Use it or lose it: Breakfast skillet

Heather says:

There’s no need to load the family up and try to beat the rush to Denny’s or IHOP on a weekend morning. Breakfast skillets are an easy way to use up leftovers for an economical breakfast.

The only part of my method that remains the same is the potato preparation. Preheat the oven to 425F. Find several potatoes, scrub, remove any eyes, and dice. In a bowl toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil and season to taste. Spread in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet and place in the oven for at least 20 minutes, longer if you like them on the crispy side.

While the potatoes are cooking, dice any leftover or “on the verge” vegetables. This morning I found about 1/3 lb of breakfast sausage that needed to be used. It was browned, crumbled, and set to drain on a paper towel. Today’s skillets had 1 small onion, a slightly sad bell pepper, half a tomato, and a couple ounces each of cheddar and monterey jack. I diced the ingredients to a fairly uniform size, except the cheese which was grated.

For the best flavor heat 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil over medium heat and add the diced onion. Cook until soft and add the onions and bell pepper. Set aside in a bowl to mix with the potatoes. In this case, I added the sausage to the sauteed veggies.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and toss with the vegetables. Portion onto plates and sprinkle generously with cheese. I like to take advantage of the hot oven and set the plates inside to melt the cheese. Just be careful if you are serving young children.

For an extra hearty breakfast top with eggs cooked to your preference. Salt and pepper to taste.

Use whatever combination is lurking in your fridge. I have had great success with broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, and cauliflower. Crumbled bacon, leftover ham, or chicken make great additions as well, although I might avoid any meat flavored heavily with herbs first thing in the morning.

Enjoy.

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