Sweet Potato Hash Breakfast Pie

You won't find many recipes on blog that have egg because Hudson has a fairly high allergy to them and the majority of these recipes are catered to safe eating for him, but the other three members in our house can have eggs, so I will occasionally make a dish that has one of his allergens (except for peanuts because that's way too dangerous to even have in the house!).

With everyone in quarantine at Easter this year, it was the first year in my life that I was faced with making Easter dinner for my family. We live within ten minutes of both of my siblings and my parents, so I've always been spoiled with my mama cooking at our big family dinner on holidays and other celebrations. Don't get me wrong - I'm in the kitchen ALL the time. But, I don't make a lot of fancy food with multiple side dishes that are well-thought out. I tried to break that streak a bit on Easter and made ham with a couple sides and it actually turned out better than I thought it would! I also ended up with leftover ham that I immediately knew I needed to re-purpose into some sort of casserole or frittata.

In addition to the leftover ham I also had about ten pounds of sweet potatoes, as a result of a grocery shopping mishap, that needed to be used. I thought it would be so fun to make hash browns out of the sweet potatoes and use them as a crust for a breakfast pie with chopped ham! The great thing about dishes like this is they are so versatile - you can add any veggies or herbs that you have discovered in your fridge and it will work perfectly.

The result was so delicious and perfect for the three of us without an egg allergy!

Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 35-45 minutes Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS:

10 large eggs

1 cup ham, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

1 bell pepper (any color), diced

3/4 cup asparagus, chopped

3 scallions, sliced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp avocado oil (any other neutral oil will work too)

1. Lightly grease 8" springform pan (or other 8" baking pan), paying special attention to the sides so the eggs release once cooked, and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl whisk eggs well. Add garlic powder, 1/2 tsp of the salt and 1/4 tsp of the black pepper and whisk to combine. Set aside. 3. Using a cheese grater, grate sweet potatoes into large shreds. Wrap grated potatoes in a towel (careful, it may stain the towel!) and squeeze all the liquid out over the sink.

4. Heat large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add 1/2 Tbsp avocado oil and half of the grated sweet potatoes to pan. Spread potatoes out in one layer so they get slightly crispy on the bottom. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened and slightly brown underneath. Flip sweet potatoes over and cook for 2-3 minutes on other side. Remove to greased springform pan and cook the other half of the sweet potatoes the same way.

5. Once all sweet potatoes are in the bottom of the springform pan, use your fingers to press the potatoes together into a "hash crust," covering the bottom of the pan so the egg mixture will not seep through the bottom, and press it up onto the side of the pan slightly too.

6. Add 1 tsp avocado oil to pan and sauté bell pepper and asparagus for 2-3 minutes, until softened.

7. Add ham to gently heat, 2-3 minutes. Add scallions at the end, right before turning heat off. Stir until fragrant.

8. Add everything in the pan to the large bowl with the egg mixture and stir to combine.

9. Pour egg mixture into greased springform pan on top of sweet potato hash crust.

10. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the eggs are set.

11. Cool for 10 minutes before removing springform ring. Slice and serve.

Recipe Notes:

1. You can substitute white potatoes for the sweet potatoes if desired.

2. If you do not have a springform pan, any other baking pan or cast iron pan of similar size will work too.

3. If you wish to freeze it, slice it first and separate slices with parchment paper before putting in a freezer-safe bag or container. Reheat in microwave.

4. This breakfast is a bit more time intensive than others, but you can easily prep the components ahead of time and throw them in the fridge so you can just cook it up in the morning and save some time.