Hash Brown Omelette

Man, performing in the school play is a stressful endeavor.  Long practices, memorizing page after page of dialogue and stage directions, set problems, being chastised for every little mistake.  Not to mention having multiple formal showings in front of entire audiences.

Yet,

Somehow, all the hard work...

Always ends up paying off in the end.

Tonight is our fourth and final showing of our school play, Up the Down Staircase (third if you don't count the free showing for the school staff and rest home residents).  It's an interesting story about a young teacher, fresh out of college with a master's in English who lands a job at an inner city school in New York... with high, unmet expectations.  Throughout the play, the students and faculty go about dealing with problems at school and in their personal lives.  I play a back-home friend who corresponds with the main character through letters.

It's been a blast, and I know I'll be a little sad when it's over.  But tonight is perhaps the most important showing for me, since the whole family is coming to see!  I'll have more to post on it tonight.

In the meantime, I've found a way to infuse the BEST breakfast foods: hash browns and omelettes.

 BEHOLD!!!!

Hash Brown Omelette

Yields: 4 omelettes

Ingredients:

About 8 oz pork sausage (more or less, depending on how much you like it)

6 eggs

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 large potatoes (trust me, they make more than you think)

About 4 tbsp canola oil

 tbsp minced garlic (with juice)

Garlic powder

Italian seasoning

Instructions:

1.) In a seasoned pan (garlic and Italian), fry up your sausage.  Set it aside, covered to retain heat.

2.) Drizzle one tablespoon of oil into a medium sized frying pan, and let it warm up over medium-high heat.

3.) While the oil warms up, whisk your eggs, 2 at a time, with 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.  Add some sausage (however much you want) and mix well.

4.) Shred half of one potato in a bowl.

5.) You'll need to be a little quick with this step.  Generously sprinkle some shredded cheese into the pan, in a solid circle (like a pancake).  Quickly add a generous handful of shredded potato directly on top.  Flatten with your spatula, keeping it on top of the cheese layer.  By the time you do this, the cheese layer should be just crispy enough to flip.  Very carefully, wedge your spatula underneath the 'pancake' and flip it.  The cheese should be a deep orange, slightly brown, but not burnt.

6.) Let the hash brown cook.  You can flip the pancake every now and again to check on it.

7.) When the hash brown is cooked to your liking, lift it with your spatula and hold it.  Grab your egg mixture, and pour about half of it into the pan.  Quickly lay the pancake on top, and press down gently.

8.) As the eggs cook, you can gently scrape up the excess on the outside of the pancake and press onto the edges, like a sort of crust.  Very carefully flip after a few minutes to allow both sides to cook.  Repeat frequently.  *Protip: while the omelette is pancake side down, use your spatula and pry little openings/tears into the egg.  Not big ones--you don't want to chop it up, but the smaller cuts will allow the heat to cook the inside thoroughly.

9.) When the eggs are fluffy and cooked, remove from pan and serve immediately.

10.) Repeat steps 5-9 until you've used all your ingredients.

CONGRATULATIONS!  You've successfully made the world's most delicious breakfast!!

ECHO out.