Sausage-potato hash n’ eggs.

Do you eat breakfast?

Whenever I stay at my folks’ house in Durango (like now), there are tons of breakfast options. My mom just reminded me that eating something in the morning kick-starts your metabolism for the day. The trouble is, I’m not hungry first thing. Once upon a time, I couldn’t face high school without a big bowl of cereal in my belly. Somewhere along the line, my need for food first thing in the morning was replaced by my need for coffee. I do love to go out for brunch, but rarely make breakfast at home. I’ve been trying to change that recently- first with a tasty veggie scramble, and then with this: Sausage-Potato Hash n’ Eggs.

One morning, in my barely caffeinated state, it made sense to just WING IT in the kitchen. I had a loose idea involving cheesy hashbrowns and some veggies mingling together with spicy sausage and topped with a fried egg. We’ll forget that I’d never fried an egg before this until later- let’s start with the HASH.

First, I got some sausage working in a pan on the stove. I broke it up with a wooden spatula and let it get nice and browned.

While the sausage filled the kitchen with the aroma of breakfast-y goodness, I chopped up some beautiful, bright veggies: zucchini, red onion, an orange bell pepper, jalapeno, and cherry tomatoes. I love a cutting board full of RAINBOW.

I removed the sausage from the pan and tossed in the veggies. I seasoned them up with the usual suspects (garlic salt, Mexican seasonings, crushed red pepper) and sautéed them for just a bit before adding shredded potatoes.

The hashbrowns had some time to meet the veggies before the sausage joined the party. I let the whole mess cook on the stove for a little while before popping the pan into the oven to brown up.

I’d just finished setting our breakfast table when I realized I had no idea how to fry an egg. I pulled up a “how-to” on my iPhone, heated up my cast iron skillet, and crossed my fingers. I think they look pretty darn good, don’t you?

The last touch to the sausage-potato hash was a generous sprinkling of cheese. Once the cheese had melted, it was time to eat!

I served the hash topped with the fresh tomatoes and a sprinkling of cilantro. There was a fair amount of heat from the spicy sausage, the crushed red pepper, and the jalapeno, but we like it hot.

It was a far cry from a bowl of cereal. It didn’t take long before John’s plate was empty, except the fruit. No surprise there, right? Not a bad way to start the day!

Maybe YOUR day should start this way tomorrow.

Are you a breakfast junkie? What’s your favorite breakfast food?