Brand new day

While Shakespeare may have penned "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," I think he may have been wrong. For instance. Take the above dish. It's really attractive, no? No. No it's not. Even my attempts at prettifying it by adding a sprig of twig are really no help. In fact, it looks an awful lot like dog food. But if I posted a recipe in here entitled "Dog Food" not a one of you would make it. But call it what it actually is - "hash" and although you still won't make it, at least you're not calling the authorities to report that a crazy person has taken over Thatgirl's computer.

According to Wikipedia, hash is "often a mixture of beef (often leftovers of corned beef or roast beef), onions, potatoes, and spices that are mashed together into a coarse, chunky paste, and then cooked, either alone, or with other ingredients." (I sure am glad they link to foreign words like "onions," "potatoes" and "paste" because otherwise I would have been lost.) Hash is the perfect way to use up leftovers and a staple hangover type food. Greasy and filling and its got all its protein and carbohydrates mixed together. It's a one skillet kind of meal which makes cleanup easy. And that's usually a big plus for me after a night out where the last thing I want to do is clean.

This is probably the most basic hash you can find, using up the leftover ground beef from our meatballs. And for easy breezy help in making the paste, I used a can of already made beef gravy. I mean, sure you could make your own, but that defeats the purpose of this throw together meal, now doesn't it?

Basic Hash

• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 russet potato, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 can beef gravy
• pinch of thyme

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Serves 2.
Each serving has:

Calories		496.8
Total Fat		29.9 g
Cholesterol		82.6 mg
Sodium		896.9 mg
Potassium		931.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate		28.0 g
Protein		29.1 g