Reading Lables

     I love Pinterest y'all! Pinterest much like coffee understands me. After scrolling around the food section of Pinterest I came across a simple dish that I thought my hubby would like. Hamburger Hash is basically ground beef, onion, potatoes, and shredded cheese. This is the kind of recipe I love to make because while everything simmers I can read research articles for class. A match made in heaven.
    This recipe is brought to you by the blog, Recipes We Love and Ann Kelly. I tried to be sneaky and get pre-cut frozen potatoes but when I read the label I immediately switched tactics. I had assumed that the cold bag in my hands would contain just potatoes and maybe some salt. Damn I could not have been more wrong. Dextrose, Disodium Pyrophosphate, (added to maintain color), Potassium Sorbate, and Sodium Bisulfite were all ingredients in my frozen potatoes. (Simply Potatoes 2014) What is laughable is that the sugar content was listed as 0 grams but dextrose was added to the frozen potatoes. Dextrose is a form of glucose derived from starches. It is one of the most commonly used ingredients in packaged foods because of its affordability and wide availability. Baking products and desserts often contain dextrose, but it may be used as an added sugar in any processed food that is sweetened by the manufacturer. Because the name varies depending on its original starch source, you may not realize a particular food contains dextrose. (livestrong.com)

   I marched my cute butt across the store and bought regular whole potatoes instead. I would rather cut my potatoes by hand than have all the aforementioned crap in my body. Moral of this rant is to simply read the label.

  As you can see I chopped 1 whole onion, I then shredded about 2 cups of colby jack cheese, and diced 1 whole potato. I also had pepper, salt, and garlic on hand to season the meat.

   I sauteed the chopped onion and 1 pound of grass fed beef in about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. The recipe called for vegetable oil which I never use. After the meat was done cooking I drained off all excess fat and set aside. I added another 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil to my pan and then threw in the potatoes. I love a lot of seasoning so the taters got a generous helping of pepper, garlic, and Morton's Nature's Seasonings. Since my taters were raw they required about 20 minutes of cook time. When they were done to my liking I threw the meat back in the pan and then added the cheese to melt on top.

    A great thing about casseroles is they usually tend to keep well in the fridge and heat up nicely. As a busy grad student having yummy meals on hand that only require reheating is a must. What are some favorite recipes y'all like to whip up?