Sausage Potato Pancakes

We all grow up hearing mom say “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, but I often skip it — and I know I’m not the only one who does.

Sometimes I’m just too lazy in the mornings, or I get bored with eating the same thing over and over.
That's all changing. I’m experimenting more and more now with breakfast, and recipes like this can add variety. This was the first time I’ve cooked these potato pancakes and they were incredible — crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. (In fact, they’re so crispy they actually crackle when you bite into them). Try combining different vegetables, like grated carrots, sweet potatoes, and/or spinach. See what you have in your fridge.
Next time I plan to leave out the sausage and see how they turn out.
Prep time was about 15 minutes and they cooked in another 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes, grated
1/2 large white onion, grated
2 tbs white flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup crumbled and cooked sausage

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tsp crushed dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Preparation:
Peel the potatoes, and grate on a cheese grater. Put the grated potato on top of some paper towels and press to release the liquid. Do the same with the large onion.
In a pan, fry the sausage, breaking it up into small pea-sized crumbles. Set aside on a paper towel to drain.
In a bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, whisking to make a good mix.
Add the potatoes, onions and sausage. Mix well again.
Place a pancake-sized portion onto an oiled pan and cook about 5 minutes on each side at medium to medium-high heat.

Presentation:
Garnish with cilantro, oregano, or flat-leaf parsley. If you like, top your pancakes with a fried or poached egg.

Prepared on 2011-06-08 (Tulsa, OK), Photographs by Michael Findley

Big Ol’ Breakfast Burritos

About 15 years ago, when I lived in Stillwater, Okla., I went to a restaurant called ‘Atomic Burrito’ (unfortunately it went out of business in 2000). That was the first time I’d ever had a burrito with rice in it. Since then I’ve made many burrito variations with rice.
This particular burrito I made one morning when I was especially hungry, which is probably why it was so large (the photo above is actually one burrito cut in half). You’d have to be a glutton if you ate more than those two halves. I ate twice that much!

Ingredients: (This recipe makes 4 burritos, about 1 1/2 cups of the mixture for each)
1/2 cup finely diced onions
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
3 large eggs
3 large slices turkey bacon, thinly sliced
2 turkey sausage links, cut into small pieces
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 medium jalapeno, diced (optional)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cups cooked rice
3 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp mild taco seasoning
2 tbs butter

Preparation:
Mix the eggs in a bowl with 1 tsp of garlic, 1 tsp of taco seasoning, about half the diced onions, and diced celery. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Heat a pan on medium heat and spray some nonstick oil into it. Add all the vegetables and the meats, along with 1 tsp of taco seasoning, 1 tsp of garlic and the cayenne pepper. Saute about 4 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Spray more nonstick oil into the pan and pour the eggs. Stir it often to make the scrambled eggs. Just before the eggs are fully cooked, pour the vegetable and meat mixture back into the pan and stir. Add the rice, butter and 1 tsp of soy sauce. Stir until the rice has heated through.
Heat your tortillas to help loosen them up for folding.
Place a large heaping mound on the tortilla (about a cup and a half).

Fold the burrito quickly before the tortilla cools down.

Recipe prepared on 2011-04-09 (Tulsa, OK). Photographs by Michael Findley.