If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, let's keep it from being boring. This time around, I'm offering a morning side dish that gives you the tradition - lightly crisped hash browns - and adds a lot of extra flavor and nutrients. Think onions (pretty traditional) alongside diced peppers, minced garlic, wilted spinach, and a scattering of fresh tomato (now that will get your attention).
Now, you can tweak these hash browns a bit, but take note that the wet ingredient here - the tomatoes - are left fresh and added at the end. This is to keep the hash browns from being soggy and limp. So if you are looking to swap ingredients out or change orders, try to maintain the texture of your taters. So if you want tomatoes in the mix, keep them until the end or maybe diced some sun dried tomatoes to add to the skillet. Use that approach and you'll do fine. I opted to use bacon fat in these because what could be more of a nod to the morning meal than fat rendered from making the king of breakfast meats, bacon? As always, pick and choose and make it yours.
I like serving these hash browns alongside an over medium egg and a side of toast or a homemade muffin. With all that flavor and texture, this clever side dish is sure to even squeak its way into brunch and even dinner time. Try them alongside eggs benedict or even barbecued ribs. You won't believe how well they play with all manner of meals. However you choose to put them on a plate and what they are paired with, enjoy!
Everything Hash Browns
- 1 tablespoon cooking fat of your choice - I used bacon fat
- 16 oz. frozen shredded hash browns
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt - I used Kinder's Buttery Garlic & Herb Seasoning
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 bell pepper, cored and finely chopped - I used a green pepper
- 8 oz. spinach, chopped
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
In a large skillet, heat the cooking fat of your choice over medium-high heat. When the bottom of the skillet is evenly coated in hot cooking fat, add the hash browns and allow them to cook - undisturbed - for 4-5 minutes before flipping and repeating on the other side. Then add the seasoning, garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Continue cooking and flipping, allowing for 3-4 minutes of cooking time between flips.
After about 9-12 minutes of cooking, add the spinach and continue cooking the same way another 6-8 minutes or until the spinach is wilted and the hashbrowns are lightly browned at the edges. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Serve alongside your breakfast favorites topping with fresh chopped tomato.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes