The Pioneer Woman Cooks (16 page)

2. Place the hot potatoes on a cutting board and dice them into 1-inch-ish pieces.

Inch-ish. Say that five times fast. Just for kicks.

My goal in life is to tack “ish” onto as many words as possible. Possible-ish.

3. Heat a skillet over medium-low to medium heat.

Next, put a little vegetable oil in the pan. A tablespoon is good.

4. Scrape the pan you used to make bacon earlier this morning. You all made bacon this morning…right?

5. Then, because I usually straddle the fence between ridiculousness and utter foolishness, I add a tablespoon of bacon fat to the skillet.

’Cause it tastes goooooood, that’s why.

6. Go ahead and make peace with yourself, then add the onion.

7. Sauté until it starts to turn brown.

8. Next, throw in the cooked, diced potatoes. Now, sometimes I’ll remove the onions first and wait to add them back in when the potatoes are brown. But I happen to like the onions to get all dark and burny, so I’m going to leave them.

9. Salt and pepper the potatoes, then stir them around, then slightly press/pack them in the skillet. Cook without stirring for several minutes. You want to make sure the pan is hot enough to crisp the potatoes, but not hot enough to char the poor dears.

NOTE: Sometimes, to make an interesting crust, I’ll sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of flour over the top of the potatoes while the underside is cooking. That way, when you flip them they’ll get a little crispy. In addition, a nice coating of paprika can give the potatoes a great depth of color.

10. After several minutes, use a spatula to flip the potatoes over to the other side.

11. Be sure to thoroughly salt and pepper the potatoes. Because no matter how you slice it, potatoes must have seasoning. Lots and lots of seasoning.

Enjoy them! Spoon them into your breakfast burritos or place a fried egg on top…or serve them alongside eggs Benedict if you’re feeling especially saucy.

PW BREAKFAST BURRITOS

Makes 12 burritos

Disclaimer: These breakfast burritos are not fancy. y These breakfast burritos are not gourmet. These breakfast burritos are not haute Tex-Mex cuisine. These breakfast burritos are exactly that: breakfast burritos, and I often make them for my husband and kids when they’re at the pens working cattle at breakfast time. They’re as simple as it gets…and you know what? So am I! Well, sorta…“simple” is a subjective term.

My point is, if you’re looking for fancy chipotle-asiago-chorizopoblano-fancy-o breakfast burritos, you’ve come to the wrong wife and mother. And I’ve tried that route; believe me, I’ve tried it. The problem is, my family—my husband and four children—just don’t like chipotle-asiago-chorizo-poblano-fancy-o stuff. They want it straight up and Middle-Americano, without a lot of adornment. But the great thing about this recipe is, it’s basic. And you can use the basic method to create whatever degree of amped-up breakfast burrito you’re in the mood for. As the recipe proceeds, I’ll let you know the things I’d add to the mix if I were living in a tiny apartment in Chicago by myself, just to give you some more ideas.

Let’s hurry this along—Marlboro Man and the crew have got to be horseback by dawn!

1 pound breakfast sausageBasic Breakfast Potatoes (In the Morning; or use frozen hash brown potatoes)2 red bell peppers, seeded and roughly chopped10 eggs1 teaspoon seasoned salt, such as Lawry’sBlack pepper to taste¼ cup half-and-half2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese12 flour tortillasPicante sauce

1. Begin by browning the breakfast sausage over medium heat. Drain off the grease and reduce the heat to low.