I made sammies and forgot to take pictures. But you can just imagine how delish they were. My suggestion is to double the recipe. I am now wishing I had done that.