Spicy Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash

My family has always LOVED a good breakfast potato hash!  I mean, what's not to love with onions, potatoes, sausage and good seasonings for breakfast, right?!  But we all know that white potatoes are not the healthiest for us... so I decided to make a spicy version of a healthier sweet potato hash that would be somewhere between familiar, exotic, and WOW!  Sweet potatoes rank #1 on the chart of healthy veggies.  They are a complex carbohydrate that won't spike your blood sugar and they are loaded with antioxidants.  As a bonus, this is Paleo friendly... if you're into that sort of thing.

This hash is super easy to throw together in the morning and is just perfect for those leftover roasted sweet potatoes you have in the fridge from last night's dinner.  Use your favorite sausage or turkey sausage and "bam," breakfast is made!  - and don't most of us have a great little black iron skillet in the bottom of a drawer somewhere that needs some love?

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Ingredients:  (for 2 servings)

This is sort of a throw-it-all-in-there recipe.  Not an exact measurement recipe.  So you'll have to forgive the lack of specific measurements.  Have more peeps... use more stuff.

• Half link of andouille sausage
• handful of chopped onions 
• Water as needed (maybe 1/2 cup)
• Leftover roasted sweet potato slices (about 1 cup or so)
• 1 tsp Sambal Oelek (spicy Thai chili paste)
• 1 or 2 large eggs
• Fresh parsley, rough chopped
• crushed red pepper flakes

Step-by-step photos:

There really is no trick to making a hash.  So I'm going to "pretend" I did something spectacular here. Pull out your (fully cooked) meat of choice.  I used a jalapeño green onion flavored andouille sausage.  Chorizo would work great.  If you don't have a black iron skillet, use something heavy so you can get some good color on all of this.

I'm not going to add ANY extra oil in this recipe.  Stick with me here.  Cook the sausage until it's on it's way to getting brown, but not dry.  Just a little color.  

about 6" of smoked sausage

Add in a good handful of chopped onions.  I always keep a bag of chopped onions in the freezer for fast meal prep.  As an additional perk, the frozen onions break down faster than the fresh ones.  

~ 1/3 cup onion

Since I'm not adding any oil to sauté the onions, I'm going to deglaze the pan with a couple ounces of water.  As the water cooks out, I kept adding a couple ounces at a time until my onions were nice and soft and translucent.

Add water to the pan to help the onions cook without having to add oil

When the onions are mostly cooked, add in about 1 - 1 1/2 cup leftover roasted sweet potatoes. (These were straight from the fridge and had been roasted with EVOO, salt and pepper.)  If you need to use raw potatoes, you could peel, cut, and microwave them until fairly tender. before adding them. *Don't forget to adjust the seasonings.

leftover roasted sweet potatoes, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and pepper.

To get this spicy party started (on top of my jalapeño sausage),  I'm going to add 1 tsp of the Thai chili paste Sambal Oelek.  You can add a different hot sauce if you'd prefer, but I like the flavors and acidity in this one a great deal.  Look for it in the Asian isle of your supermarket.  

1 tsp Sambal Oelek

When things are pretty much all cooked and seasoned to my liking, I'm going to add the finishing touches.  First, make a hole (or two) in the hash, and break your egg(s) right into the skillet very gently being careful not to break the yolk.  

1 or 2 large eggs cooking right in the middle of the hash

While we wait for the egg white(s) to set, sprinkle the top of the hash with some fresh parsley and crushed red pepper flakes.  Turn off the heat when the egg white is set and the yolk is still soft and runny.  The richness of the yolk complements the starchy potatoes and the spicy sausage.  The fresh herbs bring a bright, fresh element to the dish. *Of course, if you'd like yours cooked longer, by all means, go ahead.

fresh parsley to garnish

Now go out and have breakfast on the back porch and watch the world wake up.  With this hearty and healthy breakfast, you will be ready to go out and conquer whatever the day will bring!

I hope you've enjoyed this awesome (and healthy) breakfast recipe!  Scroll all the way down for the written method.

Here are some bonus recipes for you:

Hoisin Beef with Rice Noodles - picky teenager approved!  Do a fun "toppings" bar and let them add their own.

One Pot Skillet Lasagna - because there's nothing better than an easy and delicious one-dish meals on busy work nights!

Beefy Crunch Wrap Supremes - move over Taco Bell.  These are super simple to make at YOUR OWN house!  Watch the teenagers pile in!

BLT Buffalo Chicken Wrap - Make good use of those leftover chicken tenders that your kiddos tend to have.  LOL

Tiramisu - have dessert, too!  (But this one comes with portion control.  Thank goodness.)

Written Method: 

• There really is no trick to making a hash.  So I'm going to "pretend" I did something spectacular here. Pull out your meat of choice.  I used a jalapeño green onion flavored andouille sausage.  Chorizo would work great.  If you don't have a black iron skillet, use something heavy so you can get some good color on all of this.
• I'm not going to add ANY extra oil in this recipe.  Cook the sausage until it's on it's way to getting brown, but not dry.  Just a little color.  
• Add in a good handful of chopped onions.  I always keep a bag of chopped onions in the freezer for fast meal prep.  As an additional perk, the frozen onions break down faster than the fresh ones.  
• Since I'm not adding any oil to sauté the onions, I'm going to deglaze the pan with a couple ounces of water.  As the water cooks out, I kept adding a couple ounces at a time until my onions were nice and soft and translucent.
• When the onions are mostly cooked, add in about 1 - 1 1/2 cup leftover roasted sweet potatoes. (These were straight from the fridge and had been roasted with EVOO, salt and pepper.)  If you need to use raw potatoes, you could peel, cut, and microwave them until fairly tender. before adding them. *Don't forget to adjust the seasonings.
• To get this spicy party started, add 1 tsp of the Thai chili paste Sambal Oelek.  You can add a different hot sauce if you'd prefer, but I like the flavors and acidity in this one a great deal. 
• When things are pretty much all cooked and seasoned to my liking, I'm going to add the finishing touches.  First, make a hole (or two) in the hash, and break your egg(s) right into the skillet very gently being careful not to break the yolk.  
• While we wait for the egg white(s) to set, sprinkle the top of the hash with some fresh parsley and crushed red pepper flakes.  Turn off the heat when the egg white is set and the yolk is still soft and runny.  The richness of the yolk complements the starchy potatoes and the spicy sausage.
• Now go out and have breakfast on the back porch and watch the world wake up.  With this hearty and healthy breakfast, you will be ready to go out and conquer whatever the day will bring!  

Wild Blueberry Breakfast Strudels

I am the proud mom of a kindergartener.  For those of you who can relate to that, you know that somewhere in that backpack is going to be a monthly "snack helper" calendar.  And sheesh.... it comes around quickly!  I keep vowing to just pick up a bucket of cheese balls for the whole class, but I'm not quite there yet.  HaHa!  I had been wanting to try out these Wyman's wild blueberries for a while that I had in the freezer, but was waiting for just the right thing..... so when Lily's snack helper turn came around again, I knew this was it!  

I don't think these would have worked as well with the regular size blueberries because they would have been way too large for this application.  In addition to that, the antioxidant value of the wild blueberries is way higher than that of the regular ones.  That's a definite plus for our snack (especially when I am trying to justify the fact that I'm going to drizzle it with icing)!

One of the mom's stopped me on the way into the school and said "Wow, how did you DO that?!"  But really, it's just puff pastry, a filling, and an icing drizzle!  It's not complicated.  So let's do this.  And guess what else?  You don't even have to have a kindergartener.  You can make them just because you think someone YOU love may love to have them for breakfast or brunch.  :)

Print this Recipe!

Ingredients: (for 12 pastries)

Pastry - 

• 1 box frozen puff pastry sheets 

Filling -

• 4 cups frozen wild blueberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

Icing drizzle - 

• 1 cup confectioners sugar 
• 1/8 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 Tbsp water

Step-by-Step:

Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and thaw on the counter until you can unfold it into thirds.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut each sheet into thirds, then each third in half.  So each sheet will give you 6 pastries.  (12 pastries per box.)

To each piece of pastry, score with a paring knife around a 1/4" from the outside edge, being careful to not cut all the way through.  Then with a fork, dock the inside of the pastry.

Place the pastries on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

If you have room in the fridge, I highly recommend that you put them back in the fridge for the pastry dough to get cold again!  They will rise better and look prettier if you do. 

Bake the cold prepared pastries shells at 400 degrees F until golden brown and puffed.  This may take around 15 minutes.  Check your particular puff pastry package directions.  While they are in the oven, you can make the filling.  Mmmmm...

When they come out, use the back of a spoon to press down the scored/docked area.  Now we have created a little boat for our filling.  Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the filling!

Filling.
Mix berries, sugar, and lemon juice.

4 cups of frozen wild blueberries.      

1 cup sugar + 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice.

 Over medium heat, bring berries to a boil stirring frequently.

Make a slurry with the cornstarch and water.  

1/3 cup cornstarch + 1/4 cup water.  This seems like and insane amount, right?  But this is what is going to make it "set up" and not be runny.

Stirring as you do, add the slurry to the berries.  Continue to stir until the berries are thick.

Remove from heat and allow them to begin cooling.  You may at this point begin to expect visitors and "taste testers."

When fairly cool but not cold, fill the pastries.

okay, back to same photo as before...  We're all caught up!

Mix the ingredients for the icing:  (I made enough for a whole classroom, so you can see that what I am making here is double what I am giving you the recipe for!)

Recipe for 12 pastries:

1 cup confectioners sugar + 1/8 tsp almond extract  

1 1/2 Tbsp water.  That's it, folks!  :)  Smooth and silky.

Drizzle the icing over the pastries before serving.  If you add the icing too far in advance, it can begin to interact with the sugar in the fruit and start to liquify. 

TaDA!!!  Aren't they pretty?

Life Lesson #204.  Before we began this venture, I asked Lily if we should make them open faced (breakfast strudels), or covered (toaster strudels).  She voted for open, so the other students could see all the berries.  When she came back in later from boating and had a second look, she exclaimed "But you didn't put a top on them!"  And that is when you know that you are just NOT going to win an argument with a 5 year old cook.  Aghhhhhh!!!!!!!  

I hope you enjoyed this recipe!  If you are curious as to what else I have up my sleeve, pop on over to my Recipe Index and have a look!  You are sure to find some great recipes to make with/for your family.  

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Also, Please be sure to visit my YouTube Channel for short video tutorials on selected videos.  Watch me explain the steps of the recipes in just a few minutes!  Just one more way that I'm giving you the tools to get in that kitchen!!! Aren't you curious?  Click and see how many there are!  :)

Here's just one delicious example - Mahogany Glazed Chicken.  A great midweek meal that your family will love!

Here are some bonus recipes for you.
Tomato Basil Chicken

Cream Cheese Stuffed Pear Dumplings with Praline Sauce (try also with apples)

Salted Caramel Appletinis

Oriental Cole Slaw

Fire Roasted Corn Guacamole

High Class Shepherds Pie

Written Method:

1. Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and thaw on the counter until you can unfold it into thirds.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut each sheet into thirds, then each third in half.  So each sheet will give you 6 pastries.  (12 pastries per box.)
3. To each piece of pastry, score with a paring knife around a 1/4" from the outside edge, being careful to not cut all the way through.  Then with a fork, dock the inside of the pastry.
4. Place the pastries on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
5. If you have room in the fridge, I highly recommend that you put them back in the fridge for the pastry dough to get cold again!  They will rise better and look prettier if you do. 
6. Bake the cold prepared pastries shells at 400 degrees F until golden brown and puffed.  This may take around 15 minutes.  Check your particular puff pastry package directions.
7. When they come out, use the back of a spoon to press down the scored/docked area.  Now we have created a little boat for our filling. 
8. Mix berries, sugar, and lemon juice.
9. Over medium heat, bring berries to a boil stirring frequently.
10. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and water.
11. Stirring as you do, add the slurry to the berries.  Continue to stir until the berries are thick.
12. Remove from heat and allow them to begin cooling.
13. When fairly cool but not cold, fill the pastries.
14. Mix the ingredients for the icing.  Drizzle the icing over the pastries before serving.  If you add the icing too far in advance, it can begin to interact with the sugar in the fruit and start to liquify.