Bacon, Squash & Sweet Potato Hash (paleo)

I usually wake up ravenous, and this past Saturday morning was no exception.  I could have reached for gluten free toast slathered in almond butter, but I decided to scrounge through the fridge to see what kind of hearty paleo breakfast I could come up with.  I had a container of leftover oven roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes that I had used the day before to make a delicious soup, so I grabbed that plus some bacon, red onion, celery, and fresh thyme I had purchased from my local farmers market.  When I start my day off with protein and vegetables, I find that it's much easier to stay on track for the rest of the day.  Right now staying on track for me means eating mostly paleo.  No grains, legumes, dairy, or refined sugar.  This savory hash is what I came up with.  Feel free to substitute whatever roasted veggies and fresh herbs you have on hand.  If you want to make this dish, but don't have any roasted vegetables in your fridge and don't want to hassle with roasting them, an easy shortcut is to simply steam the squash and sweet potatoes until fork tender, then toss them in a bit of extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper before adding them to the skillet.  And if you don't have any bacon at home, your favorite sausage either crumbled or roughly chopped will do the trick.  Omit the meat if you are vegetarian, or try this with veggie sausage.  You can't really mess up a hash, so enjoy getting creative with your ingredients.

PREP TIME: 15 minutes COOK TIME: 15 minutes SERVES: 1

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red onion, sliced

2 stalks celery, roughly chopped

3 strips nitrate free bacon, cooked and roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash

1 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 pastured egg, cooked to your preference (I like over medium)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Place red onion, celery, thyme, and a sprinkle of salt in the skillet and saute until the vegetables are tender.  Add bacon and roasted squash and sweet potatoes and gently saute until the roasted vegetables are heated through.  Stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste, then top with a fried egg and dig in.  I enjoyed my hash with a mug of hot chai.

I'd love to hear from you!  What is YOUR favorite weekend breakfast?