Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Back to School Brunch: Denver egg scramble, roasted potato hash, and grilled ham




My kids have been back in school almost 2 weeks now and every day it’s the same:  how was your day…FINE.   How was practice…FINE.  How was the pep rally…FINE.  And then into their rooms until dinner and right to sleep after because the late night hours of summer vacation have caught up with them and 5:30 am is sooooooooo early.

For the first week while they’re adjusting I say nothing.  They say “fine” and I go “k”.  Then comes week two and my crafty plan:  back to school brunch.  Guaranteed to make them talk without me having to say a word.  It goes like this…

On Sunday morning when they get up at noon I have this all ready:  Denver egg scramble with melted cheese and salsa, roasted potato hash, and grilled ham (if I want extra information I will also ply them with toasted buttered English Muffins).  We sit down to eat and I say to my daughter “how’s school?” and she sings like a canary…who likes who, who’s in which classes, which teachers are dating each other, why she hates math, blah blah blah and on and on.  Excellent.  And we talk and laugh until we’re full (which for our stomachs  is a long time…lol).  It’s the best kind of morning, sitting with your kids and catching up, and I will cherish these times with them forever. 

When they come home at Christmas from college and I say “how’s school” and they say FINE…how do you like being a Rhodes Scholar…FINE…how was your first case…FINE…how do you like sitting on the Supreme Court…FINE…how are your discounts with AARP…FINE…how’s your arthritis…FINE MOM, GOD… 

Forever  :)

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(what you will need)

3 eggs per person
shredded cheese (I use Colby Jack)
a few teaspoons water
1 ham steak per person (plus one extra for the eggs)
1 green pepper, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 large russet potatoes, washed & diced (no need to peel)
salt/pepper
seasoned salt (I use Lawry's)
your favorite salsa
1 half small onion, diced very small  (use all or as much as you'd like.  I only use a few tablespoons)
olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
non-stick skillet
optional:  English Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine diced potatoes and onions on large cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Toss with your hands to coat.  Sprinkle all with salt and pepper.  Bake for 1 hour.  Depending on your oven you may need some extra time (they're done when a knife can be inserted into both kinds of potato easily).  They should be golden brown on the side that touched the pan.


potatoes right out of the oven

Prep your other foods:
dice the extra hamsteak and green pepper small enough to mix in your eggs
(because this ham is already cooked and going in your eggs, you do not need to grill it)

When the potatoes are almost done, grill your ham steaks.  They are likely already cooked so they just need to be heated through, with nice grill marks.  Cover and set aside.

Approx. 8 minutes before your potatoes are done, start your eggs.
Melt butter in non-stick pan over medium heat (the key to fluffy eggs is LOWER HEAT, no medium high or high). Break eggs into bowl and scramble with a few teaspoons water.  Pour into pan and begin to move around slowly.  Add as much ham and green pepper as you want, sprinkle with seasoned salt, and continue to scramble slowly and on lower heat. When done,  add as much cheese as you'd like over the top, remove from heat, and place cover on the pan so it will melt.


eggs with melted cheese.  fluffy!

Bring brunch to the table and let 'em eat.
Top eggs with salsa after plating, and salt/pepper to taste.



see the melted cheese hanging off the sides? mmmmm...






Saturday, August 20, 2016

Fresh Garden Salsa and more




So, let's catch up.

Exciting things have been happening here at Dishing Memories.


I've been asked to be a recurring guest blogger on a website called "Better Health Greater Wealth".  It features, as the name suggests, ways to live a "smarter healthier lifestyle and all the wellness cooking that goes with it."  Cool, right? 


My first post appears on the website today and I thought you'd like to see it.   It's a garden salsa, made with the freshest ingredients the summer has to offer.  A picture of it appears above and here's the link...check it out, then make it for yourself and your friends:


http://www.betterhealthgreaterwealth.tv/better-health-greater-wealth-blog/fresh-garden-salsa

Okay...what else?  Oh ya...there's also a NATIONAL TV SHOW (swear!) and I have been invited to tape some cooking segments for it.  Fun!  I will keep you posted on this so we can watch together.  You bring the popcorn.

We're gonna have so much fun together, you and me.  Writing crazy stuff here...submitting healthy stuff there...getting ourselves on tv...  

Stick with me, kid!  It's just keeps gettin' better!  :)






Monday, August 1, 2016

Simple Antipasto Platter



About the dating scene, my friend Charlie throws up his hands, exasperated, and says “I don’t know what women want.” 

Ummmm, what??  How can you not know? It’s spelled out for you every day on the radio—have you not been listening?  We want the country song.  Every country song you’ve ever heard…ever…we want it:

Tan legs hanging over the tailgate…dancing in the headlights…lighting watermelon candles upstairs…a bottle of wine and 2 dixie cups…driving down some old back roads while we lean the seat back and steal your ballcap and you watch our hair fly out the window.  We want you to tell us we feel like Carolina and that you’re drunk on us and high on summertime.  That when we walk in a room you can hardly breathe because we’ve got a devastating smile that can knock a grown man to his knees, and that you hope we’re getting lonely tonight.  And especially, that you’re grateful God blessed the broken road that led you straight to us.  And ps:  we ALL think that brand new Chevy with the lift kit WOULD look a helluvalot better with us up in it!  Just sayin'...

You gotta take the time to get to know her, and this antipasto platter is perfect for “that date”.  That date where you’re gonna hunker down, drink some wine, and talk all night…did she have braces in middle school?  Does she love the first day of Spring?  Find it out, boy—this is your chance.

There’s no cooking involved and you buy everything, soooo eeaaaaasssyyyyy.  Just pick out your favorite things, put them on a plate, open the wine, and get started with your 20 questions.

Oh, and Charlie…it never hurts to make her laugh :)

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WHAT TO BUY:

I've used all of these on the platter, and the ones with the asterisk made it onto the one above:

Genoa salami*
ham (I used smoked ham)*
marinated artichoke hearts
pickled asparagus*
assorted cheeses (I used Gorgonzola, aged Dutch Gouda, and Vermont cheddar)*
assorted olives (I used Castlevetrano and Italian oil-cured)*
grissini
crackers (I used sesame crackers)*
grapes, apples
melon & prosciutto
walnuts*
marcona almonds
preserves (I used blackberry)*


Note:  If you place parchment paper on top of your serving plate (mine is a butcher block cutting board), it makes clean up easy because you just ball up what's left and throw it away.