Hopped Up Hashbrowns

I am inspired by a cook we met when we lived in Yuma, Arizona who slung hash at Penny's Diner. It was our favorite place to go for a cheap meal. Gene always ordered .99 cent hotcake that would cover the entire plate and I loved the "hopped up hashbrowns".

 

So, here's what you need:

 

Make your hashbrowns however you like. We buy the frozen shredded ones for ease but in the wintertime I've been known to bake a whole 5 lb. bag of taters, put them in the fridge and shred them up for hashbrowns on the weekend.  Anyway ... fry up your taters and set them aside for a minute so you can do the "hopped up" part.

 

I use whatever I have in the kitchen. You can add or delete anything from this list and it will still work:

Tomatoes (chopped)

Jalapeno peppers (chopped)

Red and/or green and/or yellow peppers (chopped)

Onion (chopped)

Mushrooms (chopped)

Butter (a couple of pats) (you could use olive oil but I prefer butter)

 

Get your skillet good and hot. Put a couple of pats of butter in and before it all melts and burns, slide in your chopped up veggies.  Saute them to your liking. I like mine done on the less cooked side.

 

Warning: if your jalapeno is a hot one, you're eyes are gonna burn. Remember to turn the fan on.

 

Slide this mixture over the top of your hashbrowns and you've got a steaming hot plate of yumminess. You can add a little shredded cheddar cheese on top if you can afford the fat. I like to serve with a side of scrambled eggs. There is so much color to this that you'll want to go into the breakfast business!

 

Notes:

- Oct. 6, 2012, I made this today because I had a lot of red and yellow cherry tomatoes given to me along with a variety of hot peppers I picked up from a co-worker. I didn't add any red or green peppers and it was just fine. We hadn't had this in a long time and we enjoyed remembering our days in Yuma, Arizona over breakfast this morn. Oh my, the flavors were fresh! Thank goodness for good friends who keep me in tomatoes this time of year.