Breakfast Potato Bake
Okay. Some things made on the Farm are nourishing to both body and soul—and some are just for the later. This is one of those. There is zero nutritional benefit for the following recipe, nor should you look for any. But…you will close your eyes and savor each and every mouthful. That’s a promise. Now, isn’t that worth a few thousand calories? The Farmer’s Wife says yes—on special occasions.
And how you make it is this:
Three large potatoes of the white variety are peeled and grated coarse, setting the final product into a bowl of cold water while all the rest of the recipe is being carried out—otherwise your potatoes will be as brown as the dirt they come from—not very a-pealing (bud-dum-dum).
Two peppers of alternating colors of the sweet variety are washed, seeded, and chopped coarse along with a sweet onion prepared in similar fashion (all but the seeding, of course!). These are placed in a large cast iron skillet with four tablespoons reserved bacon fat (or butter, if you don’t have any sitting by) and cooked a bit, stirring every so often. When all begins to sizzle, two cloves of garlic are minced and added to the other veggies, stirring them all in nicely and cooked right along with them until all being to go limp and char up a bit. The heat is turned off, but while it’s still good and hot, a heaping teaspoon of a beef bouillon substitute is stirred in.
The potatoes are drained and placed in a paper towel, where they’re squeezed until all that water comes out. They’re stirred into the other veggies, right in the skillet. A half cup sour cream is stirred in, along with another of shredded sharp cheddar. A dash of salt and one of pepper is added, and a good half teaspoon of cayenne pepper never hurt anyone, either. This is all stirred together and evenly spread to coat the bottom of the pan. Another third cup grated sharp cheddar cheese is sprinkled over all and the whole thing is put in a preheated three-hundred-and-fifty-degree oven, just as it is, to bake a bit—around thirty-five minutes or so or until all is bubbly, cheesy goodness.
