The Garbage Plate, A Real Mess

Going out to breakfast.

Doing brunch on a Sunday.

Meeting for coffee and scones.

Taking the family out for pancakes and waffles.

All of the above!

I used to wait for Friday evenings. When were were dating, he took me out for oyster shooters and steamed clams with linguine at places with dark oiled wood and copper pots hanging from the ceiling.

I now wait for Sunday mornings. Our dates have become family weekend breakfast outings where smiley faces are put on pancakes with whipped cream, chocolate chips and maraschino cherries and we determine where to go by the durability of the crayons that come with the kid's menus.

And we do a lot of living on our Saturdays.

Something happened to me in between the Friday Night and Sunday morning - besides becoming a wife and a mother. I became an advocate for survival. Well, not just our survival. I want us to thrive.

Saving money.

Eating less sodium, processed foods, preservatives.

Hibernating inside our home after long, over-scheduled weeks.

I can do that myself, maybe even better.

All of the above!

We've been doing our Sunday breakfast outings in lately. We've spared ourselves the long wait in restaurants and pricey meals to simply stay at home, watch Sunday morning baseball, and decide only between cinnamon rolls or pancakes. And why shouldn't we? To have a fabulous weekend breakfast meal at home, all you need is a good sense of humor, a few market ingredients, and the learned skill of removing eggshells after toddlers insist on cracking eggs, that irresistible culinary task of young chefs everywhere.

This past Sunday morning, I didn't decide between anything. I made it all - all being everything I had in the fridge and pantry at the time (only ingredients I missed were sausage, toast, and gravy).

I made a Garbage Plate. A mess of breakfast foods on one platter, cooked on the same griddle, one thing after another, a delicious marriage of going-out-for-breakfast flavors, all in one bite. I've ordered this several times in diners, and seen it done on Food Network. Well, Saturday night, I saw a show that served their patrons the prototypical Garbage Plate, the tell-tale mess of piled-high eggs, potatoes, cured and salted meats, cheeses...and I fist-pumped my sous chefs, saying only, "10 a.m."

And at 10 a.m. the next day, we took it on. Peeling and grating potatoes, sharp cheddar. Whisking eggs and grinding fresh pepper. Chopping up bacon into small bits and I am not ashamed to say, cooking the eggs in the residual grease (aahhhh, memories of my childhood).

If I'd had any leftover coffee, I would have made a red-eye gravy. If I had corned beef, I would have made a hash. If I hadn't used all of the tomatoes in the salad the night before, I would have made a salsa.

Next Garbage Plate, another mess.

We do so much living, we need to compensate with a lot of eating. The satisfaction of a hearty breakfast Sunday morning makes surrendering those Friday nights easier.

Of course, Friday nights are how we got into this mess in the first place.

GARBAGE PLATE

5 Russet/Idaho potatoes, peeled and shredded

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, or canola

coarse grain salt and pepper to taste

dash of Tabasco

8 slices bacon, chopped

12 eggs, whisked - salt and pepper added

2 cups grated cheese

Preheat a griddle or large, flat pan over medium-high heat.

In a bowl, toss potatoes with oil, salt, pepper and Tabasco.

Put potatoes on griddle and let cook about 5 minutes per side, until the potatoes are browned evenly and cooked through (may need longer depending on your stove and pan).

Slide your big hash brown onto a platter big enough for a big mess.

Cook bacon next, until done.

Top hash brown with bacon.

Drain most of the fat off the griddle, reserve about 1 tbsp. of fat for the eggs.

Add eggs to griddle and cook until done.

Add eggs onto mess on the platter.

Top eggs with grated cheese, it should melt right away.