Saturday Morning Breakfast Bowl
January 25, 2019 by Nicole Collins
It’s Friday night. And, the moon is bright. Gonna have some fun. Show you how it’s done. TGIF!
Ok, so maybe it’s only Friday morning. But, TGIF anyways!
Am I dating myself my singing you this little song this morning? Anyone remember it from the Friday night TV line up back in the 90’s?
TGIF was the thing to do on Friday nights in my preteen years. Shows like Family Matters, Step By Step, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World were all in the lineup. They were what you looked forward to allllllll week.
And then, there was Saturday morning.
I was never a Saturday morning cartoon watcher. I’ve never been much of a cartoon watcher at all, with the exception of Disney movies. I was more in to the old time shows like I Dream of Jeanie, Bewitched, and my fav, Donna Reed.
I guess I’ve always been an old soul.
But, it wasn’t the TV shows that had me jazzed about Saturday mornings when I was growing up. It was my breakfast ritual. I had what we called, my Saturday Morning Breakfast.
Super original, right?
It was the meal of the week for me. And, I always recited what was in it in this order: eggs, potato, sausage, bread, and tomato. A gooey fried egg, some kind of boiled or baked potato, crumbled breakfast sausage, a slice of untoasted white bread, and chopped tomato…that is what I looked forward to every week. And, the ultimate goal was to make sure every bite had one of everything in it.
It was so simple, but it was one of my favorite things ever. I can still taste what that bite was like all put together.
So as a grown up, my pallet is definitely a little more sophisticated. But sometimes, you just can’t beat a classic. Today, we’re taking those same ingredients, giving them a Yummy Muffin style upgrade, and turning them into a beautifully delicious breakfast.
Today, we’re making Saturday Morning Breakfast Bowls!
First off, let me just say that this is the third time I’ve tried to give you this recipe. I guess the third time really is a charm!
The first time I made it, the mix of flavors and ingredients weren’t quite right; and the pictures were UGLY. Buh bye… The second time I made this was the day I lost little Charlie. So, obviously my head was not in the game while I was waiting for the vet to call and tell me his fate. The ingredients were right that time around; but the pictures were awful, since my head was somewhere else. Deleted…
But this third time around, it’s finally right!
We’re using the same basic staples that my mom would use for this breakfast. We’re just upping the ante a bit. And, we’re adding a little avocado to the party, because I pretty much want avocado 24/7.
For the potatoes, we’re going to use a frozen Potatoes O’Brien blend. I love using this ingredient, because it’s got peppers and onions mixed in with the potatoes; and they’re all chopped up in to perfectly uniform little pieces. We’re going to add a smidge of garlic powder and paprika to the potatoes to bump up the flavor even more, before we let them get nice and crispy in the pan. The key is to not stir them around the whole time they’re cooking. We want to give the potatoes an opportunity to form a nice crust. And even better, we’re going to cook the potatoes in the same pan that cooked the sausage. So, we get a little extra hit of flavor from the sausage grease, too.
After we cook the potatoes, we can use that same pan for a third time to cook our eggs. You can make your eggs ANY way you like them. Fried egg, poached egg, scrambled egg…the world is your eggshell. Depending on my mood, I like this meal with all of the above options. But if you go the scrambled route, you have to add a little cheddar cheese to the party too!
The last thing we need to do is assemble! Layer the potatoes and sausage in a pretty bowl. Top it was some heirloom grape tomatoes (for some extra color and a pop of acidity) and some sliced avocado. Then, throw your egg of choice on top. Your bread options can nestle in right on the side. I’ve graduated from plain white bread to wheat toast, but I also love to have this with some toasted naan on the side. MMMMM!
If you have trouble waking up in the morning, this breakfast is for you. How could you look at all of these bright beautiful colors and not be ready to take on the day!
I think this sounds like the perfect way to spend my Saturday tomorrow, and I think you should too!
Have a great weekend, and let’s eat!
Saturday Morning Breakfast Bowl
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
8 oz breakfast sausage
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 cups frozen potatoes o'brien
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
½ pepper, plus more to taste
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp paprika
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 avocado, sliced
4 eggs, scrambled, fried, or poached
2 slices bread of your choice, toasted and cut in half
Directions:
In a large non stick skillet, crumble and cook sausage over medium high heat until fully cooked through and no longer pink, about 10-12 mins. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage to a paper towel lined plate to drain any excess grease.
Add 2 tbsp butter to the skillet. When the butter has melted, add potatoes o'brien, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, and ¼ tsp each garlic powder and paprika. Toss well to combine. Spread potatoes in an even layer and allow to sit 5 mins. Give the potatoes a stir, spread them in an even layer again, and allow to sit for 5 more mins. Give them a final stir, spread in an even layer, and allow them to sit for 2-3 mins until the potatoes have started to crisp and brown. Remove from heat.
Assemble the breakfast bowls: Start by layering potatoes in the bottom of 4 bowls. Top with cooked sausage, tomatoes, avocado, prepared egg, and toast; dividing evenly between 4 bowls. Season egg, avocado, and tomatoes with a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.
Recipe notes:
*The egg prep for this is totally up to you! Sometimes, I make scrambled eggs with cheese. Sometimes, I make a fried egg. Sometimes, I poach the egg. For the fried or scrambled eggs, I add another tbsp of butter to the skillet after removing the potatoes, and I cook them right in the same pan. You can customize the egg for each person you're serving too!
*To easily fry an egg, heat 1 tbsp of butter over medium high heat. When the butter starts to foam and sizzle, crack an egg into the pan. Top with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny, about 2-3 mins.
*To poach an egg, this method works for me every time. Over high heat, bring a small pot of water with 1 cap full (about a tsp) of white vinegar to a light simmer. Break egg in to a small ramekin, being careful not to crack the yolk. As soon as the water starts to bubble, reduce the heat to medium high heat. Add a pinch of salt to the water. Carefully, drop the egg in to the water, and set the timer for 3 minutes. When the time is up, remove the egg from the water with a slotted spoon, and blot with a paper towel to dry.
