Cheese Omelete & Hashbrowns

It was Tuesday night and that means raid night, as far as World of Warcraft goes. We wanted something quick and filling, since we go for several hours without blinking. Kidding... We also didn't want leftovers since we're having quite the mighty feast for Thanksgiving and will have leftovers for a week or more.

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup cheddar/jack cheese
• 8oz. frozen potatoes o'brien
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 pieces of toast
• squirt of sriracha
• salt
• pepper
• garlic
• cayenne

• skillet
• small mixing bowl
  

Depending on if you can multi-task or don't mind one piece of the meal colder than the others... this meal comes in three steps since there are three different items being cooked.

Hashbrowns
Put the vegetable oil (or cooking oil of choice) in the skillet and let heat on medium-high. When the oil is hot enough, put in the hashbrowns. Because they're frozen, they will spit; all at once is the best choice to avoid a prolonged chance of being splattered with hot oil. Spread the potatoes into a thin layer so they are not overlapping too much. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a touch of garlic. Let fry for about 15 minutes, flipping sections over to brown the sides. Try not to put too much oil in the skillet, otherwise they will end up more greasy than necessary and won't fry as well.

Omelet
Whisk the eggs, salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic in the mixing bowl. Add to a clean skillet on medium-high heat. Holding the handle of the pan, rotate to spread the eggs out onto the sides, cooking them as you do so. Using a spatula, preferably with a tapered edge, slip it under the sides of the cooked egg. Flip the egg over to finish cooking the remainder of the egg white/yolk, though there should not be much left if the pan was rotated properly. When flipped, add cheese and sriracha to the middle. Fold the omelet in half. Cut down the middle to serve.

Toast is toast. Add whichever condiments you like. I used raspberry jam Freezerves and butter.

The grand total for this breakfast made for dinner is $1.40 and made just enough to feed the both of us with no leftovers.

• eggs 44¢
• cheese 45¢
• hashbrowns 32¢
• toast 19¢
  

Pizza & Salad

Been on hiatus for a few days. Thursday found us at Silver City Restaurant & Brewery to meet up with some friends for happy hour and drinks, followed by Friday night there for the tapping of their new Imperial Stout [gourmet burgers for $1.99 can't be beat], and Saturday night found us throwing together something that definitely needed improving on before it graces the internet.

So wanting to use the two thawed sausages in the fridge before they went bad, we decided homemade pizza would hit the spot. After battling the dough for nearly 45 minutes, I realized the pizza wouldn't be enough food for the both of us and put together a salad really quickly. Except, the pizza was more than enough, so there were leftovers galore.

• 1 box Jiffy brand pizza dough
• 5 slices Albertson's deli mozzarella
• 2/3 cup cheddar/jack cheese
  
• 1/4 container Ragu Homestyle pizza sauce
• 2 Italian sausage, cut into small pieces
  
• 7 slices Albertson's deli pepperoni
• 1/8 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/4 head of Iceberg lettuce (optional)
  
• Albertson's garlice & cheese croutons (optional)
  
• dressing (optional)
  
• flour
  

• cookie sheet/pizza pan
• skillet
  
• cooking spray
• pastry brush

First things first, fry up the small pieces of Italian sausage in the skillet. No need to add grease, it makes enough of its own. Set aside once cooked. Prepare the rest of the ingredients: slice the pepperoni and mozzarella cheese to spreadable sizes. I like very small pieces on my pizza; it makes biting into it easier instead of having to drag more into your mouth than you bargained for.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Follow the directions of the box of pizza dough. I use the Jiffy brand all the time for pizza dough, but this time around, I had a hell of a time getting it to do anything right. It was too sticky and wouldn't spread out good enough on the tray despite using copious amounts of flour and cooking spray to coat my fingers so it wouldn't stick. If you use or find a different brand at the store, feel free to grab that one instead. Jiffy makes a good crust, even if it can be a hassle.

Spread out the dough on the cookie sheet/pizza tray and throw in the fully heated oven for just a few minutes to set it. While it's setting itself, put the 1/8 cup of butter and garlic powder into a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave for about a minute; give or take based on the power of the appliance. Mix well with the pastry brush and set aside. Pull out the pizza dough and coat the entire thing with the butter/garlic mix. Some people only like to do the outer edges, some do the whole thing. I think it adds a nice flavor to the whole crust, though it does make it slightly greasier.

Add all your favorite toppings. Sauce first, a thin layer of cheese, meats, veggies, etc., another thin layer of cheese to make sure everything stays on the dough, and back into the oven it goes.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how crispy/soft/burnt/etc. you like your pizza. Serve with a salad or on its own.

The grand total for this meal was $5.15. It was cut into 8 pieces and made for 2 big servings on top of having the salad. The price without the salad was $4.86. Not too bad for something so filling.

• pizza dough 79¢
• mozzarella 85¢
• cheddar/jack 66¢
• Ragu 42¢
• Italian sausage 1.08$
• pepperoni 98¢
• butter 8¢
• lettuce 19¢
• croutons 10¢