The following “Chew This!” column has been reprinted from “The Shelbyville News”. By: Blaise Doubman.

Grandma Barbra’s Favorite Breakfast
Blaise Doubman

It is coming up on one year that both my Grandma Barbra and Grandma Deloris passed away, only 10 days from one another. To say that it was a dark time in my life would be an understatement. It still hurts to this day, and perhaps always will, but one thing that helps me cope is to look back on the good times and good memories that we all shared together. Browsing through pictures and recipes are a great comfort to me as well, which is where the basis of this column was originally born. I got to thinking about breakfast and how both of my Grandma’s had totally different views on the subject. My Grandma Deloris, when living at home, would eat cereal just about every single morning. Honey Nut Cheerios were her very favorite kind and that is what she ate most days. When she moved to Glen Oaks, however, her breakfast of choice became pancakes with extra syrup. I would laugh because most times there would be more syrup on the plate than actual pancakes! Ha! She was something else. Quick story, when first arriving at Glen Oaks, she wrote down on her check-in information that one of her serious allergies were “vegetables”, right after being allergic to penicillin. Ha!

Grandma Barbra, on the other hand, was a little more traditional with her breakfast choices. She always had to have eggs, in some form or another, bacon, some type of potato and toast. Even when we would go out for breakfast, she would get some form of this combination. When writing this column and recipes to go along with it, I wanted to focus on her favorite breakfast combination, which was maple bacon, hashbrowns, fried eggs and toast. I know a lot of people may not think of “hashbrowns” in the terms of how I have described them here, but this is how my family and I have always thought of them, in cubes. Shredded hashbrowns to us, are probably what most people would consider “traditional” hashbrowns. Have I confused you yet? Ha! Either way, both are delicious, my Grandma Barbra just preferred the cubed style.

Grandma Barbra’s Favorite Breakfast

This breakfast can be made even faster with premade ingredients. You can by frozen hashbrown cubes in the frozen section of your local grocery store. They will work just as well – but we sure to check the package directions. You can also buy bacon that can be quickly made in the microwave, opposed to baking in the oven.

For the bacon…
5 strips bacon
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon black pepper

For the hashbrowns…
4 large potatoes, peeled
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

For the fried eggs…
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons butter

Start by making the bacon. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Lay out the bacon onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush the bacon with the pure maple syrup and sprinkle evenly on top the black pepper. Bake, in preheated oven, for 15-20 minutes.

Make the hashbrowns. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Sprinkle in about a tablespoon of salt once the water has started boiling. Add the peeled potatoes and allow them to boil for about 20 minutes. They will be firm but can be pierced with a fork. Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool for a few minutes until you can touch them comfortably.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, dice them into even sized small cubes.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in the potatoes and sprinkle evenly with the salt and black pepper. Cook, carefully stirring often, until they are golden brown and cooked all the way through. This will take about 15 minutes.

Remove the hashbrowns with a slotted spoon, onto paper towels to drain.

To make the fried eggs, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Carefully crack in the eggs, sprinkle with salt and black pepper and cook for about 3 minutes. Flip the eggs over, sprinkle again with salt and black pepper and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Gather the hashbrowns, bacon and eggs onto a plate and serve with toast. Enjoy!

Ask and Answer: In the past I have discussed butter, on the regular actually, but figured I would remind everyone that when I write about “1 stick of butter” it means 4 oz and most generally it means unsalted. If the only butter you have is salted, just subtract ¼ teaspoon of salt from the recipe for each stick of butter you use. I also prefer butter to be room temperature in baking.