Rehash

When I was a kid my Grandma Brown made the best hash. What I remember was bits of leftover roast beef, sliced potatoes and a sauciness with plenty of salt and pepper. It was pure heaven, and it epitomizes the time honored practice of dragging out what you have in the refrigerator and making a great meal. She made it look easy, and it really is. It just took me till recently to give it a try. So in case you'd like to make a tasty hash for lunch with what you have lying around, here's what we had for lunch today and how I made it.

Use a decent nonstick saute pan. Heat over medium heat with 3 or 4 teaspoons of oil. I had a about 6 ounces of baby potatoes - cut into about 1 inch pieces. Toss in the pan and add some salt and pepper and a little cayenne. Chop up about half a large onion and add to the potatoes. Red pepper, large dice, about 1/2 cup or so. I had some chicken tenderloins in the freezer so I cut them into bitesize pieces and they joined the gang. Add a little more salt (I used Kosher). To really add flavor, pour in some reduced sodium chicken broth (about 1/3 cup), cover, reduce heat, and cook until liquid is absorbed. My potatoes weren't tender enough so I added more broth, covered again and finished cooking. I topped the hash with a little pepper jack, you can add it at the end of cooking and cover so it will quickly melt. This served 2 moderate portions.
I really didn't measure a single ingredient. I just added what looked good. If you'd like a little pan sauce, after cooking, remove the hash. There will be lots of brown bits in the pan. Add some more broth, say half a cup or so, and over medium low heat stir to dissolve the bits. Let simmer to thicken then pour on hash.

Using chicken keeps the fat content down. Small potatoes reduce the glycemic index. Reducing the chicken broth in the hash intensified the flavor. This is comfort food that won't fatten you up. Enjoy!