John's Breakfast Potatoes

Years ago, our family would visit San Francisco where we'd inevitably spend mornings walking up some of the famous hills of the city. My favorite still is walking up seemingly endless steps to Coit Tower, where I can see forever! After such a brisk walk uphill, the leisurely walk down is especially delightful. Afterwards, we'd find somewhere to get a filling breakfast. More than once, we ate at a cozy neighborhood restaurant that served awesome potatoes with every plate! This recipe is my healthy salute to them. It can serve as a healthy stand in for hash browns, too.




Ingredients:

3 slices bacon
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup sliced celery stalk
2 cups chopped potatoes, Yukon gold or Red skinned
1/2 to 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Fry bacon in pan until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Chop bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Drain bacon fat from pan and wipe clean. Heat olive oil in pan. Add onion, red pepper, and celery to pan. Saute over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Cook until potatoes are tender and the stock has cooked down, adding more chicken stock if needed. You'll know when the potatoes are done because you'll be able to pierce them easily with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Bacon adds wonderful flavor! However, bacon fat adds saturated fats - the unhealthy kind that you want to minimize in your meals. This recipe retains the bacon while replacing unhealthy bacon fat with healthier olive oil for browning the veggies. Using low sodium chicken stock adds another layer of flavor, still healthy! Try this recipe the next time your family asks for hash brown potatoes. With it's new name, they'll love it, and won't know what they're missing!