Yes, I went there: Breakfast. Nachos. Comin’ in hot.
Now why, you ask, are we calling these “Breakfast Nachos” as opposed to chilaquiles or something of the sort? Well, we’re doing something a little special (and a lot more breakfast-y) with these here Breakfast Nachos. You see, in lieu of the classic tortilla chip base, we’re going all out and making waffled hashbrown chips. Yes, you read that right. I said waffle hashbrown chips. And then we’re topping said waffled hashbrown chips with all of our favorite breakfast foods AND our favorite nacho toppings. Can we even go wrong with this recipe? I think not.
Before we get into the dirty deets, tell me, how is your week treating you thus far? We’ve made it to Hump Day, so there’s that, but I for one can’t wait for the weekend to roll around. I’m headed up north for my first Bridal Shower and I can’t wait to see tons of friends and family. It’s always nice to be back in the old stomping grounds for a day or two. Perhaps we can use these Breakfast Nachos as something delicious to look forward to on a lazy weekend morning visiting with family and friends? Sounds good to me!
So let’s get to it. I’m going to start with the aforementioned waffled hashbrown chips because they are bomb! First off, you have to go into this project knowing that these chips MAY not hold up to our toppings as strongly as tortilla chips will, so be gentle (and don’t be afraid to dig in with a fork!) We’re still going to have that crispiness, we just may not have that structural soundness that you can count on with a nice, hearty chip. Trust me, the taste will totally make up for it.
So, we shred up our potatoes (using either a cheese grater or a food processor, I’m a slave to my Cuisinart, makes it so easy!) and then we cover them with a damp paper towel and give them a quick nuke in the microwave. This will prevent the potatoes from browning too much as we go through the process of making our waffled hashbrown chips in batches.
We heat up our waffle iron and give it a loving bath of melted butter before adding the potatoes. This will give our chips a nice golden exterior. Then we load in our first batch of potatoes and cook until crisp and golden. Since we have to work in batches (unless you have a ginormous waffle iron, then kudos to you), we keep our chips warm in the oven or microwave until we’re done cooking all of the potato.
Once all of our “chips” are done, we lay them out in our cast iron skillet and put them in the oven on their own for about 5 minutes, just to make sure we really get them as crisp as possible before adding the toppings (without burning them, of course.) Take them out, add the toppings (the ones that need to be cooked, anyway) and pop the skillet back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so. Take ‘em out, add some fun things like avocado and fresh cilantro, and voila! We have a delicious breakfast of waffled hashbrown chip nachos.
And although I never fail to find an excuse to enjoy a mimosa with my weekend breakfasts, if YOU need more convincing, I’ll just leave these right here and let you peruse at your leisure….
Peachy Tangerine Kombucha Mimosa
So, are we ready for Saturday morning yet?
Nachos are given a morning spin using classic breakfast foods for toppings and waffled hashbrown chips as a base.
Ingredients
- 3 medium baking potatoes
- 5 tablespoons melted butter, divided
- Salt
- 3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced
- 1 white onion, diced
- ¾ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheese of your choice (I used a mix of Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina and Provolone)
- 5 eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- Serve with salsa (optional)
Instructions
- First, make the hashbrowns. Using a grater or a food processor, shred the baking potatoes. Spread out on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel, and immediately microwave for 30 seconds. This will prevent the potatoes from browning too much. Heat up the waffle iron and brush with melted butter (you will need about 3 tablespoons to cover all of your hashbrown batches, but this will be applied in stages, don’t do it all at once.) Spread a thin layer of the shredded potatoes on the waffle iron, sprinkle with salt and close to cook. You may need to cook the potatoes for longer than the recommended time of the waffle iron. Just keep checking as you go and you will get a feel for when they are done. You want them to be golden and crispy without being burnt. Once each batch is done, place them on an oven- or microwave-safe plate and keep in low heat while you finish the others.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter all inside the bottom of your cast iron skillet. Once all hashbrown chips are cooked, place in a single layer (or as close to a single layer as possible) in your buttered cast iron skillet. Place skillet in preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove skillet from oven and add bacon, jalapeno, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese. Place back in oven for an additional 10 minutes.
- While this is cooking, scramble your eggs, using your last tablespoon of melted butter. Keep eggs warm until nachos are done baking.
- When nachos are done, remove from oven. Immediately add scrambled eggs, then chives and cilantro, and finally avocado. If you’re like me and want salsa on every savory breakfast dish you’ve ever had, you can douse the nachos in salsa at this time.
- Serve immediately and with mimosas for best results.
Now that’s what I call breakfast!
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