Sweet Potato and Chicken Sausage Hash with Chipotle-Apple Jelly and Parmesan Roasted Tomatoes

Big name for a big meal! And trust me, this is a complete meal. Think about this the next time you have weekend guests or host a breakfast or brunch. There are a lot of wonderfully flavored items in here, so I’m prepping the chicken sausage, sweet potato hash, the chipotle-apple jelly and the topping for the tomatoes the day before and refrigerating them until the morning. Then all I have to do is cook the hash, reheat the jelly, broil the tomatoes and cook the eggs.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

For the day before prep work:

Chicken sausage:

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon dried sage

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 pinch oregano

1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg

¼ cup yolk-free egg product (like Egg Beaters®)

1 pound ground chicken breast

Sweet potato hash:

2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes (about 6 cups)

1 small white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

¾ cup chopped bell peppers, any color or mix of colors

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried chipotle powder

½ a bunch of Swiss chard (about 5 stalks—stems and leaves both), chopped (this will seem like a lot, but chard cooks down to almost nothing in your dish)

Chipotle-Apple Jelly:

1 (12 ounce) jar apple jelly

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped

Parmesan topping for the tomatoes:

3 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 Tablespoon seasoned breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons canola oil

For the ‘day of’ cooking:

Canola oil

Cooking oil spray

Three smallish tomatoes, stemmed, cored and cut in half along the equator

6 eggs or 1 ½ cups yolk free egg product

Salt and pepper to taste

Sliced green onion for garnish

Directions:

On the day before you plan to cook:

Prep the chicken sausage. Mix the salt, pepper, sage, thyme, paprika, oregano and nutmeg together. Put the ground chicken in a bowl and add the yolk free egg product and the seasoning mix you just made. Combine thoroughly and place in the bottom of a zip top bag. Roll up the bag, push any extra air out and seal the bag. Refrigerate until needed.

To prep the hash, toss the sweet potatoes, onion, bell peppers and oil together in a large bowl. Mix the salt, pepper, and paprika and chipotle powder together in a small dish and then add to the veggie mixture. Mix until all the veggies are evenly coated and place in a zip top bag and refrigerate until needed. Place the Swiss chard in another zip top bag and refrigerate until needed.

To prep the chipotle-apple jelly: Heat the apple jelly on low heat in a saucepan. Add the chopped chipotle in adobe and stir until combined. Remove from heat and put in a container or bowl. Cover securely and refrigerate until needed.

Prep the tomato topping by combining the parmesan, breadcrumbs and canola oil in a small bowl. Put in a small container or zip top bag and refrigerate until needed.

The day you are eating:

Heat 2 teaspoons of canola oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add 1/3 of the chicken sausage and cook until browned, crumbling it as you go. Add in 1/3 of the sweet potato hash, and cook until the veggies are tender and begin to brown along the edge (about 12 minutes). It helps to stir every few minutes and pat everything down into a single layer after stirring. Remove to a serving dish and keep warm. Repeat in two more batches of sausage and hash. Finally, add in all the Swiss chard and cook for about 5 minutes until it wilts down. Toss it into the finished hash.

Place the Chipotle-apple jelly in a small saucepan on low heat and cook for about 7 minutes or until the jelly is liquid and warm. Remove and place in a small serving bowl or ramekin.

Preheat the broiler in your oven and coat a baking dish with cooking oil spray. Place the tomatoes in the dish, cut side up and sprinkle the topping evenly over the tops. Broil for 4 minutes or until the top is golden. Remove from the oven.

Add another 2 teaspoons of canola oil to the skillet that you used for the sausage and hash and cook the eggs or egg product any way you like, seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking. Place them over the entire dish of hash or over individual servings—your choice.

Place the hash, eggs, tomatoes, and jelly out on a table and let your guests go crazy. Use the Chipotle-apple jelly to drizzle over their hash or to use as a dipping sauce for pieces of hash.