dreaming of the weekend, already

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals. Let me clarify that... breakfast foods are some of my favorite meals. I don't like to eat before at least 10 a on weekdays and 11 on weekends. I'm not what you call a morning person. Since starting this 90 day detox/diet thing I've been missing my favorite morning meals. I wanted to come up with a dairy, gluten, blah blah blah free breakfast that wasn't Chex with soy milk. 

I whipped up this hash one morning a few weeks into the detox and Matt has been requesting it ever since. It's got the whole sweet/savory thing going for it - nice crunchy little brown bits of sausage, soft and sweet from the potatoes and a burst of freshness from basil leaves.

I highly recommend you try this for your next lazy weekend breakfast (or brunch if you're like me). It's so easy to make and full of vitamins. Top it with a poached egg and you'll be in heaven! It's Monday and I'm already dreaming of the weekend... hope you guys have a good week! 

sweet potato + sausage hash
yields 4 servings


ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes (about 4 cups diced)

1 mild italian sausage link

2 spicy italian sausage links

1 onion diced
1 garlic clove chopped
1 t. onion powder
½ t. garlic powder
8 basil leaves
4 T. olive oil
salt + pepper


Preheat oven to 400º F. Dice sweet potatoes to your preferred size. Drizzle 3 T. olive oil and salt + pepper to taste over the potatoes and place on baking sheet. Roast potatoes for about 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the dish. 


Heat a skillet on medium and add 1 T. olive oil and the sausage links (casing removed) crumbled. Cook until browned. Next add onion and cook until translucent. Add in garlic and seasonings and cook for 1 - 2 minutes. Pull your sweet potatoes out of the oven and add them to your pan. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Tear basil leaves and sprinkle over the top of your dish before serving. 


improv style:
there's a million ways you can improvise this dish. don't have sweet potatoes? you can use any kind you like: yams, yukon gold, red, fingerling, you get the idea... same goes with the sausage: breakfast, all mild, all spicy, chorizo, pork, chicken, jalapeno chedar. not a fan of sausage? bacon, canadian bacon, diced ham, or pancetta would all be lovely substitutions. this is a throw what you got in a pan and make it kind of hash. add in your favorite herbs. think oregano, chili powder, thyme, parsley. i think it would be even better if you topped it with a poached or fried egg with a slightly runny yolk (no eggs for me for another 23 days - sigh). also, you can cook the potatoes in the skillet if you prefer. i like the oven because i can get everything else prepared faster while the potatoes get nice and soft in the oven.